Ski area for the Himalayas

Tourism & Leisure — Apr 21, 2005
Francesco Pastorelli | CIPRA Italia | Torino, IT

The highest ski slopes in the northern hemisphere are shortly to be built in Gulmarg on the slopes of Mount Afarwat in the Indian part of Kashmir. With a budget of 2.5 million euros, a French company is planning to build ski lifts and a 2.5-kilometre-long ski run at an altitude of over 4500 meters above sea-level.

Gulmarg's hotel capacity has already been increased through the addition of 500 new rooms to accommodate the expected influx of tourists from abroad. A one-day ski pass in Gulmarg will cost less than five euros. How many winter sport holidaymakers will want to travel 8000 kilometres to escape the impacts of climate change and a lack of snow in ski areas in the Alps, however, remains to be seen. Experts are concerned that visitors unused to such high altitudes could have physical problems.
Source: La Repubblica, 01.04.2005