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Kashmir travel guide
Two seasons, two trips: the Great Lakes circuit on foot in high summer, and Gulmarg on skis in deep winter.
See 4 trips in Kashmir
About Kashmir
Kashmir is a valley, not a state-sized abstraction — roughly 135 kilometres long and ringed by the Pir Panjal and the Greater Himalaya, drained by the Jhelum, and most of what a traveller actually sees sits within a couple of hours of Srinagar. It is also, on this marketplace, mostly a trekking gateway: the Kashmir Great Lakes route runs through high alpine basins above the tree line, and Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam function as the bookends and acclimatisation stops around it rather than the whole trip.
Srinagar itself is a lake city before it is anything else — Dal Lake and its houseboats, the Mughal gardens built as terraced retreats above the water, the old city's wood-and-brick architecture along the Jhelum. It is worth a day on its own, not just a night before a trek starts, and the pace there is unhurried in a way the trekking days are not.
What surprises first-time visitors is how green the lower valley is — willow and poplar avenues, rice terraces, apple and saffron country around Pampore — against how quickly that gives way to alpine scrub and then bare rock once a trek climbs out of Sonamarg or Pahalgam. The Great Lakes trek in particular covers that whole range in a week: meadow, forest, then a string of glacial lakes (Vishansar, Krishansar, Gadsar, Satsar, Gangbal) strung across passes above 4,000 metres.
The honest trade-off is timing. The trekking season is short — essentially July to September, dictated by snowmelt on the passes — and Srinagar in peak summer (May-June, before the trek season even opens for the high routes) is crowded with domestic tourism on the lake. Come for the trek window and the valley is at its quietest and its best; come in May for the gardens in bloom and expect company.
Things to do in Kashmir
Kashmir Great Lakes trek
Kashmir Great Lakes trek — seven alpine lakes over five high passes, mid-July to early September
Find adventuresDal Lake
A night on a Dal Lake houseboat, with a shikara ride at dawn while the floating vegetable market is still on
Find adventuresShalimar Bagh
The Mughal gardens — Shalimar Bagh and Nishat Bagh, terraced above the lake
Find adventuresGulmarg
Gulmarg's gondola, the second stage of which runs past 4,000 metres on Mount Apharwat
Find adventuresBetaab Valley
Betaab Valley and Aru, the meadow approaches into the Pahalgam side of the Great Lakes route
Find adventuresSaffron
Saffron fields around Pampore in late October, if your dates ever cross that narrow window
Find adventuresKhanqah-e-Moula
The old city along the Jhelum — Khanqah-e-Moula and the wood-fronted houses of Rainawari
Find adventuresSonamarg
Sonamarg as a trailhead, the last town before the route climbs into alpine terrain
Find adventures
Places to see in Kashmir
Named things worth going out of your way for, whichever trip you end up booking.
Dal Lake
lakeSrinagar's defining feature — houseboats, floating gardens and a working vegetable market that trades entirely by shikara at first light. Touristy along the main ghats, genuinely quiet an hour after sunrise before the day boats start.
Kashmir Great Lakes trek
trekThe reason most trekkers come to Kashmir at all: a chain of glacial lakes over roughly 70-75 kilometres and five passes above 4,000 metres, usually walked over 7-8 days from Sonamarg to Naranag. No technical climbing, but long days and real altitude.
Shalimar Bagh
heritageA Mughal terraced garden built for Jahangir on the lake's northeastern shore, its water channels still fed by gravity from the hills behind it. Best early morning or at golden hour, both to dodge the crowds and for the light on the chinar trees.
Gulmarg
viewpointA meadow-turned-resort town that is Asia's highest gondola ride in winter and a green, empty bowl of a valley the rest of the year. The second gondola stage climbs to the shoulder of Mount Apharwat past 3,900 metres.
Pahalgam
townThe valley of the Lidder river and the traditional starting point for the Amarnath pilgrimage, now better known among trekkers as an access town for Aru and Betaab valleys and one of the Great Lakes trailheads.
Vishansar and Krishansar Lakes
lakeThe first pair of lakes on the Great Lakes route, sitting in the same alpine basin and separated only by a low ridge. Usually the first big payoff of the trek, reached on day two or three.
Gadsar Pass
passThe route's high point on most itineraries, above 4,100 metres, crossed to drop into the Gadsar valley and its own lake. Weather-dependent and the day trek leaders watch most closely.
Khanqah-e-Moula
templeA wooden mosque on the bank of the Jhelum in Srinagar's old city, rebuilt several times after fire but continuously in use since the 14th century. A quieter, more local counterpoint to the lakefront.
Betaab Valley
natureA pine-forested valley outside Pahalgam named for a 1980s Bollywood film shot there, now a short, easy outing rather than a trek — a good half-day acclimatisation walk before or after the main route.
Sonamarg
townThe last proper town before the road runs out and the Great Lakes trek begins on foot; sits at around 2,800 metres, which makes it a reasonable first night for acclimatisation.
