Chapter Two — Where You'll Stay
Handpicked along your own route — not a hotel chain repeated city to city.
First, 3 nights in Srinagar
A 1910 Dogra royal palace on Gupkar Road, its lawns running down toward Dal Lake — over a hundred rooms and suites, a nine-hole golf course and a spa.
Finally, 2 nights in Gulmarg
Gulmarg's only five-star resort — a deodar-and-stone lodge facing Mount Apharwat, near the Gondola, with an L'OCCITANE spa and fireplaces in the rooms.
Chapter Three — Activities & Sightseeing
4 of your 6days — the full day-by-day plan follows below.
Day 2 · Srinagar
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.
Day 3 · Srinagar
For a few weeks from late March the slope below Chashme Shahi turns into bands of colour. The Indira Gandhi tulip garden is the largest in Asia, more than a million bulbs planted in long lines above the lake. Go early, before the crowds and the midday sun. The Badamwari garden nearby holds Srinagar's almond orchard, which flowers pink and white at the same time. The rest of the day is for the Mughal gardens, greener now than at any other season. The exact bloom dates shift each year with the winter.
Day 4 · Srinagar → Gulmarg
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.
Day 5 · Gulmarg
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.
Chapter Four — Day by Day
Every day, start to finish — including the transfers the sightseeing chapter above skipped.
Srinagar
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.
Srinagar
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.
Srinagar
For a few weeks from late March the slope below Chashme Shahi turns into bands of colour. The Indira Gandhi tulip garden is the largest in Asia, more than a million bulbs planted in long lines above the lake. Go early, before the crowds and the midday sun. The Badamwari garden nearby holds Srinagar's almond orchard, which flowers pink and white at the same time. The rest of the day is for the Mughal gardens, greener now than at any other season. The exact bloom dates shift each year with the winter.
Srinagar → Gulmarg
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 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.
Gulmarg → Srinagar
A last morning in the meadow before the drive back down to the valley, about two hours. If there is time, one more walk toward Khilanmarg or a final run on the Gondola. The road drops quickly out of the pines into the rice fields, and the air warms as Srinagar comes back into view. The afternoon in the city is free for shopping in the old bazaars or a last shikara on the lake.
Chapter Five — Terms & Conditions
Cancellation windows, refund timing, and rescheduling terms for this journey follow our one sitewide policy — nothing package-specific to dig through.
Read the Return & Refund PolicyChapter Six — Similar Journeys
Why Choose Us
01
This route was shaped around Kashmir's real places, not lifted from a fixed template.
13 years — Brijesh Sharma, Bespoke Itinerary Specialist
02
Every stay on this trip was chosen in person, not off a ratings page.
2 real stays, 5★
03
One driver, air-conditioned, for the whole route — no shared shuttle.
Premium sedans & SUVs · One driver, the whole trip
Kashmir to Kanyakumari
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