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The valley

Places

Towns, meadows and one short valley. Each guide says why to go, how long the drive takes, and where to sleep by area rather than by a hotel name we would only be guessing.

Srinagar and Dal Lake seen from Shankaracharya Hill
Wooden houseboats moored on Dal Lake in Srinagar, with trees and hills behind them

City

Srinagar

Srinagar is the practical base for almost every Kashmir trip, and it is also the part most people rush. The lake, the old city and the gardens are three different speeds. Two ni…

A wide green meadow at Gulmarg with conifer forest and hazy mountains behind it

Meadow

Gulmarg

Gulmarg is a meadow with a gondola, not a town you wander for its lanes. In summer it is grass, ponies and a view. In winter it is snow, a queue, and skiing that is real if you…

Green Pahalgam valley with pine slopes, a river and clouds sitting on the ridges

Lidder valley

Pahalgam

Pahalgam is a valley town on the Lidder, and the reason to stay is the morning before the day-trippers arrive. Aru, Betaab and Chandanwari are short add-ons. They are not three…

Sonamarg valley with a braided river, pine forest and snow streaks on the high peaks

High meadow

Sonamarg

Sonamarg is a high meadow on the road toward Zoji La. It is excellent in the short summer and a closed road for much of the year. Plan it as its own day or night, not as a winte…

A clear stream running through grass and pine at Doodhpathri

Day meadow

Doodhpathri

Doodhpathri is meadows, a stream and pine, southwest of Srinagar. It does not have a gondola or a market to kill three hours. That is why it works as a day out when Gulmarg feel…

The Gurez valley with green slopes, a river corridor and high ridgelines

Permit valley

Gurez

Gurez sits north of Bandipora, over the Razdan Pass, along the Kishenganga. It is one of the few places on a Kashmir trip that still feels like you left the tourist circuit. It…

The Yusmarg meadow, a broad green bowl with dark pine slopes around it

Quiet meadow

Yusmarg

Yusmarg is a meadow west of the valley, past Charar-i-Sharif. On a weekday it is one of the calmer high places you can reach from Srinagar without a multi-day permit.

A person in a thick pheran holding a kangri firepot, standing in snow at Aru

Above Pahalgam

Aru

Aru is a village up the Lidder from Pahalgam, and the start of walks that are no longer a taxi loop. In summer it is green pasture. In winter it is snow, pherans and kangris, an…

Betaab Valley, a green bowl with a stream, pines and a walking path

Short stop

Betaab Valley

Betaab is a small, managed valley a short drive from Pahalgam, named after a film that used it. There is an entrance, a path, a stream and a view. It takes about an hour if you…

A stream running through the botanical garden at Kokernag

Spring and garden

Kokernag

Kokernag is known for a cold spring and a botanical garden in the south of the valley, past Anantnag. It is a calm day from Srinagar, or a pause if you are already travelling th…

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