The hills of India's Kashmir Valley are alive with the sound of fun and laughter this winter. When the snowflakes fall and the leafy green slopes are painted white, thousands head to Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg area for skiing, heliskiing and for sheer pleasure.

It is a state often in the news for its frequent clashes with militancy, but the story is different these days. While Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia, Kitzbühel in Austria and Zermatt in Switzerland enjoy their top ranking as the world's best skiing resorts, Gulmarg with its natural slopes is not too far behind.

Come winter and the Pir Panjal range in Gulmarg, about 50 km from the summer capital of the state Srinagar, is the ideal spot for skiing and other winter sports. Its white slopes also beckon nature enthusiasts by the hundreds.

The resort town, being pitched as a likely venue for the 2010 Commonwealth winter games, is referred to as a crown jewel of skiing destination in the Himalayas and has been the delightful setting for thousands of skiers every year.

Located at the western edge of the Himalayas, the Pir Panjals are the first mountains hit by the western and southwestern storms and therefore get the greater part of the winter snowfall that enables the state to become a hot destination when the chill sets in.

On offer is not just skiing but also ice-skating and snow boarding. This year authorities in Gulmarg are also organising other activities like night ice-skating, snow making competition, sledge races, snow scooter races and snow rugby.

The season begins shortly before Christmas and goes on till the end of March when the snow begins to melt.

Heli-skiing is a major attraction. It involves being dropped by a helicopter on a snow-covered peak and then skiing down the slopes. If the Kashmir tourism department is to be believed, Kashmir is considered the best option for heli-skiers after Canada.

Other activities in Gulmarg include cross-country skiing and ice hockey on the frozen surface of an artificial lake.

Gulmarg, which was established in 1927 by two British army officers who set up the first skiing club in the resort, is the highest lift-served ski resort in India.

It also boasts of the world's highest gondola cable car, ascending to 4,390 metres. The construction of the cable car with a mind-numbing vertical rise that ascends to the Apharwat Peak was completed in 2005. The six-seat cabin zips through thick pine forests all the way up to the Apharwat Peak in about half-an-hour.

Besides its snow covered expanse, Gulmarg is a great place to visit in the summers and also has other attractions.

A big attraction is the Rani temple situated on a small hillock in the centre of Gulmarg and can be seen from all corners of the town. It was built by Mohini Bai Sisodhia, the wife of the erstwhile ruler of Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh (the last king of Kashmir) in 1915.

St. Mary's church is older and dates back to 1897. In 2003, the church was given a new look with a renovated façade and the first Christmas mass in 14 years was held that year.

Perched upon a hill, the church has been witness to many tournaments in the Gulmarg golf course, one of the highest in the world. The first tournament was played in 1922. The 18th hole of Gulmarg Golf Club, a par five, is a downhill travel from St. Mary's Church to the clubhouse, a drop of 300 feet.

After years of strife, tourism is returning to Kashmir and to Gulmarg as well, giving people hope for a better tomorrow.

In December and January last year, 3,000 skiers from Canada, Australia, Britain, Malaysia, Singapore and China visited the ski resort. According to officials, the figure is expected to touch 10,000 this year.

"Gulmarg is literally like our mother. It earns us food. Its scenic beauty solaces us whenever we are dispirited," says Shabeer Ahmed Wani, who is a ski instructor and has participated in many national and international events.

Ghulam Mohammed Lone, a sledge owner, is equally upbeat. He has made a good earning this year and the recent heavy snowfall has added to better money.

"It's always good to host so many guests. The earnings get multiplied manifold with more and more tourists visiting here," he says, while pulling a couple on their honeymoon.

Hotelier Zahid Khan hosted around 1,200 guests in his three-star hotel in the weeks after Christmas Eve.

"It seems Gulmarg is gaining the desired popularity even though I strongly feel that more needed to be done to promote it as a world class ski resort," he says.

Officials also admit that infrastructure remains a problem when compared to international rivals. "But the opportunity to host an international event like the Commonwealth would boost work and bring in much needed funds," says Sarmad Hafeez, a tourist officer in Gulmarg.

Bolstered by the increasing number of winter sports lovers, the state government recently reminded organisers of the Commonwealth Games, which New Delhi will host in 2010, to hold a winter sports version of this international event in Gulmarg.

The first national winter games were held in Gulmarg in 1998 and it has been the venue for winter sport festivals since.

Suresh Kalmadi, president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), had said here in 2004 that Gulmarg could host Commonwealth winter games. But not many believed it then.

However, rave reviews by the likes of Warren Miller, a noted filmmaker, gave Gulmarg the necessary morale booster to come up as a world-class ski destination. Miller's movie, "Off the Grid", on Gulmarg has given it a further push in the international tourism market.

And life is looking up for a people who have lived with strife for so long.