Men poling traditional shikara boats across Dal Lake during a golden sunset.

Kashmir · 7 Days

Kashmir Honeymoon — Houseboat, Meadow & Valley

Kashmir's honeymoon route — a heritage houseboat on the quiet side of Dal Lake, a fireside mountain lodge in Gulmarg, and the Lidder valley at Pahalgam.

Day by Day

7 Days, In Full

Kashmir has been the Indian honeymoon valley for generations, and this is its route. Three nights on Dal Lake, with a slow day given entirely to the water: breakfast on the deck, a shikara to Nagin Lake and Char Chinar, dinner cooked on board. Two nights in Gulmarg in a room with a fireplace, with the Gondola and a walk to Khilanmarg. One night in Pahalgam by the Lidder river. The pace is unhurried by design. The luxury version puts the Srinagar nights on a private heritage houseboat.

Srinagar

Arrive in Srinagar and a First Shikara on Dal Lake

You land at Srinagar and drive to the lake, twenty minutes or so. The afternoon is easy. A shikara ride on Dal Lake is the way to start: a slow paddle past the houseboats, into the lanes of the floating gardens, out to open water for the light on the mountains. Back on shore there is time for tea and a walk along the boulevard. The evening is free. Srinagar sits at about 1,600 metres, so the air is cool even in summer.

A carved wooden Kashmiri houseboat on Dal Lake below snow-capped mountains.

Srinagar

A Slow Day on Dal Lake from the Houseboat

A day with nothing fixed, spent on and around the water. Breakfast comes to the houseboat deck. A shikara can take you out to the quieter Nagin Lake, to Char Chinar island, or to the morning vegetable market that trades from boats before dawn. You might visit a floating garden, watch a carpet being knotted, or just read on the sundeck as the shikaras pass. Lunch and dinner are cooked on board. It is the day that makes a houseboat stay worth it, rather than just a night on the lake.

Srinagar

Srinagar — the Mughal Gardens and Pari Mahal

A day along the eastern shore of the lake, where the Mughal emperors built their gardens. Nishat Bagh climbs the hillside in twelve terraces, one for each sign of the zodiac. Shalimar Bagh, built by Jahangir for Nur Jahan, runs water down a central channel between chinar trees. Chashme Shahi is small and built around a spring. Above them, Pari Mahal is a terraced ruin with the best view in the city. The afternoon can add the tulip garden in season, or a carpet workshop.

A snow-dusted mountain with pine trees and a trail near Gulmarg.

Srinagar → Gulmarg

Srinagar to Gulmarg and the Gondola

The drive to Gulmarg takes about two hours, out across the rice fields of the valley and then up through pine forest to the meadow at 2,650 metres. Gulmarg means the meadow of flowers, and in summer it is exactly that. After checking in, the afternoon is for the Gondola: stage one to Kongdoori, and stage two, weather allowing, to a shoulder of Mount Apharwat near 4,000 metres. The air is thin at the top, so the visit is short. Warm layers are needed even in July.

Gulmarg

A Full Day in Gulmarg — the Meadow, the Church and the Walks

A day to slow down in the mountains. The meadow itself is for walking, with the small wooden church of St Mary's at its centre and the world's highest eighteen-hole golf course spread around it. A path leads up to Khilanmarg, a higher meadow with a view of the Kashmir valley on one side and Nanga Parbat, on a clear day, on the other. If the Gondola was closed for weather the day before, this is the day to try again. The evenings here are cold all year.

A river running through a green Kashmir valley lined with trees and mountains.

Gulmarg → Pahalgam

Gulmarg to Pahalgam through the Valley

A long transfer day across the width of the Kashmir valley, about five hours with stops. The road comes down from Gulmarg, skirts Srinagar, and heads southeast along the Jhelum. Pampore, the saffron town, is on the way, and so are the ninth-century temple ruins at Avantipur. The land rises again into pine forest as you near Pahalgam, at about 2,400 metres, where the Lidder river runs through the town. The evening is for a walk along the riverbank.

The Lidder river flowing over rocks through a wooded valley below Pahalgam.

Pahalgam → Srinagar

Pahalgam Back to Srinagar and Departure

The drive back to Srinagar takes about two and a half hours, down the Lidder and along the Jhelum. There is usually time for a last stop: the saffron fields at Pampore, a carpet or papier-mache workshop on the edge of the city, or a final shikara on Dal Lake if the flight is late. Then the short drive to the airport for the flight out. Bags of dried apricots, walnuts and saffron are the things people carry home.

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