Kashmir, Srinagar and the Valley
5 DAYS, 4 NIGHTS · STARTS FROM COCHIN; SET DEPARTURES THROUGH THE YEAR
EXPERIENCES:
Cochin to Srinagar and Back
Kashmir, the Trip That Feels Nothing Like Home
Snow on the peaks, a lake you cross by boat, and gardens the Mughals laid out four hundred years ago.
A Long Way From Sea Level
Nothing About It Will Feel Familiar
Srinagar sits high in a valley ringed by mountains, and Gulmarg climbs to 2,730 metres above it. Coming from Kerala, the first thing you notice is the air. Thin, dry, and cold in a way the coast never gets. Then the rest arrives. Wooden houseboats lined along Dal Lake. Chinar trees turn colour in autumn. Saffron fields on the road to Pahalgam. Gardens built by Mughal emperors, still laid out exactly as they were. Kashmir is not a place you piece together yourself either. Flights, hotels, permits for the Gondola, and cars for the valley roads all need arranging in advance. Ours covers all of it. You choose from our departure dates, turn up at Cochin airport, and the rest is handled.
One Base, Every Direction
Discover the Beauty of Kashmir
You stay in Srinagar all four nights and travel out from there. No packing and repacking.
Srinagar
The base for the whole trip
Dal Lake with its houseboats and Shikaras, the Mughal gardens at Nishat and Shalimar, and Hazratbal Mosque on the far bank. A full day is set aside for it.
Gulmarg
Two hours away and a thousand metres higher
Ski slopes in winter, an eighteen-hole golf course in summer, and the Gondola cable car up towards Kongdoori for views across the Pir Panjal range.
Pahalgam
Three hours south through pine forest and saffron fields
Locals call it the valley of shepherds, and most visitors call it mini Switzerland after about ten minutes.
Betaab Valley
A short drive from Pahalgam
A pine-lined gorge along the Lidder river, named for the film shot here and now one of the valley's easiest stops to fall for.
The short read before the day plan.
Kashmir, in brief.
Snow-capped peaks, a lake city, and gardens laid out four centuries ago, all inside one short trip from Cochin. Here's the quick picture before the day-by-day plan.
The Ride Everyone Books
The Gondola Goes Up Where the Road Stops
What You Actually See
Cable Car to Kongdoori, With the Pir Panjal Behind It
The Gulmarg Gondola is one of the highest cable car systems in the world, lifting you off the meadow and up the mountainside in a few minutes, with the view changing completely along the way. At the top, you're looking across the Pir Panjal range, and in clear weather Nanga Parbat shows up in the distance. In winter the whole scene sits under snow, and in summer the meadow below turns green and fills with flowers. Phase One is included in the package, though weather and availability decide whether it runs on the day, and if it doesn't, the group visits Doodhpathri instead.
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An Hour on the Water
The Shikara Is Slower Than You Expect, and That Is the Point
A Shikara is a long wooden boat, low in the water, rowed by hand with a heart-shaped paddle, with no engine and no hurry. You sit under a canopy and move through the quieter parts of Dal Lake, past floating gardens, houseboats, and vendors who row up alongside selling flowers, saffron, and shawls from their own boats. An hour is included in the package, and most travellers describe it afterwards as the calmest part of the trip, which is not what anyone expects from a boat ride they booked as a formality.
Worth Knowing Before You Book
Three Things Travellers Are Caught Out By
Prepaid mobile connections from other states do not work in Jammu and Kashmir. Only postpaid connections do. If you are on prepaid, sort this out before you fly or expect to be offline. The cold is real. Even outside winter, mornings at Gulmarg are far colder than anything Kerala gives you. Snow point visits depend on weather and government permission on the day. October to May covers the seasons most travellers want, from autumn colour to deep winter snow. Summer departures run too, when the valley is green, and the gardens are at their best.
Start PlanningTwenty Years of Getting Groups There
Trusted by More Than Just Us Saying So
Two decades of escorted trips from Kerala, built into every detail below.
One Base, No Repacking
Four nights in Srinagar, with day trips out, so you unpack once and leave the bags where they are.
Someone With You Throughout
A Fortune tour manager travels with the group from Cochin, right through to the flight back home.
A Backup for the Weather
If the Gondola stays closed for the day, the group heads to Doodhpathri instead, no gap in the plan.
Offices Across Kerala
Branches in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, and Kannur, so help is always close by.
Ready to Book
Our Kashmir Package
Travelling as a family or want an extra day somewhere? The route below is our standard one, and we can shape it around you on request.
FAQ
Questions with useful answers
Five days and four nights, starting and ending at Cochin. You stay in Srinagar throughout.
Srinagar, Gulmarg, and Pahalgam, with Dal Lake, the Mughal gardens, Hazratbal Mosque, and the Gulmarg Gondola included.
Yes. Return economy flights from Cochin to Srinagar are part of the package.
Phase One is included, subject to availability. Phase Two is not. If the Gondola is closed on the day, the group visits Doodhpathri instead.
Only if you are on a postpaid connection. Prepaid connections issued in other states do not work in Jammu and Kashmir.
It depends on what you want. Winter for snow, spring for gardens and blossom, summer for green meadows, and autumn for the chinar trees turning colour.
Yes. What you see is our set route on set dates, and it works well as it stands. If you want different dates, longer in one place, or something added, tell us, and we will look at it.