India is truly incredible, but you won’t know until you see it. It’s sprinkled with nail-biting adventures and extraordinary experiences not recommended for the faint-hearted. Find out why the country is emerging as one of the world’s newest adventure destinations.
1 Heli-Skiing GULMARG
Imagine hovering in a chopper over a forbidding snowscape of white-capped mountains and deep green valleys, where the powder is thick, and the crowd thin. Now think of hurtling into that wilderness from that height, as the chopper’s rotors whirr above you. Soon, you find yourself skiing forward, cutting a long, fresh line through the feathery snow, leaving a flurry of white in your wake. The experience thrills all the way, more so when you do it in Gulmarg—Kashmir’s winter wonderland—where you get to plunge down the mighty Himalaya. Heli-skiing, or backcountry skiing through the virgin slopes after jumping from a helicopter, is high in every skier’s bucket list. And in India, the ski resort of Gulmarg lets you escape the well-trodden pistes, and explore the wilderness in full glory.
GETTING THERE The nearest airport is in Srinagar (52 km), which has direct connectivity from New Delhi and other major Indian metros.
STAY The Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa (starts from 26,400/US$ 370, khyberhotels.com); The Vintage Gulmarg (starts from 8,000/US$ 112, thevintage.in)
PLAN IT WITH Ski Gulmarg (skigulmarg.com)
2 HOT-AIR BALLOONING ARAKU VALLEY
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