[abhi3284]

Timely thread for me as i am planning a Family Vacation (Me, Wifey and my Daughter) to Kashmir for 6N sometime between 20 Dec - 31 Dec. Have gone through the preset Kashmir Packages on Kesari Website, but the Hotel Stay options listed there did not fascinate me, nor are the Google Ratings that great. I have also contacted a Local Tour Operator in Pune and in discussions with them to customize a Kashmir Tour Package.

Few queries right now at the top of my head. I might have few more later :

1) Is Dec. end a favorable time to visit Kashmir? Am aware it will be extremely cold and maybe snowfall as well, but will certain areas be restricted or blocked for access. I am assuming Jan & Feb to be more extreme than Dec. end.

2) My Plan is to book Flights on my own and hire a Tourist Cab from the time i land in Srinagar till we fly back. I have no idea of what total expenditure i can expect. Will mostly be looking to stay in 3* Hotels. Can someone enlighten me what cost i might be looking at during that time of the year, excluding Flights? Ideally, i would like to restrict my Budget to 1.5L.

3) As @haisaikat has already quoted in his Kashmir Travelogue, is it really not worth staying overnight in a Houseboat on Dal Lake? Especially, during Dec. end. We have already experienced a Houseboat stay in Kerala. Is it anything different?

4) I normally plan our Vacations on my own, including Hotel Bookings. But, not planning to do it for Kashmir as i am not that confident about it. Could you guys suggest any tried and tested Hotels / Resorts in Srinagar, Pahalgam & Gulmarg, that are good for a Family? Not looking for anything lavish.
Think i might need to skip staying at Gulmarg, as the prices i have checked so far are way too high.

5) Regarding Gondola Ride in Gulmarg, hopefully they are operational in Dec. end. I checked the Website and bookings are now open only till Oct. end.

Appreciate if the Forum Members can suggest any other helpful suggestions or tips on anything that i might have missed or overlooked.
Thank you guys. T-Bhp rocks.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

We had a good experience with them. They tailored the plan according to what we wanted to do, and how. They have multiple itineraries and you can work out what suits you best.

The reason for going with them (knowing it was about 30% more expensive)

Look up Kesari / Veena World's website and you'll see a bunch of their itineraries, and then you can call them to set up a private trip.

Hi @libranof1987, when you say 30% expensive, do you mean 30% over and above their Group Tour charges? Or over other Tour Operators you might have consulted. If you dont mind sharing, could you PM me the total cost for your Trip.

Originally Posted by haisaikat

When we did Kashmir in our own car in 2021 Sep, we took care of some of the problems you mentioned by
1. Contracting a tour operator who has top ratings on Trip Advisor, I sent 3 more families with their reference until last month and everyone continued to come back happy.

I did attempt to make a summary of these things in my TL https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...e-kolkata.html (FALL in love with Kashmir | A 5500 km Innova Crysta venture from Kolkata)

Excellent detailed Travelogue @haisaikat, which i am still going through. I have contacted the Tour Operator that you have mentioned and am awaiting an Itinerary from them. Any concerns or red flags with this Tour Operator or it was overall very smooth? Though i do see they are very highly rated. I might PM you more more details about your trip and any suggestions for my Trip. Thanks.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

Have gone through the preset Kashmir Packages on Kesari Website, but the Hotel Stay options listed there did not fascinate me, nor are the Google Ratings that great.

The same happened with me as well, I kept pushing Veena World to find better options. Things might be more difficult for you considering many properties would shut down during the winter.

1) Is Dec. end a favorable time to visit Kashmir? Am aware it will be extremely cold and maybe snowfall as well, but will certain areas be restricted or blocked for access.

Depends on what you want to do. All the attractions are open air, so in that cold, you might be less inclined to go out sightseeing. If you want to do skiing, nothing like Dec.

Check my travelogue for our itinerary; I wouldn't be able to do most those things in the winter.

2) My Plan is to book Flights on my own and hire a Tourist Cab from the time i land in Srinagar till we fly back. I have no idea of what total expenditure i can expect. Will mostly be looking to stay in 3* Hotels. Can someone enlighten me what cost i might be looking at during that time of the year, excluding Flights? Ideally, i would like to restrict my Budget to 1.5L.

I wish I could help; have no idea about seasonal rates. Kashmir in general is expensive, and worse, every district has its own taxi union so you're going to have to deal with getting a cab in each of Srinagar, Gulmarg, Sonmarg and Pahalgam.

