A first trip to Kashmir needs five or six nights. That covers Srinagar and Dal Lake, a day or a night in Gulmarg for the gondola, two nights in Pahalgam and a day trip to Sonmarg. Honeymooners usually add a night or two and spend more of it on a houseboat. You can fly into Srinagar directly from Delhi or Mumbai, or since June 2025 take the Vande Bharat train from Katra, which makes Vaishno Devi and Kashmir an easy pair. We plan the trip from Srinagar with hotels and houseboats, a car and driver, gondola tickets and the day-wise plan.
Kashmir packages at a glance
| Package | Nights | What it covers | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kashmir short break | 3N / 4D | Srinagar, shikara on Dal Lake, Mughal gardens, a Gulmarg day trip | A long weekend |
| Kashmir family tour | 5N / 6D | Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonmarg day trip | Families, first visit |
| Kashmir honeymoon | 6N / 7D | Two houseboat nights, a night in Gulmarg, two in Pahalgam, Sonmarg | Couples who want a slower pace |
| Vaishno Devi and Kashmir | 7N / 8D | Katra and the Bhawan, then the train to Srinagar and the valley | Families combining darshan and a holiday |
The full day-wise plan for Kashmir Family Tour 5N/6D is on its own page. The other formats are built from it, adding or dropping days, and any of them can be changed to suit you.
What each place is good for
Each of the four bases does something different, so it’s worth knowing which ones matter to you before you fix the nights.
- Srinagar. Dal Lake, a shikara ride, a night or two on a houseboat, and the Mughal gardens: Nishat, Shalimar and Chashme Shahi. The old city and its shrines are worth a morning too. Two nights is the minimum.
- Gulmarg. About 50 km from Srinagar. The gondola runs in two stages, Phase 1 to Kongdoori and Phase 2 to Apharwat. It’s the place for snow in winter and skiing from about January to March. A day trip works; a night there lets you take the gondola early, before the queues.
- Pahalgam. The Lidder valley, with Betaab Valley and Aru nearby. Calm, green and good for two nights. It’s also the base for the Amarnath Yatra.
- Sonmarg. Meadows and the Thajiwas glacier, usually a day trip from Srinagar. The Z-Morh tunnel, opened in January 2025, keeps it reachable in winter.
Is Kashmir safe to visit now?
Tourists are back in large numbers, but some places are still shut, so check the list before you build a plan around a single spot. After the April 2025 attack at Baisaran near Pahalgam, nearly 50 tourist spots were closed. They have reopened in phases. By February 2026, 42 were open again, including Yousmarg, Doodhpathri, the Thajiwas glacier and the Tulip Garden. Baisaran and Chandanwari were still closed as of April 2026. Pony handlers and guides in Pahalgam now carry QR-coded identity cards linked to the police. Use registered providers and ask to see the card.
Good to know: Prepaid SIMs from other states don’t work in Jammu and Kashmir. Postpaid connections do. If you’re on prepaid, switch before you travel or buy a local SIM with ID on arrival, and save your hotel and driver’s numbers offline.
Best time to go
There’s no bad season, only different trips. Pick by what you want to see.
| Months | What you get | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-March to mid-April | Tulip season. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden opened on 16 March in 2026 and the bloom lasts about a month | Hotels fill early; 2027 dates are announced in March |
| May and June | Green valleys, pleasant days, everything open | Peak season with Indian school holidays; book early |
| July and August | Lush and less crowded in Srinagar | Pahalgam is busy with the Amarnath Yatra |
| September to November | Clear skies and autumn chinar colours | Cold nights by November |
| December to February | Snow in Gulmarg and Sonmarg, skiing, a frozen edge on Dal Lake | Snow can shut roads and ground flights for a day or two |
If you’re going in winter, read our Kashmir in winter guide for temperatures and the Chillai Kalan period, and skiing in Gulmarg for beginners if you want to try it.
Getting to Srinagar: flight or train
Flying is quickest. Srinagar has direct flights from Delhi and Mumbai, and from Pune you connect through one of them. Winter fog and snow do cancel flights, so don’t book a tight onward connection.
The train is the newer option. Since June 2025 the Vande Bharat runs to Srinagar on the new line across the Chenab bridge, and since May 2026 it starts from Jammu Tawi, stopping at Katra and Banihal. Jammu to Srinagar takes about 4 hours 40 minutes to 4 hours 50 minutes, and the trains run six days a week, not seven. It also kept running in January 2026 when snow closed the highway. From Mumbai or Pune you reach Jammu or Katra by train or flight, so it’s natural to do Vaishno Devi first and continue to Srinagar. Book on IRCTC and check times on NTES, because reported timings have changed more than once.
Gondola tickets and other bookings
Gulmarg gondola tickets are sold online on the Jammu and Kashmir Cable Car Corporation’s ticket site, in time slots, and peak slots sell out. The ID you show at the gate must match the ticket. Phase 2 needs a Phase 1 ticket for the same day and shuts often in bad weather. Published fares didn’t agree in 2026, so we check the portal on the day we book rather than quote a figure. Ignore anyone in Tangmarg selling tickets.
In snow, only 4x4s or cars with anti-skid chains are allowed above Tangmarg. Your driver will fit chains there. At Pahalgam and Sonmarg, local taxis and ponies take you to the side valleys; agree the price and the route before you start.
Family trip or honeymoon: what changes
For families, especially with grandparents, the plan is about short drives and good hotels. We keep Srinagar as the base for longer, avoid back-to-back early starts, and choose hotels with lifts and heating. Elderly travellers can see Pahalgam and Sonmarg from the road and short walks, without ponies. Gulmarg’s Phase 1 is easy; Phase 2 reaches high altitude and is cold even in summer, so it’s better skipped by anyone with heart or breathing problems.
For couples, the extra nights go on the houseboat and in Gulmarg or Pahalgam, so there’s time to do nothing. Ask exactly what heating a houseboat has before you book one between November and March.
Questions travellers ask before booking
Is a houseboat worth a night?
Yes, for one or two nights. Most people prefer a hotel for the rest of the trip, because houseboats are reached by shikara and can be cold and damp outside summer. With small children or elderly parents, one night is usually enough.
Can we see the tulips and snow on the same trip?
Sometimes. In late March there’s often still snow at Gulmarg’s upper levels while the tulips are out in Srinagar, but it varies a lot from year to year. Don’t promise it to the children.
Can we go on to Ladakh from Kashmir?
By road in the warmer months, roughly May to October, over the Zojila pass past Sonmarg and through Kargil. In winter the pass closes and you have to fly to Leh. See our Leh Ladakh packages.
How far ahead should we book?
Two to three months for May, June, tulip season and the Christmas to New Year week. For other months, a few weeks is usually fine. Gondola tickets open closer to the date, and we book them once your plan is fixed.
Checked November 2026. Train timings are from All India Radio and The Federal’s reports of the Indian Railways schedule; gondola booking rules from the J&K Cable Car Corporation; reopening of tourist spots and Pahalgam QR cards from Business Today, Brighter Kashmir and other reports of February to April 2026; Tulip Garden dates from 2026 news reports; Z-Morh tunnel from reports of its January 2025 opening. Tourist-spot status, train times and fares change often, and we confirm them again when we send your quote.
