At 37.5 feet tall and boasting a 44.5-foot diameter, an Igloo café recently opened in India’s premier ski resort town in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. A brainchild of Syed Wasim Shah who was impressed by the concept which he first noticed in Switzerland, the structure that he created in Gulmarg was christened Snowglu and is apparently the largest café of its kind in the fact. He is confident of breaking the current Guinness Book World record for an igloo-like this in Switzerland that has a height of 33.8 feet and a diameter of 42.4 feet. The management of the Igloo café in Gulmarg has in fact already applied for registering its name as the rightful record holder.
The cafe comprises two sections-a seating one and another one for art space and wall cravings. For seats, they have used sheepskin! There are ten tables for now that can accommodate as many as 40 diners who can feast on traditional Kashmiri wazwan cuisine. If that wasn’t enough the café also has a staircase. According to Shah, it took twenty-five people 64 days to complete the erection of the igloo. He hopes that the structure which has five feet thick walls will stand till March 15th, after which it will be closed to the public.
The ingenuity displayed by Shah in bringing his idea of the world’s largest igloo café to fruition is quite amazing. Just goes to prove that whatever the world does, India can do better and bigger. While Gulmarg needs no introduction to anyone on account of its world-class ski slopes and infrastructure, apart from its stunning natural beauty, the igloo café Snowglu definitely gives visitors to the place to experience something quite extraordinary.
