Srinagar, Gulmarg, Sonmarg and Pahalgam
Srinagar and Dal Lake · Gulmarg · Sonmarg
From₹21,500View→
3 days, 2 nights
Srinagar, Slow
The lake, the gardens and the old city over a long weekend
The trip
What this is
A short trip that stays in the city. Good if you have three or four days, or if you are adding Kashmir to a longer trip through the north. You stay on the water, spend a day on the lake, a day in the gardens, and a day in the old city with its craftspeople.
Best for. A first taste of Kashmir on a tight schedule, or a calm few days bolted onto a Ladakh or Himachal trip.
Highlights
- Two nights on a houseboat we know and trust
- The lake early, before the day boats
- Nishat and Shalimar gardens with their chinar and terraces
- A walking morning in the old city with time in the craft workshops
- An early evening at the Sunday market if your dates match
Day by day
The itinerary
A working outline. We move nights around, add or drop a day, and adjust for weather once we know your dates.
- 01Srinagar
Arrive and settle on the lake
Airport pick-up. The afternoon is for doing very little, with a shikara ride toward sunset.
Houseboat on Dal or Nigeen - 02Srinagar
Gardens, then the old city
The Mughal gardens in the morning while it is cool, then the old city in the afternoon: the mosque, the shrine, and the workshops where wood and papier-mache are still made by hand.
Houseboat on Dal or Nigeen - 03Srinagar
The lake at dawn, then departure
An early shikara ride to the floating vegetable market if you are up for it, breakfast on the boat, then the airport.
Places you will see
- Dal or Nigeen Lake
- Nishat garden
- Shalimar garden
- Jamia Masjid
- Shah-e-Hamdan shrine
- Hari Parbat
What is included
- Private vehicle with a local driver for the whole trip
- Accommodation as listed, on a twin-sharing basis
- Daily breakfast, and dinner where you are staying outside Srinagar
- Airport pick-up and drop-off
- All road tolls, parking and driver costs
- A day-by-day plan and a single point of contact while you travel
What is not
- Flights to and from Srinagar
- Lunches, and meals not mentioned above
- Pony rides, gondola tickets, guides and entry fees at sightseeing points
- Anything personal, and anything not listed under inclusions
- Costs from road closures or weather beyond our control
Worth knowing before you book
- This trip works in winter too, when the lake is quiet and the gardens are bare and beautiful.
- If you want one day in the mountains, we can swap day two for a trip to Gulmarg or Sonmarg.
- Houseboat standards vary widely. We will not put you on one we have not stayed on.
Questions
Is a houseboat comfortable?
The good ones are: solid rooms, hot water, proper heating in the cold months, and meals cooked on board. The cheap ones are not. We only use boats we have checked in person.
Can you add a day trip to the mountains?
Yes. Gulmarg or Sonmarg both work as a long day out of Srinagar. It makes day two busier, so we usually suggest a fourth day instead if you can spare it.
Nearby
Other trips through here
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Ask us about Srinagar, Slow
Tell us your dates and group size. We will confirm what is open, what it costs, and what we would change.
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