Everyone wishes to see the snowfall & enjoy the winters and what better place to experience it than the heaven on earth - Kashmir!
Picture this: Snowflakes dancing on your fingertips, mountains draped in pristine white, and the thrill of a fresh adventure in India's crown jewel - Kashmir.
Yes, winter in Kashmir isn't just for brave souls; it's a magical experience that everyone deserves to witness at least once in their lifetime.
My Kashmir trip wasn't planned months in advance. It was a spontaneous decision, when me and my 2 college friends decided to just go and not get stuck in another never ending loop of conversations of where to go and how to manage which as you know, always ends up in plan cancellation!
But even with a whirlwind itinerary (whose credit I would like to give to my local Kashmiri driver who took us around), Kashmir stole my heart. And trust me, it can steal yours too!
Before proceeding to the itinerary,
Let's Conquer Your Common Concerns
If you want to skip to the itinerary, click here
(But this section will be quite helpful for you)
All these questions were asked to me when I shared about my trip on Instagram stories and here, I can answer them all in detail and provide the information you deserve to know.
This section will cover the following questions:
What to wear for a snowy winter vacation in India?
Where to find cozy accommodation that won't break the bank?
How to maximize your chances of witnessing a snowfall wonderland?
Is Kashmir safe?
Are there any good veg restaurants in Srinagar?
What to wear for a snowy winter vacation?
I figured this is a topic which needs a separate blog so click here to read everything in detail. If you already own my Travel DIY Guide, you can refer to it and understand it much better. If not, get yours at for flat 30% off!
Where to find cozy accommodation that won't break the bank?
Well this one is a difficult nut to crack but if done right, can be quite rewarding!
On this trip, since it was so spontaneous, we ended up spending a little more than needed and learnt quite some lessons too which you can now benefit from!
We booked 2 hotels from goibibo and 1 from our driver's recommendation. (That one was the best, tbh)
The first hotel (Hotel Royal Heritage) was decent and I can recommend it to you. We didn't face any issues there.
The second one (Welcome Hotel) was a nightmare and what hurt the most was it was the most expensive hotel we booked in our entire trip!
Literally no support from the management, the staff was nice and did all they could do on their level but the management was super stingy.
I would never ever recommend it to anyone.
The third one (Royal Comfort Regency) which was suggested to us by our driver was a good hotel.
The rooms, staff, food, cleanliness, safety everything was good. And that too at a decent price.
So first thing first, do your research!
I cannot stress on this enough.
People usually end up booking a hotel at some far off place just because it costs them Rs 500 less but don't think that the amount of money they'll spend on transportation would be much more than the 500 Rs saved per day and the commute stress is real.
So it is really important to smartly book your hotel, which not only is of a decent rate but also at a location near to the places you want to visit.
This is a rookie mistake which everyone makes and there are many such mistakes which people make which I have covered and provided solutions for in my Travel DIY ebook.
Trust me, it will literally save your time and money and most importantly - reduce your frustrations and disappointments while traveling.
I've written it based on my travel experiences and I am sure it will help you be a smart traveler. Get it here.
After your research is done and you've found a few hotels that fit your criteria, search on web where you can find it for the cheapest rate. And book it.
OR
Call them and say that you found it at X rate online and would like to book directly with them IF they offer you some discount.
Try your luck, it works most of the time. I have written an example real life script for you in the book to make you understand it and be confident while speaking to them.
Trust me, it will help you book the best hotel based on your needs.
And another best way is to ask your local driver and he would find some good deals for you. Ours did for us and we were quite happy with him.
How to maximise your chances of witnessing a snowfall in Kashmir or anywhere in India?
First thing first, snow falls only during winter season. (At least at this stage of global warming)
Whereas you can find snow at high altitudes quite often even during other seasons.
So if you are okay with just seeing snow, you can in any season at very high altitudes but if you want to witness snowfall then I would suggest you to visit from November end - March and based on previous data, January and March usually have higher chances of snowfall in Kashmir. Although this year at this time (Till 19th January, 2024) it hasn't happened yet due to global warming (let's pray and hope it does soon)
So there is really no way anyone can predict when snowfall will happen in advance. You can always refer to the weather app though and see their predictions. If you see that there are low temperatures and high precipitation or cloudy weather expected on some days, chances are that snow will fall on those days.
You can check the weather app for Sonmarg, Gulmarg and Pahalgam areas since those are the places you would love to experience them more than in Srinagar.
Is Kashmir safe?
Well I can only share based on my experiences of visiting kashmir multiple times and what I've heard from my friends and acquaintances who visited and one thing that we all felt was safety and warmth.
The tourists are always treated with respect and the locals are always so warm and friendly and always try to help you in any way they can.
I've been to many popular touristy places across India and I can safely say that the locals of Kashmir are in my Top 3 list of the friendliest locals of any touristy destination.
