Gulmarg Gondola in

Gulmarg Gulmarg (), known as Gulmarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a town, hill station, popular skiing destination, and notified area committee in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located at a distance of from Baramulla and from S ...

, Jammu and Kashmir, an administered union territory of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

is the second longest and second highest cable car in the world. Higher lines include the ''Dagu Glacier Gondola''.

Background

The two-stage

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supp ...

ferries about 600 people per hour to and from Kongdoori Mountain, a shoulder of nearby Apharwat Peak (). The ropeway project is a joint venture of the Jammu and Kashmir government and French firm

Poma Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, peopl ...

galski. The first stage transfers from the Gulmarg resort at to Kongdoori Station in the bowl-shaped Kongdori valley. The second stage of the ropeway, which has 36 cabins and 18 towers, takes skiers to a height of on Kongdoori Mountain, a shoulder of nearby Afarwat Peak (). The second stage was completed in a record time of about two years at a cost of 180,000,000 Indian Rupees (i.e. some US$4.5 million) and opened on 28 May 2005. The French company had also built the first phase of the gondola project, connecting Gulmarg to Kongdoori, in 1998. The timing of the gondola is 10 AM (IST) to 5 PM (It's highly dependent upon the weather at both stages). A gondola can carry six people at a time. The price is 700 Indian Rupees (11 US$) for the first stage and 900 Indian Rupees (15 US$) for the second stage. Also offered is Chair Cars for phase-II for 300/- INR. It takes approximately 9 minutes to reach the first stage and 12 minutes for second stage. An accident occurred on 15 June 2017 due to an enormous pine tree being uprooted by a gust of wind and breaking the perspex windows on one of the gondola cabins, causing it to swing violently and its seven occupants to fall to the ground.

Gallery

File:Gulmarg gondola base station.jpg, Gulmarg gondola base station in May 2013 File:Gulmarg Kungdoor gondola station.JPG, Gulmarg Kungdoor gondola station in May 2013, 2nd stage gondola and chairlift seen on right File:Gulmarg Gondola (ropeway or cable transport) station in Jammu and Kashmir.jpg, Gulmarg Gondola station in April 2013 File:Boarding passes for Gulmarg Gondola in Jammu and Kashmir.jpg, Boarding passes

References

External links

Official website

by ''Remontées Mécaniques'' (French)
Article in BBC News
of 26 February 2009 {{coord, 34, 02, 43, N, 74, 23, 04, E, region:IN-JK_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Tourist attractions in Baramulla district Aerial tramways in India Gondola lifts Transport in Jammu and Kashmir