Next, don't skimp on hotels. Just reviews extensively, call up and check their winter preparedness. You don't want to land up there and realize the hotel doesn't have central heating or proper insulation, 24*7 hot water etc. If some hotels are very expensive and some very cheap, be reasonably sure there's a reason why. [I remember reading some reviews where guests complained that there weren't heaters and instead they were just given extra blankets. They hotels we stayed in had bed warmers - controlled by a remote control]

Do note that a lot of places, especially in places such as Gulmarg and Pahalgam shut down for the winter.

While Dec isn't peak season for the average Indian tourist, it is peak season for foreign tourists (for skiing), especially Gulmarg.

3) As @haisaikat has already quoted in his Kashmir Travelogue, is it really not worth staying overnight in a Houseboat on Dal Lake? Especially, during Dec. end. We have already experienced a Houseboat stay in Kerala. Is it anything different?

Absolutely not worth. The water is filthy, there is nothing to do once you're on them, because unlike in Kerala where the houseboats move, the ones in Kashmir are stationary, you'll need a shikara ride to come to mainland, and it's going to be very cold in Dec so you'll be confined inside.

Just take an hour long shikara ride and you're set.

4) I normally plan our Vacations on my own, including Hotel Bookings. But, not planning to do it for Kashmir as i am not that confident about it. Could you guys suggest any tried and tested Hotels / Resorts in Srinagar, Pahalgam & Gulmarg, that are good for a Family?

Likewise. We book all our trips ourselves as well, but the uncertainty in hotel quality / availability and logistics is why we choose to go through a travel agency.

The Regenta Central in Srinagar is really good. It is bang in the VIP area, about a 5min drive from Dal lake and just a min walk from the river front.

5) Regarding Gondola Ride in Gulmarg, hopefully they are operational in Dec. end. I checked the Website and bookings are now open only till Oct. end.

It should be operational but make sure you keep tracking the website to get the booking. Tickets are now only online and demand >> supply (at least back in summer); our tickets were messed up by the tour agency so we ended up not being to able to do it.

Hi @libranof1987, when you say 30% expensive, do you mean 30% over and above their Group Tour charges? Or over other Tour Operators you might have consulted. If you dont mind sharing, could you PM me the total cost for your Trip.

30% more expensive than if you were to book everything yourself. The group tours are even cheaper.

Check my travelogue here.

[haisaikat]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

Is Dec. end a favorable time to visit Kashmir?

Plan is to book Flights on my own and hire a Tourist Cab from the time i land in Srinagar till we fly back.

We have already experienced a Houseboat stay in Kerala. Is it anything different?

Regarding Gondola Ride in Gulmarg, hopefully they are operational in Dec. end.

Any concerns or red flags with this Tour Operator or it was overall very smooth

Hi Abhi,
I echo what libranof1987 has said about winter. Although a lot of tourists visit Kashmir during December to February timeframe, sudden snowfall is sure to choke roads, we experienced this in Pahalgam as early as late October, although preparedness may be better in winter months. Dal lake in peak winter can also freeze and house boats does not seem to be architecturally suitable for central heating, electric bed warmers may be at the most applied. Its a compromise of convenience. Summers are best for houseboat stay to experience in full glory, read a book, sit out in the porch and enjoy the view of the Lake and the Shikaras.

If you like winter sports, go to Gulmarg in February, 7 day skiing course are offered by professionals. Otherwise the full glory of Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonmarg without the green view of May - October is incomplete. Check the Thajiwas trek photos in this post (FALL in love with Kashmir | A 5500 km Innova Crysta venture from Kolkata) from my TL.

Booking on your own is fine and taking cabs from hotel, the drivers are a guide in themselves, they will take you everywhere but you need to ensure that you book in advance and start with sufficient time in hand or else you will miss spots. For example reaching Gulmarg gondola ride entry queue by 9 am or getting to stage 2 first and completing its exploration before exploring stage 1, such things need to be accommodated in your plan. And of course contingency is required, on days of heavy snowfall the Gondola ride closes, especially to stage 2. A tour agency will make these plan on your behalf but you can also make these for yourself, not a rocket science. Also all drivers be it operator or no operator make commission from what you spend starting from horse to shops.

No red flags related to Uzair, they are one of the best.

Remember Kashmir is expensive, not free from union problems (its there in almost all states that are major tourism destinations), lack of enforcement of standardized rates by Government uniformly throughout the state, and similar other elements exists that if you pay too much attention to is sure to spoil your experience. But ignore that and you end up finding the terrain is more beautiful any day than other hilly state of India including the Himalayan ones. Must be experienced at least once in your own convenient way.

