Ice-carved seats, igloo cafe draws crowds

Samaan Lateef

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Srinagar, February 12

Ice-carved seats adorned with sheepskin rugs and visitors served hot kebab and kehwa, a traditional beverage, inside a vast snow structure has become a new attraction at ski-resort Gulmarg.

“It’s a cafe carved out of ice. How cool is that! I hadn’t imagined anything like this before,” a tourist, Anchal Sharma, from Mumbai said.

Waseem Shah, who built it, says, “In 2017, I saw igloo-hotels in Switzerland equipped with dining and sleeping facilities. I thought Gulmarg receives a lot of snow and why not create one here.” It is going to be the world’s biggest igloo, he says, adding, “We have applied for Guinness World Records, a team of which will be visiting us next week.” Standing in the surreal surroundings of snow and cedar trees, the igloo is attracting huge crowds. It will be open until March 15.