'World's Largest' Igloo Cafe Brings Visitors to Indian Kashmir
2022-02-25
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1The world's largest igloo restaurant can be found in northern India in the Jammu and Kashmir area.
2An igloo is a shelter that is usually round and is made of snow and ice.
3But the café will not be available for too much longer.
4The 40-seat business is expected to melt away sometime in March.
5Snoglu Cafe is owned and operated by the hotel Kolahoi Green Heights.
6It is at the Himalayan winter sports resort of Gulmarg, which is 50 kilometers southwest of Srinagar and 2,500 meters above sea level.
7Syed Wasim Shah is the creator of the cafe.
8He said an igloo village in Zermatt, Switzerland that he visited a few years ago helped him come up with the idea.
9Snoglu Cafe is 11.43 meters tall and 13.56 meters wide.
10That makes it larger than the current record holder.
11The Guinness Book of World Records publishes such records.
12The igloo listed by Guinness is found in Switzerland.
13It is 10.5 meters tall and 12.9 meters wide.
14Shah told VOA, "We have already written to Guinness Book of World Records to certify our record and they will do it in due course of time."
15The cafe has two areas. Coffee and small foods are served in one area.
16The other is for artwork.
17Shah said, "It took us 64 days, precisely 1,700 man-days to complete: We started on the 3rd December and completed on the 4th of February."
18He added, "We employed all locals to construct it and the snow art was all done by me."
19The cafe immediately became popular with visitors from the resort.
20Shah said the business has 300 to 400 visitors every day.
21He said he is asking people to pay about $3 to enter the snowy structure to limit the number of people.
22One of those customers was Dr. Vaishnavi.
23She visited Kashmir for the first time from the eastern Indian state of Orissa.
24She ate there with her husband, Dr. Indrajeetm.
25Vaishnavi told VOA that she was interested in the idea behind the structure and liked the feeling inside the Snoglu Cafe.
26Visitors wear winter clothes and sit on sheepskin seats to stay warm.
27Hamid Masoodi runs the Hotel Kolahoi Green Heights.
28He said this is the second year that the hotel has had the igloo cafe.
29It is only possible to have one during the winter season from early December until about the middle of March.
30He said the hotel built one last year that could fit 16 people.
31He estimates this year's larger igloo could serve almost 20,000 visitors during a full season.
32Shah, meanwhile, has bigger plans.
33He said the goal is to create a "full-fledged igloo village next year."
34It would have places to sleep, along with the Snoglu Cafe.
35I'm Gregory Stachel.
1The world's largest igloo restaurant can be found in northern India in the Jammu and Kashmir area. 2An igloo is a shelter that is usually round and is made of snow and ice. But the café will not be available for too much longer. The 40-seat business is expected to melt away sometime in March. 3Snoglu Cafe is owned and operated by the hotel Kolahoi Green Heights. It is at the Himalayan winter sports resort of Gulmarg, which is 50 kilometers southwest of Srinagar and 2,500 meters above sea level. 4Syed Wasim Shah is the creator of the cafe. He said an igloo village in Zermatt, Switzerland that he visited a few years ago helped him come up with the idea. 5Snoglu Cafe is 11.43 meters tall and 13.56 meters wide. That makes it larger than the current record holder. The Guinness Book of World Records publishes such records. The igloo listed by Guinness is found in Switzerland. It is 10.5 meters tall and 12.9 meters wide. 6Shah told VOA, "We have already written to Guinness Book of World Records to certify our record and they will do it in due course of time." 7The cafe has two areas. Coffee and small foods are served in one area. The other is for artwork. 8Shah said, "It took us 64 days, precisely 1,700 man-days to complete: We started on the 3rd December and completed on the 4th of February." He added, "We employed all locals to construct it and the snow art was all done by me." 9The cafe immediately became popular with visitors from the resort. Shah said the business has 300 to 400 visitors every day. He said he is asking people to pay about $3 to enter the snowy structure to limit the number of people. 10One of those customers was Dr. Vaishnavi. She visited Kashmir for the first time from the eastern Indian state of Orissa. She ate there with her husband, Dr. Indrajeetm. 11Vaishnavi told VOA that she was interested in the idea behind the structure and liked the feeling inside the Snoglu Cafe. Visitors wear winter clothes and sit on sheepskin seats to stay warm. 12Hamid Masoodi runs the Hotel Kolahoi Green Heights. He said this is the second year that the hotel has had the igloo cafe. It is only possible to have one during the winter season from early December until about the middle of March. 13He said the hotel built one last year that could fit 16 people. He estimates this year's larger igloo could serve almost 20,000 visitors during a full season. 14Shah, meanwhile, has bigger plans. 15He said the goal is to create a "full-fledged igloo village next year." It would have places to sleep, along with the Snoglu Cafe. 16I'm Gregory Stachel. 17Bilal Hussain reported this story for Voice of America. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 18________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20cafe - n. a small restaurant where you can get simple meals and drinks (such as coffee) 21resort - n. a place where people go for vacations 22certify - v. to say officially that something is true, correct, or genuine 23precise - adj. very accurate and exact 24customer -n. someone who buys goods or services from a business 25construct - v. to build or make (something physical, such as a road, bridge, or building) 26full-fledged - adj. fully developed 27We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.