[abhi3284]

Originally Posted by haisaikat

Hi Abhi,
I echo what libranof1987 has said about winter. Although a lot of tourists visit Kashmir during December to February timeframe, sudden snowfall is sure to choke roads, we experienced this in Pahalgam as early as late October, although preparedness may be better in winter months. Dal lake in peak winter can also freeze and house boats does not seem to be architecturally suitable for central heating, electric bed warmers may be at the most applied. Its a compromise of convenience. Summers are best for houseboat stay to experience in full glory, read a book, sit out in the porch and enjoy the view of the Lake and the Shikaras.

No red flags related to Uzair, they are one of the best.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Depends on what you want to do. All the attractions are open air, so in that cold, you might be less inclined to go out sightseeing. If you want to do skiing, nothing like Dec.

Next, don't skimp on hotels. Just reviews extensively, call up and check their winter preparedness. You don't want to land up there and realize the hotel doesn't have central heating or proper insulation, 24*7 hot water etc.

Do note that a lot of places, especially in places such as Gulmarg and Pahalgam shut down for the winter.

While Dec isn't peak season for the average Indian tourist, it is peak season for foreign tourists (for skiing), especially Gulmarg.

Absolutely not worth. The water is filthy, there is nothing to do once you're on them, because unlike in Kerala where the houseboats move, the ones in Kashmir are stationary, you'll need a shikara ride to come to mainland, and it's going to be very cold in Dec so you'll be confined inside.

Just take an hour long shikara ride and you're set.

Thanks a ton @haisaikat & @libranof1987 for sharing your suggestions and valuable tips. Will surely be helpful for my Trip.

Flights booked and I have made further progress and going ahead with Uzair for my Hotel Bookings and Car + Driver/Guide. The Overall Package Cost for 7N he quoted me is surprisingly less than what i had anticipated. Of course it will increase with more better choice of Hotels. I am still contemplating a Houseboat Stay for 1N as my Wife is very keen for it and Uzair has assured Houseboat as well as the Hotels he has suggested will be having Centralized Heating or Bed Warmers.

Here's hoping everything goes to plan and the Weather Gods are kind on us, allowing us to explore the beauty of Kashmir during Winters. Am slightly nervous about my visit to Kashmir as we will be going to unknown territory but at the same time excited as well. Really looking forward to pen down my 2nd Travelogue in T-Bhp, after i did my 1st Sikkim / Darjeeling Travelogue a couple of years ago.

Cheers Guys. Thanks again.

[dass]

Any suggestions for a one night stay in Pahalgam which is not too expensive? This is for the month of March, for a family of 3. The online reviews and photos of most of the properties don't seem to sync with each other.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by dass

Any suggestions for a one night stay in Pahalgam which is not too expensive? This is for the month of March, for a family of 3.

I stayed in Pahalgam club and convention centre couple of years back. It’s a beautiful government property with helpful staff.

Location is quite good with property situated bang on main road and river Lidder flowing behind. It was decently priced during that time. Being a govt property, I doubt the price will inflate much even in peak season.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/cy7Wnp9bhxuRGKFQ6?g_st=ic

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

We recently travelled to Kashmir, as has most of India in the past few months evidently! Leisure travel to Kashmir has picked up significantly in the recent past; so I thought of creating a thread to share our experiences as things stand today.

Originally Posted by superbad

Everybody knows about the usual touristy places in Kashmir. Some recommendations from my side which are relatively unexplored & more beautiful imo :-

Thanks for sharing this report.
As rightly mentioned above, there’s lot more to Kashmir desires the regular tourist itinerary and high includes Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonmarg.

Places such as Bangus valley, LOLAB valley, Gurez etc have really picked up. Here is a travelogue of these unexplored areas of Kashmir which includes the LoC areas as well. In 2023, LOLAB valley bagged the Best offbeat Destination of India, and while in 2022 it was Gurez valley.

Link: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...loc-drive.html (Unseen Kashmir: The LoC drive)

[shipnil]

Hello, I am planning a trip to Kashmir in the second week of May. It would be a short trip of about 4 days. Which are areas where I may find snow in the month of May? Gulmarg is logical answer but I was able to secure tickets only for the 1st leg of Gondola ride. So not very sure about Gulmarg.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Gulmarg is logical answer but I was able to secure tickets only for the 1st leg of Gondola ride. So not very sure about Gulmarg.

You can take a horse ride to the 2nd stage where you should find plenty snow. Sonmarg too has snow, but a) it's on the Srinagar - Leh highway, which is very prone to roadblocks due to snow, b) you have to take an hour long horse ride through fairly rocky hills to get to the snow - it's quite uncomfortable.

Doodhpatri is fairly less crowded, and quite beautiful.

Lastly, Chandanwari valley (post Pahalgam) has a large patch of snow where there's generally a huge crowd.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

You can take a horse ride to the 2nd stage where you should find plenty snow.

