Travel style · Kashmir
Honeymoons in Kashmir
Quiet rooms with the mountains outside
Honeymoons in Kashmir houseboats, Bhutan's valleys, Himachal orchards and Sikkim's hills, from saver homestays to the best lodges. Slow days, good rooms, no rush.
Photo: Skywayman9 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · CommonsThe best mountain honeymoons are slow: two or three bases, not seven, and rooms worth staying in. We avoid back-to-back long drives and add a day with nothing planned.
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
Honeymoons 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
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
3 places
Where to go
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
Experiences
Days that fit the style
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…
Photo: Vinayaraj · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Meadow walk to the Maharani Temple and St Mary's
A gentle walk across the meadow links Gulmarg's two heritage buildings: the Maharani Temple, built by Maharaja Hari Sin…
Photo: Nandanupadhyay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Betaab Valley and Chandanwari by union taxi
Follow the East Lidder upstream from Pahalgam to Betaab Valley and the roadhead at Chandanwari, the start of the Amarna…
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Trout fishing on the Lidder with a day licence
The cold, clear Lidder holds brown trout, introduced to Kashmir in British times, and the Fisheries Department issues d…
Photo: Divya Gupta (divya.co) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Across the Lidder to the Mamleshwar temple
A short walk over the Lidder bridge leads to Mamleshwar, a small old stone Shiva temple with a spring-fed tank, on 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…
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…