Union territory · North India
केंद्र शासित प्रदेशउत्तर भारत
Shikaras on Dal Lake, Mughal gardens and chinar autumns
The place
परिचय
The Kashmir valley sits at about 1,600 metres between the Pir Panjal and the greater Himalaya. Srinagar's Dal Lake carries shikaras and houseboats, Mughal emperors terraced gardens along its shore, Gulmarg runs one of the world's highest gondolas, and Vaishno Devi in Jammu draws millions of pilgrims up the Trikuta hills.
Kashmir's valley floor is broad, flat and ringed by mountains, which is why every ruler who reached it wanted to stay. The Mughals built terraced gardens along Dal Lake, Shalimar Bagh for Nur Jahan in 1619 and Nishat Bagh in 1633, both stepping down to the water under chinar trees that turn crimson in late October. On the lake itself, cedar houseboats survive from British times, and at dawn the floating vegetable market at Nigeen trades lotus stem and greens from boat to boat. Gulmarg's gondola climbs to about 3,980 metres on Apharwat, giving Asia's highest lift-served skiing in winter and meadows of wildflower in summer. Pahalgam sits where the Lidder splits towards Aru and Betaab, and is the starting point of the Amarnath Yatra to an ice lingam at 3,888 metres. Pampore's saffron fields bloom purple for three weeks each October. In Jammu, the cave shrine of Vaishno Devi is reached by a thirteen-kilometre climb from Katra. Signature journeys pair Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam over a week.
What it is famous for
पहचान
5 places we travel to
गंतव्य
Every Jammu & Kashmir destination we plan journeys around, with the best months and the ideal stay for each.
Hill stationJammu & Kashmir
A bowl-shaped meadow, one of the world's highest gondolas, Himalayan powder
ValleyJammu & Kashmir
Lidder river, pine valleys and the road to Amarnath
ValleyJammu & Kashmir
Golden meadow at the foot of Zoji La and the Thajiwas glacier
LakeJammu & Kashmir
Houseboats on Dal Lake, Mughal gardens and chinar-shaded autumn light
TempleJammu & Kashmir
Trikuta hills pilgrimage to the Mother Goddess in a cave
Jammu & Kashmir tour packages
यात्राएँ
3 of our routes pass through Jammu & Kashmir. Each one is a starting point — tell us your days and we reshape it.
7 days · 6 nightsEasy · Best Apr–Oct
Seven days of Dal Lake, Gulmarg meadows, Lidder pines and Sindh valley snow
Route: Srinagar → Gulmarg → Pahalgam → Sonamarg
10 days · 9 nightsChallenging · Best Jun–Sep
Ten days over Zoji La and Khardung La to Pangong Tso
Route: Srinagar → Sonamarg → Lamayuru → Leh +2 more
18 days · 17 nightsModerate · Best Oct–Nov
Eighteen days up the spine of India, from the cape to the valley
Route: Kanyakumari → Madurai → Hampi → Hyderabad +6 more
Time it right
त्योहार
MarThe first day of Shawwal, once the crescent is sighted at the end of Ramadan. The Islamic calendar moves about eleven days earlier each year, so Eid falls in March through 2027 and in February from 2028.
The morning that ends a month of fasting: white kurtas, the embrace given three times, and sheer khurma before anything else. Old Delhi's Jama Masjid, Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid and Srinagar's Hazratbal hold the largest congregations, and the night bazaars beforehand are as good as the day.
Delhi · Uttar Pradesh · Telangana
Eat here
खानपान
Non-vegJammu & Kashmir
Kashmiri mutton braised slowly with dried Kashmiri chillies, fennel, dry ginger and ratanjot root, which gives the gravy its red colour without heat. The Pandit version uses no onion or garlic. It arrives midway through a wazwan feast, eaten with plain rice, and is best in Srinagar in the cold months.
DrinkJammu & Kashmir
Green tea brewed in a copper samovar with saffron, cinnamon bark and green cardamom, poured over crushed almonds and sweetened lightly with honey or sugar. Kashmiris drink it all day and press it on every guest. On a houseboat at Dal Lake or in a Gulmarg guesthouse it does the work of a fire.
From the journal
पत्रिका
· Itinerary · 5 min
Everything that decides whether a Ladakh drive works: which highway to enter on, how many days to give altitude before Khardung La, what permits cost, when the passes open and close, and a tested twelve-day loop from Leh to Tso Moriri.
9 more in North India
पड़ोसी राज्य
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Gita ground at Kurukshetra, Mughal gardens and highway paranthas
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Deodar ridges, Spiti's cold desert and a colonial toy train
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Golden Temple langar, five rivers and mustard fields in flower
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Desert forts, lake palaces and colour that refuses to fade
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Taj marble, Varanasi ghats and Awadhi kebabs at midnight
StateNorth India
Char Dham shrines, Ganga rapids and alpine flower meadows
Union territoryNorth India
Le Corbusier's grid, a rock garden built from waste
Union territoryNorth India
Eight cities of empire, Sufi qawwali and Chandni Chowk kebabs
Union territoryNorth India
Cold desert passes, Indus monasteries and skies full of stars