Thanks a lot for this info! Any idea how long does the horse ride take to reach 2nd stage. The tickets I have are for afternoon 1.30 pm slot. I don't know how much time would we get before the return Gondola ride closing time.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Sonmarg too has snow, but a) it's on the Srinagar - Leh highway, which is very prone to roadblocks due to snow

Lastly, Chandanwari valley (post Pahalgam) has a large patch of snow where there's generally a huge crowd.

Amongst the two, Sonmarg and Chandawari, which one would you recommend? I'd be taking my two kids to the Himalayas for the first time and they haven't seen snow yet.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Hello, I am planning a trip to Kashmir in the second week of May.

I am back from a short trip to Kashmir or as others say, Cash-mir, as everything costs a bit and forced tipping is quite prevalent

I'll just pen down quick observations and not a detailed log.

1. Srinagar is over-rated. I feel only the 1 hour Shikara ride is enough and instead of visiting places in Srinagar, one should limit it one garden like Nishat Garden. Others like Parimahal or Chashmeshahi or Botanical garden and other are gardens only. If you can plan, plan to land and visit two places like Dal Lake and Garden in the morning and go to other places like Pahalgam or Gulmarg for overnight stay.
2. The vistas are good around Pahalgam and Gulmarg. If you are able to plan in advance, try to find hotels closer to the river in Pahalgam. It will give you a nice experience.
3. In Pahalgam, among Aru-Betaab-Chandanwadi, Aru is good while Chandanwadi and Betaab are okay. If you want to see snow then go to Chandanwadi. But the snow was quite hard/slippery compared to Gulmarg.
4. Betaab is nothing but a big garden with high entrance fee. Also, with local taxi union controlling the fare and the time (1 hr per place) you can spend at each of the spot, you are unable to enjoy it at a leisurly pace.
5. People have also suggested to visit Mini Switzerland in Pahalgam. But you have to go on horses. As we had visited Vaishno Devi temple, we have had our fill of horse ride and the associated body ache, we skipped Mini Switzerland.
6. As other have mentioned, you should visite Gulmarg only if you have Gondola ride tickets. I must say, you should plan only if you have tickets to both phases. We had tickets of phase 1 only but from there too I could make out how beautiful phase 2 would look.
7. Phase 1 had decent snow, at the start of May. You could do sleighing, snow mobile ride etc. But these are expensive. Snow mobile, 1k for short ride and 2k for long ride.
8. You can reach Phase 1 on horse too if you don't have Gondola tickets. But I did not see anyone going on horse to Phase 2.
9. Gulmarg Gondola entrance was a mess after 11 am. Long queues and lot of guides taking money from few tourists and pushing them ahead of queue by force. We had lot of arguments with those tourists / guides but they just ignored. If possible, I'd say try to reach by 9 or 10 am at Gondola entrance or better still if budget permits, stay in Gulmarg.
10. Accomodation in Gulmarg could be expensive. One of my relative stayed in Gulmarg around the same time I was visiting and had to pay around 10k per night in an average hotel. I saw a few hotels in Tangmerg. I think they could be cheaper and the time to Gulmarg would be about 45 mins.

About taxi, even if you hire a taxi for 4-5 days, the taxi driver would not bat for you but rather try to fool you every step of the way.

I had hired one from Jammu. He always used to stop only at Vaishno Dhabas. I think they have some kind of tacit understanding. The food used to be okay but the overall feel would be of cheaper eateries. We got tired of eating same stuff every day.

When it came to hotel accomodations, he insisted we book hotels only if they have driver accomodation. This wasn't told to us at the time of booking the taxi by the booking agent. In other states where I travelled, the driver would sleep in driver room if it is available else in the car.
This complicated hotel bookings for us. Luckily I hadn't booked any hotel in advance but even for spot booking, I had to visit multiple hotels to finalize our requirement as the drivers'.

The driver also tried to trick us in Gulmarg. There are two roads to enter Gulmarg. One takes you directly closer to Gondola and the other is a longer route that takes you to a place where the horse and their handlers wait, which is on the opposites side of Gondola near a temple. Inspite of having Gondola tickets, he deliberately avoided the first one and took us to horse area where we were swarmed with the handlers. The area is quite some distance from Gondola entrance. Our driver said you can walk or take a horse to Gondola entrance. I think he was trying to make quick buck with a cut from horse handlers. But I was able to see that a lot of vehicles are going to Gondola entrance and asked our driver to take there which he reluctantly did.

[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by shipnil

I had hired one from Jammu. He always used to stop only at Vaishno Dhabas. I think they have some kind of tacit understanding. The food used to be okay but the overall feel would be of cheaper eateries. We got tired of eating same stuff every day.

