Alpather Lake in Gulmarg

A lake that looks just out of a picture postcard

Quick Information

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Best time to visit
Apr - Jun
Ideal Duration
2 - 3 Days
Visa
On Arrival
Starting from
Rs. 5,599
  • Adventure
  • Hills
  • Nature

About Alpather Lake in Gulmarg

Sandwiched between mighty mountains and lush green meadows covered with wildflowers, the Alpather Lake located in Gulmarg is spellbinding.

This lake stays frozen until most part of the year. Even if you visit in mid-June, you will get to see the frozen version of Alpather lake. Summertime lasts from May to September and this is when you can get to see the clear blue water of the lake. The white icebergs that float here and there adorn the lake during the greater part of the calendar year.

The backdrop of the lake is what makes this place special to any other lake. The lake is located 13 km away from the main Gulmarg town. The picturesque location attracts locals and tourists alike and is one of the favorite picnic spots around Gulmarg in good weather.

Frozen or fluid, the Alpather Lake in Gulmarg has towering mountains that are always snow-capped and can be the best background for photographic captures for tourist groups. You can click pictures all day and still not get enough of this location. Imagine a snow-covered field with a little sneak peek of green here and there, this best describes the picture here in the winter season. For people who have never seen much snow, this frozen lake will take their breath away.

What to Do in Alpather Lake?

Alpather Lake Trek: One of the most famous things to do near Alpather Lake in Gulmarg is trekking. The trek is around 14 kilometers and goes through steep terrains. This trek is not recommended for beginners owning to its difficulty level. So, if you are planning to take this trek to keep in mind a few points such as:

Undertake the trek with the help of a guide.

Start the trek early in the day.

Carry basic things like a water bottle, snacks, biscuits, and first-aid boxes.

Ice Skating: If you carry your skating gear along, you can make the most of the frozen lake in winters. The crystal clear layer of ice of the Alpather Lake in Gulmarg serves as a good ice skating ground. Skating with a beautiful view will make for a memorable vacation. For beginners, what better than learning ice skating in open nature with magnificent surroundings?! Just keep a helping hand or a helping shoulder at hand, and experience the joy of skating on the Alpather lake in Gulmarg. Other snow activities also take place in Alpather Lake.

This place is a must-visit in the Gulmarg tourist itinerary and you should dedicate a couple of hours to this spot just to experience the serenity and calmness of nature here. Unwind, relax and let your eyes capture every moment that you spend in this spot. Every hill station usually has a lake but this one here needs a special shout out!

Not too far from Gulmarg, Alpather Lake can be easily squeezed in your sight-seeing plan when you set out to explore Gulmarg. Every local knows this place and getting there is no challenge. Most people visit Gulmarg to experience the snowy side of it and this is best done in the winter season. After all, you do not get to walk on frozen lakes every day right?

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Gulmarg Packages Reviews

Read on to find out why our customers love us!

Kirti's 6 days trip to Gulmarg

It was well planned holiday. Kudos to our travel agent, he put a lot of effort to make it comfortable and full of fun. Definitely recommend him for future trips

Kirti Choudhary Delhi

Shaquib's 8 days trip to Gulmarg

Bahut achcha experience tha Kashmir ka Sabhi Kuch bahut achcha tha

Shaquib Nesar Mugalsarai

Jay's 9 days trip to Gulmarg

Had a great experience with alja tours and travels. If you want finest Hospitality just go for them our tour operator was miss mahek have any problem solution would be just one call away. Overall great experience

Jay Raithatha New delhi

Manisha's 6 days trip to Gulmarg

Hi aadi, Thankyou for planing the iternary so well and choosing the best available options for us in Kahsmir. Thoroughly enjoyed and had fun. Happy that I chose Alja for this trip. Thanks for your coorperation throughout.

Manisha Arun Mangalore

Preeti's 7 days trip to Gulmarg

Hi I booked a trip for Kashmir with them … we had awesome experience with them regarding hotels & cab driver Nisar Bhai he made sure we visit all places & guided about the nearby things as well … & especial thanks to Mehek from Alja tours & travels , she was available all the time before the trip & even after the trip making sure that we had great experience & she takes prompt actions.

Preeti Verma Lucknow

Iamdipakmitra's 6 days trip to Gulmarg

It was a wonderful experience with alja tour & travels.mr aadi gave us best itinerary,help every moment of the tour.danish ji was a very good driver and helpful person.we cannot imagine such a smooth cost effective hassle-free tour without alja.thank you so much for such a warm welcome in kashmir.recommended to everyone.

