Ten Things to Do in Kashmir on a First Visit

How do you choose from ten things in one trip?

Kashmir offers more than a first visit can hold, so treat this list as a menu and not a checklist. Nobody does all ten in one trip, and the happiest travellers usually pick five or six and give each of them time. The first five sit in and around Srinagar and cost little road time; the next four are valleys and day trips; the last needs the Ladakh season and a longer plan.

Each entry says what it is, when it works best and how it is arranged. Weather, road closures and local rules can change a plan, so confirm access for your dates before you pay and keep a back-up for every outing.

1. Glide on Dal Lake in a shikara

A shikara is a long, canopied wooden boat, and an hour on Dal Lake is the picture most visitors carry home: floating gardens, carved houseboats, lotus beds in summer and the Zabarwan hills behind. The soft hour before sunset is the favourite, and early morning is calmer and cooler. Agree the route, the time on the water and the fare before you step in, and ask for life jackets, especially for children. Our shikara booking page explains how we fit it into your day.

2. Spend a night on a houseboat

A houseboat is a wood-panelled floating home with carved ceilings, a lounge and a verandah above the water. One night is the minimum, and two let you see the lake wake up and slow down. We keep Deluxe and Super Deluxe houseboats on Dal and Nigeen lakes, and Nigeen is the quieter of the two. Ask about heating in the cold months and how you reach the boat from the car. See houseboats in Srinagar and the stays directory for the options.

3. Wander the Mughal gardens

Nishat, Shalimar and Chashme Shahi are terraced gardens laid out under Mughal rule between the lake and the hills, with channels of running water, fountains and tall chinars. Each has its own mood: Nishat for its long terraces and lake view, Shalimar for its formal lawns, Chashme Shahi for a small garden built around a spring. Go in April for flowers or in October for colour, and in the morning to avoid crowds. See Srinagar for the city as a whole.

4. Walk the old city

The old city of Srinagar, on the banks of the Jhelum, is best seen on foot with a local guide. You pass wooden shrines, the large Jamia Masjid, lanes of copper and papier-mache workers, bakeries that open before dawn and shops of shawls and dry fruit. Go in the morning, dress modestly, ask before photographing people or craftsmen and compare a few shops before you buy. Allow two to three hours. Our culture and food journal says what to look for in each craft.

5. Sit down to a wazwan feast

Wazwan is the Kashmiri banquet: many dishes of meat served on a shared copper platter and eaten with rice in groups of four. Rogan josh, tabak maaz, rista and gushtaba are the names you will hear. A full wazwan needs notice, a host or a hotel kitchen and a group, so tell us early; it can be arranged on request, and food rules should be checked with the kitchen beforehand. If you eat no meat, Kashmir still offers dum aloo, haak, nadru and rajma. Our food guide explains the dishes.

6. Ride the Gulmarg gondola

The gondola lifts you from the Gulmarg meadow in two stages towards a high ridge, over pine forest and flowers in summer or over snow slopes in winter. It is the high point of a Gulmarg day, but it depends on wind and cloud, and the upper stage can close at short notice. Go in the morning, carry layers and keep a back-up such as a meadow walk. The operator sets fares and timings, so we confirm them when you book. Read the gondola guide and our gondola booking page.

7. Walk and ride in the Pahalgam valleys

Pahalgam is for slow days: a river path in town, Betaab Valley and Aru Valley a short drive up the Lidder, and a pony ride on an open trail. Some meadows above the town, including the one many call Mini Switzerland, have been closed to visitors in recent years, so ask which trails are open on your dates and keep a back-up. Give it a night or two. Our Pahalgam travel guide has the road, the seasons and the stays.

8. Climb to the Thajiwas glacier at Sonmarg

Sonmarg, the meadow of gold, lies roughly 80 km from Srinagar on the road to Ladakh. From the village a trail or a pony ride leads to the Thajiwas glacier, where snow can lie even in midsummer, with wildflowers and streams on the way. The road can close in snow or rain and the weather turns quickly, so treat Sonmarg as a day trip with slack in it. Go early, wear waterproof shoes and agree pony rates first. See Sonmarg.

9. See the saffron fields of Pampore

Around Pampore, a short drive south of Srinagar, farmers grow the saffron crocus, and for a few weeks in late autumn the fields turn purple while pickers gather the flowers by hand at dawn. The flowering is short and its dates move each year, so ask what has been seen lately before you choose a day. Pampore lies on the road to Pahalgam, so the fields can be a stop on the way. If you buy saffron, compare the colour and the price in two shops before you pay.

10. Spend a night under Ladakh's sky

Ladakh is a cold, high desert, and its sky is its great show: clear dark nights with a thick band of stars and, at Pangong, a lake that changes colour through the day. The road from Srinagar takes about two days and the height calls for a rest day. Zoji La normally shuts by the end of November and reopens by mid-April (IANS, 2022), so we plan Ladakh trips from roughly June to September. Ask us how permits are handled for your package. See Pangong, Leh and the Kashmir Ladakh Tour, listed at ₹21,550 for ten days.

How do you fit these into a trip?

1. 1Three nights: the shikara, a houseboat night, the gardens and the old city in Srinagar, with a Gulmarg day. The weekend plan shows how.
2. 2Five nights: add Pahalgam and a Sonmarg day. The Best of Kashmir tour is a listed example.
3. 3Seven nights: add a quiet meadow, a wazwan evening and a spare day for weather or shopping.
4. 4Ten days: add the road to Ladakh and a night at Pangong.
5. 5Tell us your month. Some of the ten, such as snow, saffron and Ladakh, work only in certain seasons, and our guide to Kashmir by season shows which.

Where do the facts on this page come from?

On 6 November 2026 we re-read the IANS report of 19 March 2022 (published by Business Standard) for the usual closing and opening dates of the Zoji La pass, and the Kashmir Reader report of 1 April 2025 for that year's reopening. The planning months on this page are Soun Kashmir's own; confirm the road and any permit with the authorities before you travel.