Igloo cafe in Jammu and Kashmir’s Gulmarg becomes new tourist attraction

The opening of an igloo café in Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, has become a new tourist destination in the union territory. The ‘Snowglu’ cafe, which is 37.5 feet tall and 44.5 feet in diameter, is located at the famous ski resort of Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir.

Syed Wasim Shah, the creator of the igloo, claimed it was the world’s largest cafe of its kind. ‘I saw this concept in Switzerland a few years back where they have such hotels, which are equipped with sleeping facilities as well. I thought Gulmarg sees a lot of snow and why not start this concept here’, Shah said.

He also said to have built an igloo café last year, claiming it to be Asia’s largest. ‘This year, I made the world’s highest and its height is 37.5 feet and its diameter is 44.5 feet’, Shah, a hotelier, said.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world’s largest igloo café is in Switzerland, with a height of 33.8 feet and a circumference of 42.4 feet. He said that last year’s cafe had four tables and could seat 16 people at a time, but this year there are ten tables. ‘We have created it in two steps with a staircase. Forty people can eat at a time’, he added.

It took 64 days to finish with 25 people working day and night, according to Shah, who added that the project required 1,700 man-days to complete. ‘It has a thickness of five feet. We hope it stands till March 15, after which we will close it for the public’, he said.

Also Read: Junk food ditched in favour of healthier options in Union Health Ministry canteen

The cafe has become a popular hangout spot for both locals and visitors to the resort. Hundreds of people reserved tables for Friday’s opening and the cafe is expected to be open until the end of February. A visitor can stay inside the Igloo for about an hour or until he or she feels cold. Kashmiri artworks and a hand-engraved copper samovar have been placed inside to give it a traditional touch.

The management claims that this is the world’s largest igloo café, and they have applied for a Guinness World Record. A snow igloo is a snow castle or hut made of snow. Air pockets trapped within the snow function as insulators, keeping the igloo from being intolerably cold.