We were 3 girls who went on this trip and we never felt unsafe at any moment of the trip. It was their first visit to Kashmir (for my other 2 friends with me) and the first day they acted very cautiously and asked a thousand questions regarding safety but once they spent a few hours actually living there and experiencing the place, they were shocked to see how different it is from what it's shown on the TV.
Ofcourse you've to follow general safety rules here as you would at your home town or any place you visit but that's all.
Are there any good veg restaurants in Srinagar?
Yes!
Unlike what people think, Srinagar does have vegetarian restaurant options and they are quite yum too. Infact, we had more veg than non-veg during our entire trip! There's something about the Veg Kolhapuri Sabzi there in Srinagar which pulls me towards it and I end up ordering it over anything else! It's so YUM!
Well, here's a list of places I liked, has great reviews and worth a try!
Delhi Rasoi
and there are many more which I saw but didn't get the chance to visit. So be rest assured that you'll get good pure veg food in Srinagar.
Now coming to the...
Itinerary
Day 1:
Landing in Srinagar, finding the best veggie eats in town.
We landed from Lucknow to Srinagar via Delhi at 5:20 pm in the evening and we booked a pre-paid taxi from the taxi booth and it didn't take more than 2 minutes.
Reached our pre-booked hotel by 6pm and it was already dark by this time.
We freshened up a bit and went out for a walk and to find some restaurants as we were now quite hungry too!
So anyway we went to Vishal dhaba and had some scrumptious veg food and then we came back to our hotel by taking a rickshaw and meanwhile kept looking at the transport options, asking people for rates etc, then we roamed around in the hotel, had some fun since we all met after so long and finally went to our room and slept early to feel fresh for the upcoming exciting day!
Highlight of the day: The food and stay was amazing, we didn't have any problem with it so everything went on smoothly and the best thing was we found a driver who gave us the best rate available and we booked him for the next day! Overall, a good day :)
Day 2:
Today is SNOW day!! Sledging, snow angels, and hot chai - winter wonderland at its finest!
We came to Kashmir just to witness the snowfall so the first thing we asked the driver was where are we going?
We want to see the snow! So he asked us to get ready as soon as possible and said we would be going to Gulmarg!
We got ready, had the buffet breakfast at the hotel and checked out by 9:30am.
Today, we had to check in to another hotel which had a view of Dal lake!
Anyway we did all the formalities and left for Gulmarg by 10am.
On the way, there was a wholesale market and our driver stopped there and we bought some pherans and the rates were much much lower than the main market! Also, the shopkeepers were super friendly and they gave us some hot chai in that cold weather and after our quick shopping session and friendly chat with the shopkeepers, we resumed our journey.
It was 10:30 am and we reached Tangmarg by 11:40 am.
In Tangmarg, we rented shoe boots and an overcoat jacket for a few hours and continued our journey to Gulmarg.
The journey from Tangmarg to Gulmarg was one of the most memorable part of the day!
It started snowing on the way and the views were to die for!
See them for yourself !!
It was snowing upon reaching Gulmarg, roughly around 12:30pm, and we reached and had a blast. We hired a photographer and booked a sledge ride and enjoyed the snow and experienced it to the fullest for 2 hours!
2:49 -6:25 pm : after that we returned back to srinagar and had scrumptious veg dinner at delhi rasoi which is on the dal lake road. Our hotel was also next to it.
And next day we decided to go to pahalgam.
P.S: Yes we were damn tired and extremely happy from our snow experience but we were also damn dirty 🤭 So we all turned up the heater, braced ourselves and had a warm nice bath. And snuggled up inside the warm blankets!
Day 3:
Pahalgam's Rustic Charm: Horseback rides through snow-dusted valleys and discovering Pahalgam's hidden gems - all while learning the art of finding joy in the ordinary.
Woke up around 7:30am in welcome hotel srinagar, had our breakfast, freshened up, started the morning slow and got ready and were on road by 11:30am.
Reached Pahalgam within 1.5 hours of slow driving where we also stopped and clicked pictures.
Then we saw this river and yes we spent at least 30 minutes here.
The calmness and peace this place offered was simply beautiful and the sound of river water flowing added to the pleasure.
Then our driver took us to the main pahalgam parking spot where many horse riders will come and ask you exorbitant prices for a ride to 2-3 spots.
Our whole monthly salary came to our mind when he quoted the price for 3 horses for all the spots so we politely declined and decided to walk and explore as much as we could.
As we were walking and exploring the beauty of pahalgam, our driver came finding us with a horse man and told us that he had convinced him to take us in reasonable prices. We didnt want to but since the driver made so much efforts and we didnt know when we would return here, we took his offer and went down again to start the horse ride. The horse riders have a really tough job and I admired their strength and will to be as excited as us while taking us around and exploring the area. This thing is worth learning from them. Finding joy in the mundane.
Anyway, we explored and after the 2 hour exploration with the help of horses, we returned back to the parking spot and started our journey back to srinagar.
