Travel style · Kashmir
Family holidays in Kashmir
Short drives, low altitudes, room to run
Family trips that keep drives short and sleeping altitudes sensible: Kumaon lakes, Shimla and the toy train, Darjeeling, Gangtok, Paro and Thimphu. With notes on what children and grandparents can manage.
Photo: Nadeem Hassan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · CommonsWith children and grandparents, altitude and drive time matter most. We keep most nights below 2,500 m, drives under five hours, and add at least one day without a car.
Kashmir is a 135 km long valley at about 1,600 m, ringed by the Pir Panjal and the Great Himalaya. Come April to June for tulips and meadows, September to November for chinar and saffron, January to March for snow in Gulmarg. Six to eight nights covers Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg.
Trips
Family holidays trips in Kashmir
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Comfort
Classic Kashmir: Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam
Private car with driver
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Saver
Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam on a budget
Shared Sumos, the valley train and a shared union taxi in Pahalgam
6 places
Where to go
Photo: Nadeem Hassan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Dachigam National Park
Home of the hangul, 22 km from Srinagar
Photo: Ankur P from Pune, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Doodhpathri
The valley of milk, 42 km from Srinagar
Photo: Skywayman9 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Gulmarg
A ski meadow at 2,650 m with a gondola to Apharwat
Photo: Unknown author · CC0 · Commons
Pahalgam
The shepherds' village where the two Lidder rivers meet
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Srinagar
Houseboats, Mughal gardens and an old city of craftsmen
Photo: Suhail Skindar Sofi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Yusmarg
Pine meadows on the Doodh Ganga, a walk from Nilnag lake
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Jyoti Chaurasia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Morning wildlife walk in lower Dachigam
Lower Dachigam is a broad, gentle valley floor of forest, orchards and meadow along the Dagwan. A guided morning walk o…
Photo: Tahirshawl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Listening for the hangul rut in autumn
In autumn, hangul stags bugle across the forested slopes of Dachigam during the rut. Hearing their calls at dawn, and w…
Photo: Jyoti Chaurasia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Birding along the Dagwan river
The Dagwan river and the mixed forest of lower Dachigam are good for birds, especially in spring when summer visitors a…
Photo: Ankur P from Pune, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Riverbank and meadow walk on the Shaliganga
Walk along the Shaliganga from the main meadow, cross on log bridges, and climb gently to open grassland with views of …
Photo: Ankur P from Pune, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Pony ride from Doodhpathri to Mujpathri
Mujpathri is a small hamlet on the bank of the Shaliganga beyond the main Doodhpathri meadow. A pony ride there and bac…
Photo: MateenSalimBhat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The milk legend and Budgam's herders
Doodhpathri's name ties it to Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani, the Kashmiri saint known as Nund Rishi. A slow morning among …
Photo: Arup1981 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Gondola to the Apharwat ridge
The Gulmarg Gondola climbs in two phases from the meadow to Kongdori and then to the Apharwat ridge close to 4,000 m. I…
Photo: Rudolph.A.furtado · CC0 · Commons
First ski lessons on the Gulmarg nursery slopes
Gulmarg is the best place in India to learn to ski. Gentle slopes near the meadow, rental shops by the gondola and cert…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: McKay Savage · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Budget
Zostel Srinagar
A backpacker hostel in the Nishat area, a short walk from the eastern shore of Dal Lake, with dorm beds, private r…
Photo: Unknown author · CC0 · Commons
Budget
JKTDC Huts and Cottages, Pahalgam
The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation runs cottages and huts in Pahalgam, set among pines near the…
Photo: GharWapsi · CC0 · Commons
Mid
Ahdoos Hotel
A long-established city hotel on Residency Road in central Srinagar, best known for its restaurant, one of the val…
Photo: Chongkian · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Hotel Highlands Park
A heritage hotel from the early 1960s on a rise above the Gulmarg meadow, with a main lodge and separate cottage-s…
Photo: Suneeta3 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
The Pahalgam Hotel
One of Pahalgam's oldest hotels, established in the early 1930s, set in gardens above the Lidder with rooms and su…
Photo: Vinayaraj · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
The LaLiT Grand Palace Srinagar
The former Gulab Bhavan, a summer palace completed in 1910 for Maharaja Pratap Singh, set in large lawns with chin…
Family holidays elsewhere