Gulmarg is a town, a hill station, a popular skiing destination and a notified area committee in the Baramulla district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The town is situated in the Pir Panjal Range in the western Himalayas.
Gulmarg means "the meadow of flowers"
Originally called Gauri Marg (गौरी मार्ग) meaning (the path of Devi Gauri) it was renamed to Gulmarg ("meadow of flowers") by Sultan Yusuf Shah of the Chak Dynasty who frequented the place with his queen Habba khatoon in the 16th century. Wild flowers of 21 different varieties were collected by the Mughal emperor Jahangir for his gardens in Gulmarg. In the 19th century, British civil servants started using Gulmarg as a retreat to escape summers in North Indian plains. Hunting and golfing were their favorite pastime and three golf courses were established in Gulmarg including one exclusively for women. One of the golf courses survives and at an altitude of 2,650 metres (8,690 ft) is the world's highest golf course. In 1927, British established a ski club in Gulmarg and two annual ski events were hosted one each during Christmas and Easter. Central Asian explorer Aurel Stein also visited Gulmarg during this period.
After the end of London colonial rule, Gulmarg became a part of the independent princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan planned an invasion of the state called Operation Gulmarg. One of the routes used by the invading militia of Pathan tribesmen, armed and supported by Pakistani regular troops, passed through the Haji Pir pass and Gulmarg onto the state capital Srinagar. Gulmarg fell to the invading army, but the Indian army led by the 1 Sikh Regiment, which had been airlifted to Srinagar only after the Dogra ruler of the state Maharaja Hari Singh had signed an Instrument of Accession with India on 26 October 1947, successfully defended the outskirts of Srinagar. Thereafter, Indian counterattacks pushed the tribesmen back and many towns including Gulmarg were recaptured. In 1948, Indian Army established a ski school in Gulmarg which later became the High Altitude Warfare School of the Indian army specializing in snow–craft and winter warfare. On 1 January 1949, the war ended under UN supervision and a Ceasefire line (CFL), which was rechristened the Line of Control (LOC) by the Shimla Agreement of 1972, came into being close to Gulmarg.
After Indian Independence, Indian planners sought to develop a destination for Winter sports in India. The Department of Tourism of the Government of India invited Rudolph Matt, in 1960 to select a suitable location for such purpose. Matt zeroed in on Gulmarg as suitable location for development of a Winter sports destination in India. In 1968, Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering was established in Gulmarg to train ski instructors. Over the next decade Indian planners invested ₹30 million (US$420,000) to transform Gulmarg into a world-class ski destination. Gulmarg became a centre for skiers from Asian nations. In mid-1980s, heli-skiing was introduced in Gulmarg in collaboration with the Swiss skier Sylvain Saudan of Himalaya Heli-Ski Club of France.
In the 1990s, the rise of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir affected tourism in Gulmarg. With the abatement of terrorism in the area, tourism started to recover in late 1990s. Work on the cable car project between Gulmarg and Apharwat Peak, which was commissioned in 1988 by Government of Jammu and Kashmir but was subsequently abandoned due to militancy in 1990, was resumed in 1998. In May 1998, Phase 1 of the project, between Gulmarg and Kongdori, began its commercial operation. In May 2005, Phase 2 of the project was also inaugurated making it one of the longest and highest rope ways of Asia. The chairlift installed as a part of Phase 3 of the project began its operations in 2011. The National Winter Games were held in Gulmarg in 1998, 2004 and 2008. In 2014, Government of Jammu and Kashmir drafted a Master Plan–2032 for Gulmarg. The plan includes development of a solid-waste treatment plant on 20 acres of land close to Gulmarg.
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Amritsar - Golden Temple
Gurudwara Shri Harmandir Sahib, also known as Golden Temple, can be consider as "Vatican City of Sikhs" or Shri Darbār Sahib. Shri Akal Takht Sahib means meaning "Religious Leaders Court" , is located in the area of Gurudwara Shri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the preeminent spiritual site of Sikhism.
The Gurdwara Sahib is built in the pool of holy water (sarovar) that was completed by Guru Ram Das in 1577. Shri Guru Arjan Dev ji, the fifth Guru of Sikhism, requested Sai Mir Mian Mohammed, a Muslim Pir of Lahore, to lay its foundation stone in 1589. In 1604, Shri Guru Arjan Dev ji placed a of the Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji in Harmandir Sahib. The Gurdwara was sometime rebuilt by the Sikhs after it became a target of royal forces and was destroyed sometimes by the Muslim armies from Afghanistan and the Mughal Empire, Indian army in 1984 during the operation called blue star.. Maharaja Ranjit Singh after founding the Sikh Empire, rebuilt it in marble and copper in 1809, overlaid the sanctum with gold foil in 1830. This has led to the name the Swaran Mandir (Golden Temple).
The Gurdwara is spiritually the most significant shrine in Sikhism. It became a center of the Singh Sabha Movement between 1883 and 1920s, and the Punjabi Suba movement between 1947 and 1966. In the 1984, the Gurdwara was attacked by the Indian government led by Indira Gandhi, due to the issue of Khalistan.Indira Gandhi sent in the Indian Army as part of Operation Blue Star, leading to deaths of over 1,000 humans, as well as causing much damage to the Gurdwara and the complete destruction of Akal Takht. The Gurdwara complex was rebuilt again after the 1984 damage by the Sikhs by raising funds in the charity from local people.
The Harmandir Sahib is an open house of worship for all men and women, from all faith regard less of their caste, religion, gender and people from all directions are welcome in the Gurudwara Sahib, The four entrances(Gates) of the Gurudwara Sahib symbols this believe. It has a square path around the pool of holy water. The complex is a collection of buildings around the Gurudwara in the pool of holy water. One of the building is Akal Takht, the chief center of religious authority of Sikhism. Additional buildings include a museum, a Museum and a Langar Hall which is the largest free community kitchen – a free Sikh community run kitchen that serves a free vegetarian meal to over 100,000 without discrimination. The Gurudwara is the most visited the holy shrine. The Gurdwara complex has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its application is pending on the tentative list of UNESCO.
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