Kashmir hotel lures tourists with igloo cafe

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GULMARG, India (Reuters) – Tourists in Kashmir’s Gulmarg ski resort have a new place to chill out – an igloo cafe that serves hot food and drink on tables made of ice and snow.

Staff at Kolahoi Green Heights hotel on the Indian-administered side of the region took inspiration from Arctic shelters and added a few local touches – an arched door and patterns on the curved walls.

The long-running conflict in the Himalayan region has hit Kashmir’s once booming leisure industry. But crowds still come to its snow-bound slopes ever winter.

The igloo, 26 feet around and 15 feet high, holds four tables with enough room for 16 guests.

Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled in part by nuclear arch-rivals India and Pakistan.

(Reporting by Sanna Irshad Mattoo in Gulmarg; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Andrew Heavens)