Yousuf Shah Chak, who ruled Kashmir from 1579 to 1586, frequented the place with his queen Habba Khatoon and renamed it 'Gulmarg' ("meadow of flowers").[10][11] Wild flowers of 21 different varieties were collected by the Mughal emperor Jahangir for his gardens in Gulmarg.[10][12] In the 19th century, British civil servants started using Gulmarg as a retreat to escape summers in North Indian plains. Hunting and golfing were their favorite pastime and three golf courses were established in Gulmarg including one exclusively for women.[13][12] One of the golf courses survives and at an altitude of 2,650 metres (8,690 ft) is the world's highest golf course.[13] In 1927, British established a ski club in Gulmarg and two annual ski events were hosted one each during Christmas and Easter.[14][15] Central Asian explorer Aurel Stein also visited Gulmarg during this period.[11]

After the end of British rule in India, Gulmarg became a part of the independent princely state of Kashmir and Jammu. Pakistan planned an invasion of the state called Operation Gulmarg. One of the routes used by the invading militia of Pathan tribesmen, armed and supported by Pakistani regular troops, passed through the Haji Pir pass and Gulmarg onto the state capital Srinagar. Gulmarg fell to the invading army, but the Indian army led by the 1 Sikh Regiment, which had been airlifted to Srinagar only after the Dogra ruler of the state Maharaja Hari Singh had signed an Instrument of Accession with India on 26 October 1947, successfully defended the outskirts of Srinagar.[16][17] Thereafter, Indian counterattacks pushed the tribesmen back and many towns including Gulmarg were recaptured.[18] In 1948, Indian Army established a ski school in Gulmarg which later became the High Altitude Warfare School of the Indian army specializing in snow–craft and winter warfare.[19] On 1 January 1949, the war ended under UN supervision and a Ceasefire line (CFL), which was rechristened the Line of Control (LOC) by the Shimla Agreement of 1972,[20] came into being close to Gulmarg.[21]

After Indian Independence, Indian planners sought to develop a destination for Winter sports in India. The Department of Tourism of the Government of India invited Rudolph Matt, in 1960 to select a suitable location for such purpose. Matt zeroed in on Gulmarg as a suitable location for development of a winter sports destination in India. In 1968, Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering was established in Gulmarg to train ski instructors. Over the next decade Indian planners invested ₹30 million (US$420,000) to transform Gulmarg into a world-class ski destination. Gulmarg became a centre for skiers from Asian nations.[22] In mid-1980s, heli-skiing was introduced in Gulmarg in collaboration with the Swiss skier Sylvain Saudan of Himalaya Heli-Ski Club of France.[15]