We had travelled kashmir from 30th may 2024 to 4th june 2024 through kashmir travel port.I thank to them for our safe and beautiful journey to this paradise. I want to share some of the beautiful experiences that will be helpful to others like me (there are lots of dilemmas before traveling).
Day 1: Reached Srinagar airport at 1000 hrs. Pls note that always have checkin after 12 noon to avoid waiting period. From there, we reached our first destination, i.e., Mughal Garden, the Botanical Garden (a must-visit for beautiful lush green pasture), and the last one, Nishat Bagh (a beautiful but big one). You should have energy to roam around this beautiful bagh and click awesome pictures.
Day 2: Sonamarg (Meadow of Gold): It is approximately 55 km from Srinagar. You can reach there in 2 hours if you start early from Srinagar. Just before reaching Sonamarg, you will love the scenic beauty of rivers flowing between mountains and passing by near roads. On reaching Sonamarg, you will be greeted by horse riders in various ways. They will ask for a hefty amount per horse, but you have to bargain so that you can enjoy this extremely beautiful place without spending lots of money. The journey from Sonamarg is divided into two phases (phase 1 and phase 2). Phase 1 is from Sonamarg till between them; phase 2 is till Thwajas glacier.
If you are fond of wooden sledging on ice, then go for it. After reaching Thwajas Glacier, the sledging guy will approach you. The total cost of sledging, including the helper, will be Rs 3500.
Day 3: Gulmarg: Lush green pasture will mesmerize your inner soul. You can find the Gondola ride here (an advance booking of the ticket is required). Here also, you can either go horseback riding or hire a tata sumo for entire points.
Day 4: Pahalgam: The distance between Srinagar and Pahalgam is approximately. 92 km. The journey is beautiful. Here you can visit Aru Valley, Betaab Valley, and Chandanwari Valley. You can also visit Baisaran Valley (the mini-Switzerland of India). The journey through the Baisaran Valley is extremely tough. You have to ride on horse for almost 1.5 hours (7 km to-and-from journey), and that is too much in a steep hilly area. If you are really fond of horseback riding, then go for it. Otherwise, you can skip this valley.
Day 5: House Boat Stay (Srinagar): This too you can avoid, as it seems no fun to stay in a boat that will no longer move. There is always an electricity issue at night, which makes your stay worse.