Who it suits. People who want snow and will not sulk when a garden is shut and a restaurant is half the summer menu.
What it leaves out. Sonamarg, Gurez, Betaab as a highlight, and any plan that needs phase 2 of the gondola to “work”.
Day by day
- 1
Srinagar in the cold
Sleep: Srinagar, heated room · Airport, slower if roads are icy
Get into a room that is actually warm. Walk the Boulevard if it is not sleeting. Houseboats in winter need a frank talk about heaters and bathrooms.
Eat. Harissa in the morning if you are early enough another day. Tonight, something hot and close.
- 2
Old city, short loop
Sleep: Srinagar · City
The old city is better in winter than the summer crush, if you dress for it. One shrine, a bakery, back before dark. Dark is early.
Eat. Noon chai. A long lunch. Kitchens are the heating plan.
- 3
Up to Gulmarg
Sleep: Gulmarg · 1.5–2.5 hours if snow slows the last climb
Leave in the morning. If the meadow road is closed, stay lower, near the market, and do not heroically hike luggage uphill. Gondola if it is running. If it is not, the day is a snow walk and a deck of cards.
Eat. Eat in Srinagar before you climb. Dinner will be plain.
- 4
Snow morning
Sleep: Gulmarg · On foot or gondola
Beginners: an instructor and the lower slope. Everyone else: phase 1 and a walk. Do not invent an off-piste plan from a video. Afternoon is for getting warm, not for a third activity.
Eat. Soup, tea, rice. Calories over cuisine.
- 5
Down and out
Sleep: Srinagar or airport · Allow extra time. A bright sky in the city does not mean the Gulmarg road is clear.
Leave earlier than the summer version of this day. If you have a buffer night in Srinagar, use it. Flights and the road both slip in January.
Eat. A proper Srinagar meal if you have the buffer night. Otherwise breakfast and the descent.
Where to sleep
Ask every property, in Srinagar and Gulmarg, what heating they run when the power is out. That answer matters more than the photograph of the room.