Romancing the Snow in Kashmir

Budget friendly, yet clean and luxurious, Shelter's houseboats are the best place to stay in Kashmir. the staff is warm and cordial, and always at your service. They are happy to accommodate requests from the guests and make them feel at home. The rooms are neat and clean, with lavish decors. They have heating options for cold nights and 24hrs hot water supply (which is a great and essential thing in Kashmir).

A centuries old ruins symbolizing the history of Hindu culture in the region. There are guides who will show you around. There is not a lot to see, but without someone telling you what you are looking at, you will probably be at a loss to understand the significance of the place.

You will mostly be spending 2-3 hrs here, but the drive from Srinagar to Pahalgam will itself take 3 hrs, considering that you might be stopping enroute at the Avantiswamin temple and a few other spots like Marthand temple (if you want to) or go dry fruits shopping / bat shopping. At Pahalgam, you will have to hire ponies to go around the various spots. Our houseboat manager told us what would be a decent rate for the ponies and how much to bargain. We paid Rs.850 per pony for 3 spots. As the kid was too small to sit on a pony by himself, he shared the pony with one of us. There is no need to be scared, for the Pony wallahs are always in control of their animals.

You can spend a day visiting all the gardens in Srinagar - Tulip Gardens, Shalimar, Nishat and Chashmeshahi. The gardens are well maintained and beautifully landscaped. It is enthralling to be surrounded by such greenery and riot of colors. However, if you want to see the gardens in full bloom, the best time to visit is May-June. When we were there, the flowers had just started to bloom, so even though they did look beautiful, we couldn't see them in all their splendor.

We had our first tryst with Snow at Sonamarg, where it seems snow can be found 6 months of the year. You can try the sledges and skiing, or just fool around in the snow. We made a cool snowman much to the excitement of your young one. You need heavy gum boots and cloaks to visit Sonamarg. These are available on hire just a few kilometres before Sonamarg, as are the ponies that will take you to the main spot. The warm clothing can be hired for around 350 per person (good bargaining skills do come in handy).

The main attraction at Gulmarg is the Gondola ride, a 15-20 minute cable car ride. These rides can be booked online for about Rs.600 per person (kids above 3 years are fully charged for). There are 2 phases in Gulmarg. The first phase is the first stop in the cable car ride and the second phase is the highest and the farthest point. It is said that the LoC is visible from the second phase. However, we did not visit second phase since it was snowing heavily, so there was anyway no point as we could not see anything. Also our hotel manager advised us against it since the oxygen levels are very low up there and it might cause the kid some discomfort. However, the first phase is more than enough. Here again you have sledges, skis and ice scooters. Gulmarg is the only place in Kashmir where the service providers of sledge, skis etc. will leave you harrowed with their constant peddling. We had a tough time enjoying the wonderful place with all these peddlers constantly at our back insisting we try the ski or sledge or ice scooter. We did give in and tried the ice scooter, which turned out to be too costly for a small 5 min ride (and one in which my eyes were closed all the time due to the snowfall). Nevertheless, seeing, touching and feeling snow for the first time was an experience to remember for us.