Igloo Cafe, Gulmarg (Bilal Bahadur/BCCL)
The world's largest igloo cafe, located in Gulmarg, Kashmir, has finally opened its doors for visitors until mid-March—the end of winter. Part of Gulmarg's renowned ski resorts, the cafe is the group’s second attempt in India, much bigger than the one built last year.
The cafe's management—Kolahoi group—said that the concept of a snow cafe is incredibly popular in Switzerland, Finland and Canada. Several of them even have facilities to stay.
“I thought Gulmarg sees a lot of snow, so why not start this concept here," Syed Wasim Shah, creator of the igloo, quoted as saying.
An igloo is a hut-like structure built with snow. Air pockets trapped inside the snow act as insulators to prevent the igloo from becoming intolerably cold.
Shah had built a similar cafe—largest in Asia and his first such attempt in India—last winter. It was 12.5-ft high and 22-ft in diameter and had four tables accommodating up to 16 customers.
This year's igloo is 38-ft high and 44-ft in diameter and is large enough to accommodate around 40 guests at once. "According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest cafe so far is in Switzerland, and its height is 33.8 feet and diameter 42.4 feet. So, this is larger than that," Shah said.
The artworks include hand-engraved copper samovar to give the cafe a traditional Kashmiri touch. Sheep hides have been placed on the tables and benches made of snow and ice to make the seating arrangements warm and comfortable. A guest can spend about one hour inside the igloo or until it gets chilly.
The construction of this year's igloo required 25 members working in shifts and took two months before completion.
The cafe has become a centre of attraction for local people as well as tourists thronging the resort.
(With inputs from the Times of India and IANS)
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February 06, 2022 at 05:17PM
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Gulmarg Gets “World's Largest” Igloo Cafe, Becomes This Year's Trending Tourist Attraction (PHOTOS) | The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com - The Weather Channel
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