AP Photos: Snow fills Kashmir resort with tourists again
Tourists from Holland ski down a slope as fog engulfs the background in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Sukjeet Kaur, 13, a Kashmir school girl skis down a slope as her instructor and friends watch in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Kaur, who attended a 15-day skiing course like hundreds of other school students said that this was my chance to be with friends since we have not been able to see each other since long time. And in Gulmarg at least we could be together for 15 days away from COVID related stress and school followed all the COVID related protocol. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Meenu Nanda, 38, an Indian tourist poses along with her husband as an unidentified family member takes picture in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. “Nobody is worried about the corona, nobody is worried about this virus. Everybody is feeling free. Look around us there are hundreds of people and no one is wearing mask it seems COVID has disappeared” Nanda said. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
An Indian tourist enjoys a morning walk on a snow covered road on a cold and foggy morning in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
A Kashmiri tour operator carries luggage of a tourist as he walks toward a hotel at Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
A stray dog walks on a snow covered road as fog engulfs the background on a cold and foggy morning in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Abandoned huts belonging to nomads are covered by snow in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
A Kashmiri sledge puller walks on a snow covered slope at Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Indian tourists and locals ski on a slope in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Indian tourists walk on a snow covered road in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Tourists wait for their turn to use ski-lift used to transport them up a slope top in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Kashmiris pull Indian tourists on sledges at Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Trees are covered with hoar-frost on a cold day in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Tourists ski down a slop in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Ramasha Rizwan, an Indian tourist is helped by a Kashmiri ski instructor to ski down a slop in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Rizwan, said Kashmir is beautiful, it is mesmerizing, and the views are spectacular. I snapped my friends, and they were like, oh are you abroad? How do you go there? I said no, it’s Kashmir. And I am really enjoying myself right now"(AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Skiers’ tracks crisscross the slopes in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Tourists from Holland ski down a slope as fog engulfs the background in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Tourists from Holland ski down a slope as fog engulfs the background in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Sukjeet Kaur, 13, a Kashmir school girl skis down a slope as her instructor and friends watch in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Kaur, who attended a 15-day skiing course like hundreds of other school students said that this was my chance to be with friends since we have not been able to see each other since long time. And in Gulmarg at least we could be together for 15 days away from COVID related stress and school followed all the COVID related protocol. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Sukjeet Kaur, 13, a Kashmir school girl skis down a slope as her instructor and friends watch in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Kaur, who attended a 15-day skiing course like hundreds of other school students said that this was my chance to be with friends since we have not been able to see each other since long time. And in Gulmarg at least we could be together for 15 days away from COVID related stress and school followed all the COVID related protocol. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Meenu Nanda, 38, an Indian tourist poses along with her husband as an unidentified family member takes picture in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. “Nobody is worried about the corona, nobody is worried about this virus. Everybody is feeling free. Look around us there are hundreds of people and no one is wearing mask it seems COVID has disappeared” Nanda said. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Meenu Nanda, 38, an Indian tourist poses along with her husband as an unidentified family member takes picture in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. “Nobody is worried about the corona, nobody is worried about this virus. Everybody is feeling free. Look around us there are hundreds of people and no one is wearing mask it seems COVID has disappeared” Nanda said. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
An Indian tourist enjoys a morning walk on a snow covered road on a cold and foggy morning in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
An Indian tourist enjoys a morning walk on a snow covered road on a cold and foggy morning in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
A Kashmiri tour operator carries luggage of a tourist as he walks toward a hotel at Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
A Kashmiri tour operator carries luggage of a tourist as he walks toward a hotel at Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
A stray dog walks on a snow covered road as fog engulfs the background on a cold and foggy morning in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
A stray dog walks on a snow covered road as fog engulfs the background on a cold and foggy morning in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Abandoned huts belonging to nomads are covered by snow in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Abandoned huts belonging to nomads are covered by snow in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
A Kashmiri sledge puller walks on a snow covered slope at Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
A Kashmiri sledge puller walks on a snow covered slope at Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Indian tourists and locals ski on a slope in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Indian tourists and locals ski on a slope in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Indian tourists walk on a snow covered road in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Indian tourists walk on a snow covered road in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Tourists wait for their turn to use ski-lift used to transport them up a slope top in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Tourists wait for their turn to use ski-lift used to transport them up a slope top in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Kashmiris pull Indian tourists on sledges at Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Kashmiris pull Indian tourists on sledges at Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Trees are covered with hoar-frost on a cold day in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Trees are covered with hoar-frost on a cold day in Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Tourists ski down a slop in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Tourists ski down a slop in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Ramasha Rizwan, an Indian tourist is helped by a Kashmiri ski instructor to ski down a slop in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Rizwan, said Kashmir is beautiful, it is mesmerizing, and the views are spectacular. I snapped my friends, and they were like, oh are you abroad? How do you go there? I said no, it’s Kashmir. And I am really enjoying myself right now"(AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Ramasha Rizwan, an Indian tourist is helped by a Kashmiri ski instructor to ski down a slop in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Rizwan, said Kashmir is beautiful, it is mesmerizing, and the views are spectacular. I snapped my friends, and they were like, oh are you abroad? How do you go there? I said no, it’s Kashmir. And I am really enjoying myself right now"(AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Skiers’ tracks crisscross the slopes in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
Skiers’ tracks crisscross the slopes in Afarwat, Gulmarg, northwest of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Snow this winter has brought along with it thousands of locals and tourists to Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau, pastoral Gulmarg, which translates as “meadow of flowers.” (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)
GULMARG, India (AP) — Snow lies knee-deep in the pastoral town of Gulmarg, or “meadow of flowers,” on Indian-controlled Kashmir’s high plateau.
With its blanket of white, the idyllic hill station is seeing tourists again fill its hotels and ski, sledge and trek its Himalayan landscape.
The heavy influx of tourists is a dramatic change for the tourism industry in disputed Kashmir, which faced the double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic and harsh curbs on civil rights India imposed in the region in August 2019.
Gulmarg was developed as a resort by the British nearly a century ago, and the region’s eternal appeal with foreign visitors has made it a year-round destination. In summer, tourists meander through meadows, ravines and evergreen-forested valleys. In winter, they snowboard and trek on Asia’s largest ski terrain.
The 2019 end of Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status and an unprecedented security clampdown morphed Gulmarg into a ghost town, an illustration of the region’s economic ruin. The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries pegged the economic losses in the region at $5.3 billion and about half a million jobs lost till August last year.
But worse was yet to come. Last March, Indian authorities enforced a harsh lockdown to combat the coronavirus, all but halting foreign travel.
The pandemic, however, made Indians reconsider their own vacations. Once snow coated the hill station last month, they decided to travel to Gulmarg when otherwise they might have gone abroad. And for the first time in 15 months, hotels are sold out till the end of February.
“Nobody is worried about the virus. Everybody is feeling free,” said Meenu Nanda, 38, an Indian tourist.