SKI India, a sci-fi themed snow park where summer hits iceberg

When it comes to skiing, Delhi NCR may not sound like the right place, but it turns out, you can indulge in some snow fun right here and that too sans waiting until December.

For those wanting to schlep their way down some snowy mountain in a pair of skis or snowboard away from this sweltering heat, here's a chance to swoosh it out as some imagineers have brought not just the winter chills to Noida but also some icy cool activities.

Modelled after Ski Dubai located at the Mall of Emirates, Asia's largest indoor snow park Ski India is offering an ice-skating rink, a ski track, slopes for tube rides, sledging and tobogganing, a stunningly done up cave and a separate snow play area to whip snow balls at your friends, all of which will surely help you beat the summer heat without saving up for a trip.

Placed on a massive 100,000+ sq. ft property, comprising two floors housed in Noida's DLF Mall of India, this minus 10-degree world will blow your mind with snow up till your calves and icicles above your head.

While the temperature inside gives you a fleeting joy of being at a hill-station, whooshing down the slopes in a tube or slider will take you to a whole other world.

As co-founder Priyanka Jain told ANI that the idea behind this was to give people a feeling that they were "entering a different planet as they walk up the stairs."

"When you enter the property, you see a stainless steel wormhole via which the Earthlings can travel to another planet - the snow planet," she noted.

Priyanka also claimed that the park has a capacity of 3,000 people and can cater to 500 people of all ages at a time. "We have 100-150 staff. This is our dream and hence, we could build such property. Here we run 6 sessions with each lasting for 1 and half hour."

At Rs 1,150 per person, you can try out as many activities you want as many times inside the park. The cost includes a pair of gloves, shoes, jackets and a separate pair of shoes in case you go skating inside.

"We have tried to keep all the activities which people can enjoy in snow like skiing, skating, tobogganing, sleigh area and snowfall with laser show; people can experience all this in minus 10 degree temperature. We have 24*7 refrigeration system and we have to maintain it," she said.

To get a better sense of the place, we tried out the rides and activities ourselves and were pleasantly pleased about Ski India delivering on the promise of a fun ride.

In order to have uninterrupted skating and skiing fun, you may want to remember to keep your body weight towards the front and control the distance between your feet.

Designed as a sci-fi world, this place also stars a lot of futuristic-looking figurines.

"We've our own 12-14 characters that have been designed on a sci-fi theme. They are regular snow characters like walrus called Wampy, Penguin called Tux and robotic versions of Eskimos called X-timo, Y-timo and Z-timo," Priyanka noted.

She added, "Every pillar or column has been designed in a rocket form. We've a spaceship on the ceiling in the snow room. Every wall has been designed on characters.

There's another USP of the park - it features pure and safe snow.

Taking about the same, Priyanka told ANI, "We have a technology. It's purely air and water which are compressed to form snow. We've to have regular maintenance- there's good number of machines and snow maintenance people that groom the snow and keep it in the powdery form. After 3-5 days snow gets dirty and so has to be changed."

There may have been some cases of minor injuries, but when it comes to safety, they've got you covered.

"We have safety rubber mats and carpets everywhere. We've staff members all over the place to help you with your rides. We have a doctor and first aid facilities," she pointed out.

Though the feedback is good, Priyanka noted, "It's not as per our expectations as I want to create this park as a destination. The theme is working well. First year was a learning experience for us and probably this is year the outcome will be better."

"Building an entertainment centre in India is really difficult because there's huge investment but less on returns. If I compare this with SKI Dubai, they charge around INR 6000, but here I cannot even charge more than Rs 1000, where I'm providing them with gears and it's inclusive of taxes," she continued.

Priyanka and her brother Prasuk R. Jain, who is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Ski India, are also behind Snow World, Mumbai's first 25,000 sq feet indoor snow park located at Phoenix Market City Kurla.

There may be more of SKI India as she revealed, "We are in discussions with few other malls but we need the required space. The theme or park will be unique which has never have been introduced in India."

Not only that, soon, you will be able to chill in an ice bar after those fun rides and attractions, as Priyanka revealed, "We are planning an ice bar upstairs. It was earlier planned, but due to investment, we had to stop the project. We wanted to research a little bit. Probably later this year, we will start the ice bar along with the themed restaurant. The entire floor is coming up with an amazing lounge concept."

Going to an ice-capped hill station may not be feasible for all, but if you are up for chilling, this is can be your go-to place.

-ANI