Gulmarg is best known internationally as India’s premier ski resort, but its high-altitude terrain offers a genuinely rewarding short summer trek as well: a climb up the slopes of Mount Apharwat to Alpather Lake, a glacial pool that stays at least partly frozen for much of the year even during the peak summer trekking window.
Because Gulmarg’s cable car (the Gulmarg Gondola) can shortcut a portion of the ascent, this is one of the quicker ways in India to reach genuinely high alpine terrain — the trek proper covers only the upper stretch, through meadow that blooms briefly each summer before giving way to the lake’s rockier, glacier-fed basin.
At just three days, this trek suits travelers based in Srinagar or Gulmarg for a shorter holiday who still want a real high-altitude trekking day without committing to a longer valley or lake circuit elsewhere in Kashmir.