Iamdipakmitra Hyderabad

Shaan's 6 days trip to Gulmarg

I want travel with this team and all of experience was good

Shaan

Vinay's 4 days trip to Gulmarg

My experience before completing the booking and after was completely different. I ditched the other travel agent whom i had almost finalised on travel triangle and choose Breezy travels (for the review that they claimed to have). But, the responsiveness before completing the booking was not there later on, especially when I wanted them during the course of trip. As a traveller, I expect my travel agent to stay in touch and take feedback atleast once at the end of day. But, there was nothing from Breezy travel and infact, even till date, She has not made any attempt to check how my trip went. Thats because, She know what my response would be. Major concerns- 1. From the beginning I made it very clear that the booking is done with a condition for visiting Teetwal, which is close to LOC, which required permit. Travel agent assured me that she has spoken to concerned officials and took all our IDs. But, nothing she did. After arriving at Srinagar she told (upon checking multiple times) that the driver will handle everything. Our visit to Teetwal was not at all certain even on the day of our visit. The driver just took us to DC office which was closed because of weekend! Upon telling this she asked us to go to Kralpora police station and told driver is all aware and he will handle it. When we reached Kralpora police station the driver happily left me handle all of this and sat with his mobile phone. What a joke! I had to use my own contacts and eventually got the permit. Wasted over 1 hour due to this mishap. 2. Due to space constraint we upgraded to TT from Crysta from Day 2 and that was the mistake. The vehicle was not in condition (driver clearly mentioned this when he took the TT for getting minor maintenance done. Greasing was done and told this vehicle was idle for a long time). Really ? You took additional Rs. 8500 for this junk vehicle with which we need to travel 160+ kms one way in rough terrain?! As expected, the vehicle broke down after couple of hours and we lost almost 1 and a half hour. We ended up reaching Teetwal late, ruining our plans. 3. There was an unwanted de-tour while returning from Kupwara and instead of taking a straight route, the driver took some interior route, touched Baramulla and arrived at Srinagar. This not only delayed our arrival by 1 hour 30 mins, but also put us in a tense situation. This was completely uncalled for citing there is some religious procession when the road was shit empty. You cannot make your guest have an uncertain time. 4. The driver showed a very casual attitude throughout the trip and never paid attention to our request. AC wasnt turned on when the weather was damn hot in Srinagar (despite agreeing to pay the charges). To Breezy travels- your driver had a dedicated fan on top of him and he made us sit in hot weather. Yeah, you say no one in Kashmir use AC. But we do!. Furthermore, we ended up missing visiting few places due to his careless and lethargic behaviour. We made a mistake by being very nice to him, taking care of his stay in Teetwal and food during entire trip since he was diabetic. We get this for the care we showed. Driver should be treated as a driver!. 5. There was no clear communication on Shikara ride and when we went to the Ghat, we did not get what the lady told. Since we just wanted to be done with it, we completed the ride which was completely waste of time as they make us visit their shop for purchase even on dal lake!. Let the people enjoy their vacation! 6. While dropping us back to the airport the driver asked for AC charges and i outright rejected and Breezy travels were immediately involved. To my surprise, their statement was 'You have to pay AC even if it's used for sometime'. Madam, as communicated on call, I pay for what I get. If i ask the driver to turn on the AC, he should. If I ask him to turn it off, he should. Only then I am obligated for payment. Its not like the driver switches on and off as he please and ask me to pay for all days. It was very evident that the AC was not working properly, the temperature was not set lower than 26 degrees and we traveller's were taken for granted! The driver still took 1200 in the form of tips and AC charges. We just wanted to be done with him and paid and left. Few pros- 1. Hotel Kareem residency stay was good only for 3rd night stay since I spoke to the hotelier and got my rooms changed. Requested change of hotel to travel agent on 1st day and no outcome so took this on my own hands and spoke to hotel for change of rooms for my return stay. 2. Food in Kareem residency was very good. I understand they are running on 50% offer so all the travel agents have flocked this hotel and that is good for traveller's. 3. Driver and car given for 1st day was so good. We missed the driver (Mr. Riyaz) on remaining days and will directly get in touch with him when I visit next time. A note to travel agent. 1. Please ensure you speak to travellers during the trip. Booking the hotel and cab is not the end of your duty. 2. Even to this date; 15th July 2025 travel agent has not made any efforts to seek a feedback on the trip. I wanted for a week and then submitting this to travel triangle to seek a fair audit on service standards. 3. You are obligated to take all payments through travel triangle. Please dont insist for direct payment citing avoidance of convenience fee as travellers know what they incur.

Vinay Kashyap Bengaluru

Vaibhav's 6 days trip to Gulmarg

So I booked a HoneyMoon Package to Kashmir with TravelTriangle and got an amazing deal with there travel agents GallopTravels with Miss. khusboo and Ms. Kritika From TravelTriangle. They both are super professional when it comes to performing there respective duties. The Cab driver provided was completely suitable for what I requested for the driver to be very helpful, generous Mr. Mehraj. The Only minor issue which i faced was the last day stay in HouseBoat. The decoration and HoneyMoon Cake was to be provided on the Housboat with Candle Night dinner but the Caretake failed to put on efforts with the decorations and failed to arrange the Cake or any alternative. Raised the issue with Ms. Khusbhoo from Gallop. She on her end looked into the matter but the decoration which was only 4 balloons which were hanging defalted before our arrival on Boat. one more issue which I raised with Ms. khusboo was the behaviour of the caretaker who looked on staring my wife when she wore a below Knee dress for our complimentary shikara ride which she was feeling uncomfortable because of this guy's behaviour had to change to jeans and top. And during our candle night dinner I requested this guy to not to come during the dinner If i need something i will call you but only after 10 minuted of our candle night dinner moment i again entered unexpectedly opening all the Lights spoiling our candle night dinner. If i somehow ignore this last day's stay everything was perfect. This last day is not the fault of Travel Triangle or Gallop Travels i dont blame them for the same but i blame that houseboat caretaker with such cheap/narrow mentality. Rest assured Travel Triangle is one option for me for my future journeys. Regards.

Vaibhav Kaushik New delhi

Vineet's 4 days trip to Gulmarg

Petals of chinar.. a hotel in srinagar and our package, They delivered the water bottles after three hours. If we order non-vegetarian food, that's what we should get, but in many places we get vegetarian food. Plz tell the agency to be serious about basic services. Hotel of sonamarg its best,also pahalgam. communication by the travel agency is good. Affordable tour package.

Vineet Kulkarni Srinagar airport

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FAQ's of Gulmarg

Read on to find out why our customers love us!

You can walk to the Alpather Lake, but it makes sense to ride a pony since the road is a little run down.

No, there is no ticket required for entering the Alpather Lake premises.

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