Shopping in Kashmir is rather interesting and offers some special products. There are no department stores in Kashmir so the shopping experience is intimate in small family run shops stocking specialty items that are handmade and local in origin. Items of interest include jewellery, pashminas, ornaments, intricately carved furniture made from local timbers such as walnut, handmade clothing (leather, fur, wool, cotton & linen), delicately decorated linen Manchester (sheets, pillow cases, table cloths etc.), gorgeous rugs, shawls & copper knick knacks. The list goes on. Some shops will package and mail larger items (like rugs) back home for you.
Gulmarg shopping offers up some of these classic Kashmir items, or for a larger range of Kashmir goods you could go shopping in Srinagar.
General Shopping Gulmarg
There are a few Gulmarg shops that offer the unique Kashmir items.
Khan Cloth House is in the Gulmarg Market. Get fitted for a tailored western version of the Kashmiri pharan (a long woollen over robe worn by most Kashmiris which you can put the kanger warming pot underneath). They also do classic Kashmir pashminas plus other shawls and clothing. You’ll get served some lovely Kashmiri tea while you chat to Mr Khan. This is a great Gulmarg shopping experience.
Ladakh Art Palace (located within the
Hotel Highlands Park complex) has a huge range of jewellery, clothing, antiques and other handicrafts. The shop also has a small selection of dresses and other clothing.
Faiz Shawls is located next to the Ladakh Art Palace. This Gulmarg shop specialises in beautiful linen products plus other clothing and carpets. Of course it’s also a great place to buy a classic Kashmiri shawl.
Check your government’s quarantine website regarding goods that cannot be brought back into your country.
Gulmarg Ski Shops
There are a few Gulmarg ski shops, but they have only a very small range of equipment and accessories.
Alcohol in Gulmarg
Being a Muslim state, alcohol is not freely available (or indeed acceptable) in a lot of places, so one good option is to stock up at the airport duty free shop. There used to be a secret Gulmarg hole-in-the-wall alcohol shop, but this no longer exists.
Grocery Shopping Gulmarg
The market area of Gulmarg provides all the basics for survival, so long as you can turn a blind eye to the rubbish and roving dogs around the market. Loads of tiny shops with fantastically stacked goods crammed into every nook and cranny sell a range of groceries from breakfast cereal to detergent. The little stalls also sell sundries such as sunscreen, although I laughed at one man who tried to sell me a bottle that was half empty.
The Gulmarg market also has several fruit and vegie vendors. The mandarins are particularly good and help fight off the scurvy!
Gulmarg Souvenirs
Thankfully not a whole lot of standard ski resort souvenirs are available, but t-shirts can be purchased from a little stall near the gondola base and also from the Emporium next to the Kashmir Alpine Ski Shop near Hotel Highlands Park. Otherwise the best souvenir might be a tailored pharan from the Khan Cloth House or some other locally fashioned handicrafts.
