TIME OF VISIT: October 2021
One of God’s surreal creations –Kashmir. The snow-kissed mountains, the artsy pine trees, the unadulterated rivers flowing by were all like my childhood imaginations. These only came to reality after setting our feet on this blissful land. If anyone would ask me to describe Kashmir, I doubt I’d be able to stop.
Local commute in Kashmir
You can book a car to drive you through different cities in Kashmir. However, barring Srinagar, to visit tourist destinations in each city, there are local taxi unions. It means the car you hired will drop you at the local taxi point in each city. Depending on your plan, you would have to further rent a local taxi or a pony ride to your final point. E.g., to see Aru valley & Betaab valley in Pahalgam you need to hire a car. But for Baisaran, you need to hire a pony. The rates for respective cities are mentioned in the itinerary below. In Srinagar, you can drive around to all sightseeing points by car booked or you can take an auto as well.
Car charges: The approximate rate is ₹ 2000 per day.
Day 1: Arrive in Srinagar & leave for Pahalgam
Try to reach Srinagar as early as possible. We took the first flight from Mumbai and landed at around 10.30 am. We grabbed a bite on the way & straightaway left for Pahalgam. It’s around 98kms from Srinagar & the ride takes about 2-3 hours depending on the traffic.
You can book a pony ride from the local point of Pahalgam to see nearby places like Baisaran (Mini Switzerland) &, Kashmir Valley. You can also take a taxi to spots like Aru Valley, Betaab Valley & Chandanwari.
Costs: Aru valley & beta valley & Chandanwari ride would cost somewhere around ₹ 1800/- to ₹ 2000/- per car. A pony ride for tourist spots like Baisaran/Kashmir Valley & some local points would be approximately 2000/- per pony.
Tips: The local taxi guys & horse riders would start the quotes from ₹10000/- to ₹12000/-. Use your bargaining skills to the fullest. Also note, they expect you to tip the horse rider. So fix the price accordingly.
Day 2: Tulian Trek
It’s a day trek taking around 8-9 hours which will consume your entire day & energy. But it’s all worth it! The Tulian lake is a stunning landscape which has a crystal green water body in the center surrounded by barren hills. When we visited in October, the peaks of the hills were snow-kissed & made it ‘an out of a movie kind of location for us.
We were taken on a pony ride to the picturesque Tulian Valley & from there on it’s a 2-3km thrilling trek on foot till the lake. We spotted some tourists going beyond the valley till the lake on the pony itself. However, not to forget it’s a stone-laden steep hill & it’s way too risky to ride a horse on this path.
Enjoy a nice lunch there & return to the base.
Tips: Check the climate if it’s favorable for the trek. Also, try to leave as early as possible to have the entire lake to yourself. You don't need a separate guide, the horse riders will guide you up till the take.
Costs: Ideal cost would be around ₹ 4000/- per person. We tipped them ₹500/- per rider as they were really helpful in the climb, making sure none of us fell off. They also helped us carry our bags & luggage when the climb on the top got difficult.
Day 3: Gulmarg
Leave early morning from Pahalgam. The distance to Gulmarg is around 150 km and takes approximately 3 hours to reach. Gondola ride up to phase 2 is highly recommended (13780 ft above sea level). Don’t forget this one is the longest & highest gondola ride in Asia & the second highest & longest in the world. If you’re a sucker for unconventional views & adventures, climb up further from phase 2 till 15000 ft. to get a view of the gorgeous Alpathar lake. It was nothing less than a winter wonderland for us. We visited during winters so could only see the lake from the top. However, during summers, people trek down to the lake & set up their camps to enjoy the zen life.
There are tons of hotels at Gulmarg where you can spend the night.
Tips:
# Hire a guide to save time on long queues of the gondola ride. Our guide charged us 800/-right till the lake & back.
# Once you reach phase 1 don’t wait to explore phase 1. Directly head to phase 2 as the tickets for this phase are limited. Also, sometimes if the weather is too harsh, phase 2 shuts down fast.
# If you don’t have the right footwear, rent your snow boots from downtown before starting the climb for Gulmarg. The charges are ₹ 100/- per pair for a day.
#You can also make a day trip from Srinagar to Gulmarg & return in the evening.
Costs: Gondola ticket phase1: ₹ 750/-
Gondola ticket for phase 2: ₹ 950/-
Day 4: Sonamarg
Leave early morning for Sonamarg. Both of us are sunrise chasers so you would find all of our journeys starting way too early than most itineraries you refer to. The distance from Gulmarg to Sonamarg is around 124kms & it takes about 3 hours approximately to reach.
Honestly, after Gulmarg, Sonamarg seemed a little underrated. But certainly, we can’t deny it has a charm & beauty of its own.
After reaching at around 9.30 am, we booked our ride for the Zojila pass with the local taxis. This 25km ride is sure to keep you on the edge. Like literally! It’s this one fine narrow road pass that climbs the Himalayan mountain which offers stunning landscapes of Baltal & Matayen. This nerve-wracking drive links Srinagar to Ladakh. Other than the scenic beauty this pass also offers military history as it connects to Drass & Kargil.