On the way, we stopped at a dry fruits wholesale shop and got some for our families. This is the place where we got it from.
And yes you guessed it right! We were hungryyyy! We had heard a lot about Ahdoos so we decided to have our dinner there and let me just say that it was not worth our expectation. We liked the normal restaurants better.
Anyway, we were so tired we just went to pack and sleep as next day we decided to switch hotels as welcome hotel didnt seem so welcoming to us and we had a lot of issues there. It had good reviews so I dont know if it was just our experience or they genuinely offer bad service. The staff who was doing the work was amazing no doubt but the management were the real problem.
Day 4:
Unveiling Srinagar's secrets - the serene boulevard, Nishat Bagh's autumnal charm, Hazratbal's spiritual aura, and a magical shikara ride on Dal Lake. Treasure hunting in bustling markets and discovering the best pashmina finds.
Had our breakfast and were ready to shift to another hotel which our driver recommended. I wish we had stayed here for the last 2 nights too, the staff, service, food , room everything was amazing here at much lesser price.
Today our agenda was to explore Srinagar.
We started with the boulevard road around 11:30am, there were no tourists surprisingly at this time so we enjoyed a lot, then went to Nishat Bagh, it still had those chinar leaves and we were pleasantly surprised by it and admired their beauty.
And after spending around 30-45 minutes here, we proceeded to hazratbal dargah.
The small market outside it is also a must visit if you want to get some souvenirs, things for yourself at a lesser rate than the main dal lake market.
After that we had lunch at a small restaurant near the dargah called Shawarma Hut and proceeded to do the shikara ride at dal lake.
We also wanted to shop a little so our driver took us to a wholesale market where the rates were genuinely lesser than the main touristy area and we took a few warm kurtis, shawls from there.
Then we went to dal lake for our shikara ride. On our shikara ride, our rider suggested us a place for pashmina shawl on the floating markets and we loved it!
Got many pashmina scarfs and shawls and the quality was amazing.Then we returned back to our hotel and packed everything.
Tomorrow early morning, we had to return back home. We ordered a few things to eat in the room itself from the hotel's restaurant called Lazeez as it was too cold outside and we were tired and the food here was amazing too.
Day 5
Back home!
Packed our bags and went to the airport, bid adieu to our driver and tipped him well for not only showing us kashmir but taking care of us and literally taking us to the best places to shop with the best rates.
How do we know that?
We at first, didnt trust him enough and went to other shops too which were famous and were disappointed by the prices but whichever places he suggested offered us a good deal. He became our guardian and took care of us like one.
So here’s a summary of all the places we visited:
Day 1: Reached Srinagar in the evening, took a pre-paid taxi to hotel, had dinner and booked our driver for the rest of our trip.
Day 2: Srinagar - Tanmarg - Gulmarg - Srinagar
Day 3: Srinagar - Pahalgam - Srinagar
Day 4: Srinagar - local sightseeing.
Day 5: Returned back to home.
Bonus: Beyond the Itinerary
Gurez Valley's untouched beauty, a call to explore gems like Sonmarg, Nigeen Lake, and more!
I’ve been to Kashmir before so I skipped many places I had already visited before and there were also a few other places we wanted to visit but couldn’t which I am mentioning below. If you do have a week in Kashmir, do try to cover these places too.
Gulmarg Gandola phase 1 and 2
Drung Waterfall (on a slight deviation from the way to Gulmarg)
Tulip Garden (around April)
Sonmarg
Nigeen Lake
Betaab Valley
Aru Valley
Doodpathri
Mughal Gardens
Aharbal Waterfall
And a special mention to Gurez Valley.
Take out at least 2 nights to stay in Gurez Valley and explore the places in and around it.
It is open only for a short span of time in the summers and is completely cut off during winters due to very heavy snowfall and extreme cold.
Not many people visit Gurez Valley so it still has that natural charm and since the government is currently promoting Gurez Valley Tourism, the construction of hotels and shops is also in progress currently.
I’d suggest you to visit it before it is fully commercialized to enjoy it’s true beauty.
If you want me to share more about Gurez Valley, comment below so that I know you're looking forward to that blog and motivate me to warm my fingers and type it out for you 🤭
And I know of course, I would’ve missed some important point here which you might be searching for but I have a solution for that too.
What’s better than asking your questions directly to someone who is a local and can help you with all your queries and even make your trip comfortable for you?
Yes I am talking about my driver who helped me and my friends a lot on our trip and since then I have recommended him to many other people and all of them have had extremely good experiences with him.
If you want, I have shared his number to my private newsletter subscribers and you can subscribe to my newsletters too to get more useful information and join a private community where you can ask me anything and be surrounded by many other like-minded people.
If you don't want to be a part of a helpful private group and just want his number, DM me on Instagram with the word “Kashmir driver” and I will send it to you. Can’t share it here for privacy reasons.
Want to know anything else?
Comment down below and I will try to answer to the best of my abilities.
See you on my next blog!
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