‘World’s largest igloo cafe’ in Gulmarg, Kashmir, attracts tourists

With a height of 37.5 feet and a diameter of 44.5 feet, Snowglu in Gulmarg is being touted as the world's largest igloo café. (Photos by Irfan Amin Malik)

Anjali Choudhary, a young tourist, has travelled from Bangalore to Kashmir just to see the “world’s largest igloo café” in Gulmarg, a popular skiing destination in Kashmir.

Choudhary along with her colleague decided to come to Kashmir after they found a photo of the igloo café on Instagram. “This is my first trip to Kashmir... The snow is so beautiful to watch and the igloo cafe is amazing,” she says.

The café, named “Snowglu” and set up by the Kolahoi Green Group of hotels and resort, has become an internet sensation, with hundreds of people visiting it during the day while taking selfies and sipping hot Kashmiri Kehwa.

In 2021, Syed Wasim Shah, manager of the Kolahoi Green Group of hotels and resort, conceptualised the snow igloo café and opened it in the Valley. Kolahoi Green Group managing director Miftah Majid Shaw claims that with a height of 37.5 feet and a diameter of 44.5 feet, Snowglu is the world's largest igloo cafe.

“Last year we had created a small igloo café which was India’s first igloo cafe and Asia’s biggest café - (it was) 15 feet high and (had) a diameter of 26 feet with 16 seating capacity. It was recorded by the Limca Book of Records. This year, we have created it a bit larger to make it the world’s largest igloo cafe; 40 persons can be accommodated at 10 snow-carved tables at one time,” Shaw says.

Currently, the temperature in Gulmarg is below minus 10°C but local labourers and artisans are working both inside and outside the igloo to make it look more attractive.

The igloo café has two floors: the ground floor is for taking selfies and the top floor serves as a café with chairs and tables carved out of frozen blocks, covered with sheepskin rugs, and tourists served hot Kehwa and sandwiches.

“The last world record is from Switzerland in 2016, we have crossed that. This year we have applied for Guinness World Records, and hopefully the team will be visiting Gulmarg soon,” Shaw tells Moneycontrol.

Wasim Shah, creator of the igloo, says: “Three years ago I saw this concept in Switzerland and ultimately decided to create an igloo café in Gulmarg, Kashmir. Initially, it was difficult to create snow igloo because Kashmir has dry snow compared to wet snow in Switzerland. However, we added water to the snow to create the igloo in Gulmarg.”

Shah who is himself a snow artist, and has been making snow sculptures, adds that the igloo café took 64 days, 7,000 snow blocks, and the work of 1,700 local artisans and labourers to build.

The igloo café took 64 days, and the work of 1,700 local artisans and labourers to build.

The interior of the café is decorated with ice and LED lights, even the benches are made up of ice sheets with Samovar—copper kettles—being showcased on the tables. “Earlier tourists from India had to go Iceland, Finland, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, and other European countries to see snow or ice igloos but now they are able to see it in Kashmir,” Shah adds.

Set against the picturesque Pir Panjal mountains, the igloo café will only last a short while till the snow melts. Ali Mohammad, a grey bearded man working in the café, claims that the igloo cafe will last till mid March.

Parveen Arora, a tourist from Haryana, says he has come with his family just to see the glimpse of igloo café in Gulmarg. “The moment we saw an image of the world's largest igloo cafe on the internet, we decided to travel here. The architecture and overall design of this igloo are quite fascinating,” Arora says with a smile.

Sipping hot coffee in a freezing-cold igloo amid the snow-capped peaks, Vishesh Aggarwal, a young tourist from Ahmedabad, says the temperature inside the igloo is higher than outside. “I had never seen an igloo in my life... I am visiting Kashmir for the first time and it is indeed heaven on earth,” Aggarwal tells MoneyControl.

According to Shah, during the first seven days, 2,000 tickets were sold. “We have invested Rs 10-15 lakh to create the igloo café and I do not think we will recover the money. Without thinking about money, I had a passion to break the record and I am sure our igloo will be declared the world's largest,” Shah says, while urging the government to promote tourism in Kashmir.

The igloo café has two floors: the ground floor is for taking selfies and the top floor serves as a café.