Kashmir Tour Package 5 Nights 6 Days

Into the Meadow of Flowers: Gulmarg lies about 50 km west, roughly two hours through rice paddy and poplar avenue before the road climbs into pine. The name was given by Sultan Yousuf Shah Chak in the 16th century, and in summer the bowl genuinely does turn over with wildflowers.

The Gondola: The cable car runs in two phases. Phase 1 lifts you to Kongdoori at around 10,000 ft. Phase 2 continues to Apharwat Peak at roughly 13,000 ft, where snow lies deep into June. Phase 2 is the one worth doing and the one most likely to be shut for wind.

A Serious Ski Mountain: Gulmarg is one of Asia leading ski destinations. It has hosted the Khelo India Winter Games, and the off-piste powder here draws skiers who would otherwise be in the Alps.

Afternoon: Walk the meadow, then return to Srinagar by evening.

• Top Places to Cover: Gulmarg Gondola Phase 1 and Phase 2, Apharwat Peak, Gulmarg Golf Course, St Mary Church, Strawberry Valley.
• Importance of Each Place: The Gondola is among the highest cable cars in the world. Gulmarg Golf Course, laid out by the British in 1911, sits at about 8,700 ft and is one of the highest anywhere. St Mary Church is a small Victorian stone chapel from 1902, usually completely empty and worth two minutes of your time.
• Things to Know: Gondola tickets are sold on the day by the operating corporation and cannot be pre-booked by any travel agent. Go to the counter early. Pony and sledge operators work to union rates and quote high, so fix the price before you set off rather than after.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Overnight: Srinagar

Through Saffron Country: Pahalgam lies about 90 km south-east, two and a half hours by road. You pass Pampore, where almost all of India saffron is grown on terraced karewa soil, and Bijbehara, where the workshops stacked with pale willow clefts are making cricket bats.

Arrive in the Shepherd Village: Pahalgam sits at roughly 7,200 ft where the Lidder river comes down from the Kolahoi glacier. The name means village of shepherds, and Gujjar and Bakarwal herders still bring flocks through in summer.

Betaab Valley: Named after the 1983 Sunny Deol film shot here, and the name stuck so completely that the older name is now forgotten. Deodar on both slopes, the Lidder running through the middle.

Aru Valley: Twelve kilometres further up, quieter, and the trailhead for the Kolahoi glacier and Tarsar Marsar treks. Chandanwari, in the other direction, is where the Amarnath Yatra begins each summer.

• Top Places to Cover: Betaab Valley, Aru Valley, Chandanwari, Baisaran meadow, the Lidder riverbank.
• Importance of Each Place: Betaab is the valley Bollywood made famous. Aru is the gateway to serious Himalayan trekking and feels genuinely remote within twenty minutes of leaving Pahalgam. Chandanwari carries real religious weight as the start of one of India largest annual pilgrimages. Baisaran, reached on foot or by pony, is the meadow people mean when they call Pahalgam mini Switzerland.
• Things to Know: Betaab, Aru and Chandanwari can only be reached by local union taxi. Your own vehicle is stopped at the stand, the rate is fixed by the union, and it is paid on the spot. Budget for it. Pony operators quote per point rather than per hour, so confirm exactly which spots are included before mounting.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Overnight: Pahalgam

A Slow Morning: Walk the Lidder before breakfast, or ride up to Baisaran if you skipped it. Then the drive back to Srinagar, roughly two and a half hours.

The Mughal Gardens: Three terraced gardens on the eastern shore of Dal, built by emperors who treated Kashmir as their summer answer to the heat of Delhi and Agra. Nishat Bagh rises in twelve terraces, one for each sign of the zodiac. Shalimar Bagh was built by Jahangir in 1619 for Nur Jahan. Chashme Shahi, the smallest, is arranged around a natural spring still used for drinking.

Pari Mahal: Above Chashme Shahi sits a ruined terraced palace built by Dara Shikoh as a school of astrology. Fewer visitors, better view over the whole lake.

Night on the Water: Tonight you stay on a houseboat. The cedar panelling, carved walnut furniture and shallow verandah over the water are the same design the British commissioned in the 1880s.

• Top Places to Cover: Nishat Bagh, Shalimar Bagh, Chashme Shahi, Pari Mahal, Shankaracharya Temple.
• Importance of Each Place: The Mughal gardens are the finest surviving examples of the charbagh layout in India, built on a hillside rather than flat ground, which is what makes them unusual. Shankaracharya Temple, on the hill above the city, dates in parts to the 9th century and gives the widest view of Srinagar you will get.
• Things to Know: Each garden charges a small separate entry fee. Tulip season at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden nearby runs for roughly three weeks between late March and mid-April and is worth planning around. Shankaracharya requires a short climb and photography is restricted near the top.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Overnight: Srinagar houseboat

The Meadow of Gold: Sonmarg lies about 80 km north-east, roughly two and a half hours along the Sindh river. It sits at 8,650 ft and is the last town before the Zojila pass, which is the road to Ladakh.

Thajiwas Glacier: The main draw. Ponies run from the road head and the walk takes around an hour each way over moraine and meadow. Even in July there is ice at the snout, and in spring the whole approach is under snow.

The Drive Itself: This road is as much the point as the destination. The Sindh runs beside you the whole way, with trout streams, army convoys and pine slopes rising sharply on both sides.

Return: Back to Srinagar by evening, with time for the Boulevard or a last shikara.

• Top Places to Cover: Thajiwas Glacier, Sonmarg meadow, the Sindh river valley, Zojila viewpoint, Baltal.
• Importance of Each Place: Thajiwas is the most accessible glacier in Kashmir, reachable without any trekking experience. Zojila at about 11,500 ft is the strategic pass connecting Kashmir to Ladakh and is closed by snow for several months a year. Baltal is the northern base camp for the Amarnath Yatra.
• Things to Know: Sonmarg is usually cut off between December and March when Zojila and the approach road close, so this day is dropped in deep winter and replaced with local Srinagar sightseeing. Pony rates to Thajiwas are union-set and quoted per person; agree before mounting. Carry a windproof layer even in July.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Overnight: Srinagar

Last Morning: Breakfast, then check out. If your flight is later in the day there is time for the Old City, which most visitors never see at all.

The Old City: Jamia Masjid at Nowhatta was founded in 1394 and its prayer hall is held up by 378 deodar pillars, each a single trunk. The lanes around Zaina Kadal are where the papier-mache and walnut-carving workshops still operate, and you can watch pieces being painted rather than just buy them finished.

Hazratbal: The white marble shrine on the western shore of Dal, and the only domed mosque in Kashmir. Worth the stop even briefly.

Transfer: Private transfer to Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport. Allow extra time; security screening at SXR is thorough and there are usually two checks before the terminal.

• Top Places to Cover: Jamia Masjid, Zaina Kadal craft lanes, Hazratbal Shrine, Lal Chowk, Polo View market.
• Importance of Each Place: Jamia Masjid is over six centuries old and built in Indo-Saracenic timber style rather than stone, which makes it architecturally distinct from any other major mosque in India. The Zaina Kadal workshops are where Kashmiri papier-mache is actually made, a craft brought from Persia in the 15th century.
• Things to Know: Reach SXR at least three hours before departure. Kashmiri crafts vary enormously in quality; pashmina in particular is widely faked, so buy from a registered emporium with a certificate rather than a street seller.

Meals: Breakfast | Overnight: Journey ends