Enjoying the sounds of gushing green waters & the settling sun, we spent the second half of the day lazing by the quaint Sindhu river.
Day 5: Thajwaas/Poshpatri glacier + Dal Lake, Srinagar
We started our pony ride at around 8.30am . To be very honest, we expected some magical, postcard kind of landscapes after listening to the names of the locations. But sadly to our disappointment, it wasn’t anywhere close to our imagination. However, just to highlight, there is no corner in the Kashmiri mountains which is not charming. So the ride in itself was a beautiful one.
We returned to the drop-off point by 12 pm.
Costs : Zojila pass(car ride) + Thajwaas glacier, Poshpatri glacier(pony ride): ₹ 3250/- per person.
Tips: Try to book both the points (Thajwass/Poshpatri & Zojila) with the same guy to get a better rate.
Important: Sonamarg roads are closed for 5 months due to heavy snowfall; from approximately from November to March. So the activities during this time might be different or completely shut.
We immediately left for Srinagar after the ride. The distance is approximately 80kms & it took us almost 2 hours to reach the city. We dropped our bags, had a quick bite at a small little joint serving mouthwatering food- Winterfell café.
We then booked a Shikara ride for sunset at Dal lake.
Day 6: Doodhpatri, Botanical gardens, Chasme Shahi gardens, Pari Mahal.
Grass-laden meadows with a milk-like river flowing amidst a bunch of pine trees. Does it re-create the childhood kind of scenery in your head? This somewhat describes the Doodhpatri valley.
We enjoyed the drive through the valley & spent some time along the river side. We also stopped by at a local farmer’s apple orchard and we were nothing less than kids in the nature park trail. I can’t even explain how delicious the local apples are! MUST MUST TRY!
We reached Srinagar at around 1 pm, hogged on some local delicacies at Ahdoo’s, and headed to see the local Mughal gardens in Srinagar.
Oh, there are quite a few of them! And all are pretty. We covered Chasme Shahi, Pari Mahal & Botanical gardens on this day.
Cost: ₹ 24/- entry each for Chasme Shahi, Pari Mahal & Botanical gardens. We booked an auto from our hotel for these local places and the guy charged us ₹ 600/- to drop us back at the hotel.
Day 7: Shalimar garden, Nishat Bagh, local shopping, stay at Houseboat.
It was a spoiler day for us as the rain Gods decided to bless us with some foggy weather & heavy showers. We couldn’t explore to the fullest but managed to see the Shalimar & Nishat gardens. To not dampen our spirits any further, we indulged in local shopping for dry fruits & some handmade Kashmiri items.
We luckily discovered this adorable cafe Chaijaai. Pretty interiors & amazing food.
Last but not the least we checked in at Shikara at Nigeen lake. We chose to stay at Nigeen instead of Dal lake as it’s less commercial, barely crowded & more serene. Just like we prefer!
Costs: ₹ 24/- entry for each of the Mughal gardens.
Houseboat: We booked Floating heavens at the cost of ₹2800/- per night which was a steal deal, especially for the experience we had. Meals included.
Day 8: Sunrise at Shikara ride at Nigeen Lake, check out & drive back to the airport.
We were just hoping for a better day today wishing for some rays as we had booked the sunrise Shikara ride at Nigeen. No sun though, but we managed to enjoy a chilly cozy ride appreciating the mountain views all to ourselves & chatting away about the locals with our rider.
We checked out after the ride & headed back to the airport.
Restaurants/cafes in Srinagar
1. Winterfell Café
2. Ahdoos
3. Lindz cafe
4. Chai jai.
Safety Tips: Its absolutely safe to travel to Kashmir, especially for tourists. You will see the CRPF at every nook & corner safeguarding the place. Even the locals are extra warm towards the tourists making sure the comfort & safety of their guests.
Feel free to reach out for any questions or informations.
Do check out our Instagram & Facebook page for more trips & updates.
' fill='%23359391'%3e %3cpath d='M46.1538462%2c43.5714286 L41.5%2c50 L36.8461538%2c43.5714286 L36.8670256%2c43.5714286 C36.3173077%2c42.7142857 36%2c41.6851429 36%2c40.5714286 C36%2c37.4854286 38.4535641%2c35 41.5%2c35 C44.5464359%2c35 47%2c37.4854286 47%2c40.5714286 C47%2c41.6851429 46.6826923%2c42.7142857 46.1329744%2c43.5714286 L46.1538462%2c43.5714286 Z M41.4294872%2c39 C40.6150641%2c39 39.9487179%2c39.675 39.9487179%2c40.5 C39.9487179%2c41.325 40.6150641%2c42 41.4294872%2c42 C42.2439103%2c42 42.9102564%2c41.325 42.9102564%2c40.5 C42.9102564%2c39.675 42.2439103%2c39 41.4294872%2c39 L41.4294872%2c39 Z' id='Location-white'%3e%3c/path%3e %3c/g%3e %3c/svg%3e)