Nishat Bagh
heritageThe larger and, by most accounts, more dramatically terraced of Srinagar's two main Mughal gardens, laid out on twelve levels facing the lake and the Zabarwan hills.
Naranag
trekThe usual end point of the Great Lakes trek, a small village with the ruins of an 8th-century Shiva temple complex — a strange, quiet way to finish a week that started on a lake.
Where to base yourself in Kashmir
The valley's only real city and almost every trip's start and end point. Base here for the lake, the gardens and the old city, and to acclimatise a night before heading up to Sonamarg or Pahalgam.
See adventuresThe northern trailhead for the Great Lakes route, a couple of hours from Srinagar by road. Little to do in the town itself beyond preparing to walk, but a sensible altitude-adjustment stop.
See adventuresThe southern access point for the same trek and a destination in its own right for shorter valley walks — Aru and Betaab are both day trips from here.
See adventuresA separate excursion from the trekking circuit, reached from Srinagar by a different road. Worth a dedicated day if your itinerary allows it, mainly for the gondola and the meadow itself.
See adventures
Planning a trip to Kashmir
Getting there
Srinagar International Airport (SXR) is the entry point for almost everyone, with regular flights from Delhi and Mumbai and a shorter seasonal spread from other Indian cities. There is a rail line as far as Baramulla/Srinagar via Jammu, but for a short trekking trip the flight is what nearly everyone uses.
From Srinagar, road transfers to Sonamarg or Pahalgam run two to three hours depending on traffic on the single main highway, which can back up badly around Srinagar itself in summer. Operators build this into the first day rather than treating it as incidental.
When to go
The high-altitude trekking season is short and effectively fixed by snowmelt: mid-July to early September for the Great Lakes route, with the passes typically clearest in August. Outside that window the lakes are still snowbound and the passes are not safely crossable on a standard itinerary.
Srinagar and the lower valley have a longer season — April to October is comfortable, with April-May bringing the almond and tulip blooms and the gardens at their best, and September-October turning the chinar trees a deep red that draws its own crowd. Winter (December-February) is a different trip entirely, built around Gulmarg's skiing rather than trekking.
Permits and access
Indian nationals need no special permit for the standard Srinagar-Gulmarg-Pahalgam-Great Lakes circuit; foreign nationals should check current entry requirements before travel, as Jammu & Kashmir's rules for foreign tourists have changed more than once in recent years and any operator running the route will have the current position. There is no separate trekking permit for the Great Lakes route itself beyond the usual registration operators handle at the trailhead.
Altitude and health
The Great Lakes trek spends most of its days above 3,500 metres and crosses at least one pass above 4,100, which is real altitude — acclimatisation matters. A night in Sonamarg (around 2,800m) before climbing further is standard practice, and the same rules apply as on any high trek: drink more than feels necessary, report symptoms early, and treat a bad headache as information rather than something to push through.
Money, connectivity and staying in touch
Srinagar has ATMs and normal 4G coverage. Once the trek leaves Sonamarg, mobile signal is intermittent at best and gone entirely for most of the route — BSNL has historically had the best (still patchy) reach in the valley, but plan on being unreachable for the trekking days and tell people accordingly.
Food and where you sleep
Srinagar and Pahalgam have proper hotels and the houseboat option on Dal Lake, which is worth doing at least once for the experience rather than the comfort. Kashmiri food is distinct from the rest of North India — wazwan's multi-course mutton dishes (rogan josh, yakhni), kahwa tea, and Kashmiri-style rice — worth seeking out in Srinagar rather than settling for a generic hotel menu. On the trek itself, expect standard camp catering: dal, rice, sabzi, and hot food that tastes considerably better than it sounds at 4,000 metres.
Good to know
Nearest airport
Srinagar International Airport (SXR), with direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai and other major Indian cities.
Nearest railhead
Srinagar/Budgam, connected via the Jammu line — most trekkers fly rather than take the train for a short trip.
Trekking season
Mid-July to early September for the Great Lakes route; Srinagar and the gardens are pleasant April to October.
Language
Kashmiri and Urdu locally; Hindi and English are widely understood in the tourism trade.
Connectivity
Reliable 4G in Srinagar and the towns; expect little to no signal on the trek itself once past Sonamarg.
Currency
Indian rupee; ATMs are common in Srinagar, scarcer in Sonamarg and Pahalgam, non-existent on the trail.
Foreign nationals
Entry rules for foreign tourists to Jammu & Kashmir have changed periodically — check current guidance before booking rather than relying on an old source.
Facts about Kashmir
Who is actually running this trip?
The operator you picked on the compare screen. You book and pay MyAdventure; the operator runs the trip for us. MyAdventure handles refunds, and steps in if the batch is cancelled.
What if I cannot complete it?
Ask the operator what their turn-back protocol is — it varies by trip, and the good ones publish it.
Is the batch mixed-gender and solo-friendly?
Most departures take solo travellers and share accommodation by gender. Confirm with the operator for this batch.
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Every trip in Kashmir, with filters for dates, length, budget and style.
See 4 trips in Kashmir