It is always better to hire drivers in advance through references. There are a lot of Jammu people who only eat at certain restros when in Kashmir and avoid others due to their own local and personal reasons. Some won't take you to a tea stall run by a 'bhakkarwal' who as per my experience have the best tea. Vaishno dhaba is a safe bet for such people.

Taxi drivers from Jammu have a lot of commission fixed with all kinds of businesses. That is normal anywhere for drivers.

Recently I had arranged a driver with an Innova for a friend's family from Jammu to various places in Kashmir. They had a great time and loved the vaishno dhabas given they are a vegetarian family. The costs they incurred were far less than what they would have incurred without reference. They stayed in 4 star hotels wherever they went and changed hotel almost everyday.

What they did not like was the way of talking of small business owners and they got so pissed off that they would never again visit Kashmir now. It mostly comes down to how we interact with businesses and people there. Life for locals is really botched up in Kashmir and once they feel that the tourists are behaving like outsiders, they reciprocate in equal measure.

Kashmir is best seen in own vehicle, though not possible for everyone.

As another member has mentioned about Bangus, there was a time when westerners used to go there in huge numbers. That all has become almost zero for the past many years now. Indians have recently discovered Bangus. Needless to say, the income from tourism is no match compared to what was when foreigners used to flock. One hardly sees gore now.

[raptor_diwan]

I am planning a honeymoon trip to Srinagar and Gulmarg from May 1st to May 15th. Do you have any suggestions on the climate during that time? Will I be able to see snow anywhere? Also, will there be a heavy crowd?

[sobdo]

I am planning a 15/16 day trip to Kashmir starting from May 20th. Whenever I get a holiday, I go on a long drive with my family. I have previously visited Rajasthan, Ooty-Mysore, Tawang, Nainital, etc. And I often travel around Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha, which are close to my home. Weekend soujorns in West Bengal are also a regular occurrence. I request HVK Sir, other experienced travellers and those who have recently visited Kashmir to give their thoughtful opinions on planning my upcoming Kashmir trip.
The following is the outline of the trip:
Day 1: Santiniketan to Azamgarh or Lucknow (650-750 KMs)
Day 2: Azamgarh/Lucknow to Agra, Mathura or Vrindavan (650-750 KMs)
Day 3: Agra, Mathura or Vrindavan to Pathankot (700-750 KMs)
Day 4: Pathankot-Udhampur-Achabal-Chatpal (400-450 KMs)
Day 5: Chatpal – Pahalgam (ABC Valley) -Awantipur Ruins – Srinagar (200 Kms)
Day 6: Srinagar Local Tour
Day 7: Srinagar – Sonamarg – Zojila Pass (if possible) (200 KMs)
Day 8: Srinagar – Gulmag – Walur Lake (night stay at Sopore/Bandipora) (150 KMs)
Day 9: Bandipur – Gurez Valley – Srinagar (200 KMs)
Day 10: Srinagar – Doodhpatri – Yusmarg – Banihal or Udhampur (200-300 KMs)
Day 11: Banihal or Udjampur – Amritsar (Local tour though previously visited want to go only to Durgiana Mandir and Golden Temple) (400 KMs)
Day 12: Amritsar – Agra (Previously visited) (750 KMs)
Day 13: Agra – Gazipur (800 KMs)
Day 14: Gazipur – Santiniketan (600 KMs)
I have kept 1-2 days for contingency/reserve

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by sobdo

Day 5: Chatpal – Pahalgam (ABC Valley) -Awantipur Ruins – Srinagar (200 Kms)
Day 6: Srinagar Local Tour
Day 7: Srinagar – Sonamarg – Zojila Pass (if possible) (200 KMs)

Doing the ABC valleys in Pahalgam and Awantipur on the same day will be quite difficult. Even if you are at the taxi union parking spot say at 9am, it'll take you five - six hours easily to visit all the three valleys, assuming an hour at each and then travel to valleys A and C (B is enroute C). Then traveling an hour and half to Awantipura ruins will cut it too short.

Traffic at Pahalgam can be quite unpredictable, especially since they're all single lane mountain roads.

Additionally, you should target to leave Srinagar by 7-7.30 to go to Sonmarg as traffic is terrible on that road, which is essentially the Srinagar - Leh highway. We left at 7.15am and reached Sonmarg by 9am, but when we were returning around noon, traffic was piled up for hours. It was also stationary for several hours. We had intended to do Zozila pass as well, but it was impossible as traffic had been halted overnight.

Just a day for Srinagar may be too less, there's plenty you can visit.