Travel style · Kashmir
Food and tea in Kashmir
Wazwan, momos, thukpa and first flush
Food trips through the Himalaya: Kashmiri wazwan, Ladakhi skyu, Himachali dham, Garhwali mandua, Newari feasts, Darjeeling tea tastings and Bhutan's ema datshi. Cheap, filling and the fastest way into a culture.
Photo: Umarsami · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsMountain food is built on what grows high and keeps through winter: barley, buckwheat, millet, potatoes, dried cheese and meat, apricots and walnuts.
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
Food and tea trips in Kashmir
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Comfort
Kashmir in autumn: saffron, chinars and Aru
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
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Signature
Signature Kashmir: palace, meadow and river
Private car with driver and a private guide
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Signature
Kashmir in winter: Gulmarg snow and Srinagar
Private 4x4 with driver and snow chains
2 places
Where to go
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Ashfaq ahanger · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saffron harvest at dawn on the karewas
For about three weeks each autumn, Pampore's karewas turn purple with saffron crocus. Families pick the flowers at dawn…
Photo: Venkygrams · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Avantipora's 9th-century temple ruins
About 15 km beyond Pampore, at Awantipora on the Jhelum, lie the ruins of two stone temples built by King Avantivarman …
Photo: FADIND SOUL · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
How to buy genuine Kashmir saffron in Pampore
Pampore is the best place to buy Kashmir saffron, but fakes and blends are common across India. Knowing the grades, the…
Photo: Suhail Skindar Sofi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Dawn shikara to Dal's vegetable market
Before sunrise, farmers from Dal's floating gardens paddle their produce to a gathering point near Rainawari and trade …
Photo: ANSAR AHMAD · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mughal gardens of the Zabarwan, terrace by terrace
Four gardens line the foothills above Dal Lake: Shalimar, Nishat, Chashme Shahi and Pari Mahal. Visiting in a morning s…
Photo: The original uploader was Lokantha at English … · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Old city walk: wooden shrines and craft lanes
Walk from the Khanqah-e-Moula on the Jhelum to the Jamia Masjid at Nowhatta through lanes where papier-mache painters, …
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: 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: 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…