Trip to Srinagar-Kashmir-Suggestions

[sam9s]

Hi Friends,

I am planning a road trip with my wife to Srinagar in mid-June.I have driven a lot, Manali, rohtangpass all in my car, but I have never been to Srinagar. I need first-hand experience if any of the fellow members have visited Srinagar in summers. Few things will really be of help. My quick literary will be ..

Delhi - pathankot - Patnitop - Srinagar - Pahalgam - Srinagar - sonamarg -srinagar - gulmarg - srinagar - chandigarh - delhi

Day 1 : Delhi->pathankot (stay at Pathankot)
Day 2 : pathankot->Srinagar(via udhampur) (quick halt at patnitop)
Day 3 : Srinagar->Pahalgam n back
Day 4 : Srinagar->sonamarg n back
Day 5 : Srinagar->gulmarg n back
Day 6 : Srinagar->Chandigarh (stay at Chandigarh)
Day 7 : stay at CHD
Day 8 : Chandigarh->Delhi

Need to know if this is possible? Recommendations on where to stay, especially in Srinagar. Can I go n come back from (pahalgam, SonaMarg and Gulmarg in one day (in successions), or do I have to make a stay). Or will it be oo much n hectic, if I have to skip one location out of three, which one should that be.). Budget for hotel 1500-2000/night. I know, less but I do not want to waste money on stay part, coz its gonna only be used for night stay, most of the time we will be out...

Any other need to know things, road conditions ... etc etc ....please suggest.

Regards
Sammy

 

[kuks1]

Hi Friends,

I am planning a road trip with my wife to Srinagar in mid-June.I have driven a lot, Manali, rohtangpass all in my car, but I have never been to Srinagar. I need first-hand experience if any of the fellow members have visited Srinagar in summers. Few things will really be of help. My quick literary will be ..

Delhi - pathankot - Patnitop - Srinagar - Pahalgam - Srinagar - sonamarg -srinagar - gulmarg - srinagar - chandigarh - delhi

Day 1 : Delhi->pathankot (stay at Pathankot)
Day 2 : pathankot->Srinagar(via udhampur) (quick halt at patnitop)
Day 3 : Srinagar->Pahalgam n back
Day 4 : Srinagar->sonamarg n back
Day 5 : Srinagar->gulmarg n back
Day 6 : Srinagar->Chandigarh (stay at Chandigarh)
Day 7 : stay at CHD
Day 8 : Chandigarh->Delhi

Need to know if this is possible? Recommendations on where to stay, especially in Srinagar. Can I go n come back from (pahalgam, SonaMarg and Gulmarg in one day (in successions), or do I have to make a stay). Or will it be oo much n hectic, if I have to skip one location out of three, which one should that be.). Budget for hotel 1500-2000/night. I know, less but I do not want to waste money on stay part, coz its gonna only be used for night stay, most of the time we will be out...

Any other need to know things, road conditions ... etc etc ....please suggest.

Regards
Sammy

I visited Kashmir in the 2nd week of april. We used to stay there in the 80s so ours was a nostalgic trip revisitng places.

I wouldnt be of much help on the "road journey to kashmir" part but what i can tell you is the following.

Hotels in srinagar are plenty. whats your budget?
We stayed at Hotel ahdoos and paid around 3k for rooms with rack rate of 10k.
Which area of srinagar to stay in is also important and can be decided on what you want to do. The tourist usually stay near the Dal lake area called the "Boulevard". Its full of hotels at different price points. This area is also beautiful but if you want a local feel you can look for hotels in Residency road (which is like the colaba of mumbai or CP of delhi) the main market area.

Doing day trips to Gulmarg/sonmarg and pehelgaum is poosible but if you want to soak in the local flavour i wouldnt advise that.

Staying overnight is good at all these places. Each of these places has multiple locations to visit in the 10-15 kms range.
June btw will crowded, so if you want to escape the crowds you should look to spend time in locations where not too many people go.

Gulmarg from experience has a dirth of good hotels. The hotels there are severely overpriced and the service/quality of hotels is average at best.

What else do you wanna know? i can tell you about places to see in srinagar, local food and restaurants, shopping, and alternate places to visit which are lesser known.

pm me your number cos all that is too much to write

ah one more thing all 3 places other than srinagar dont allow outside vehicles to ply in their area. I am not sure about self driven vehicles from outside the state but they definitely dont allow taxis from outside that area e.g srinagar to ply locally. That is the domain of the local cab operators who have exorbitant rates for day trips around town

 

[Naturelover]

Gulmarg, Sonmarg day trips might be fine but do have a night or two at Pahalgam. You could shift base to Pahalgam for the last night or two.
You don't seem to have given any time for Srinagar itself.
Srinagar to Chandigarh in a day would be hectic, I do feel.
Give enough time to soak in the scenery en route.

 

[vnmathur57]

Check `OYO Rooms' also for stay. You may get a good deal.

 

[firearm12]

you want to stop at pathankot? I think jammu will be good place to stop by. If you go through udhampur, dont forget to taste delicious kalaari.

In srinagar, do also spare some time for city to visit mughal gardens and dal lake. Pahalgam/gulmarg/sonmarg can be done in separate day trips. Find a hotel in srinagar and do trips to these places. You can bargain for good hotel prices in srinagar. Prefer a hotel close to dal lake.

Srinagar to chandigarh in one day will be too hectic. 650 km drive including 300km in hilly areas.

 

[sam9s]

Hotels in srinagar are plenty. whats your budget?
We stayed at Hotel ahdoos and paid around 3k for rooms with rack rate of 10k.
Which area of srinagar to stay in is also important and can be decided on what you want to do. The tourist usually stay near the Dal lake area called the "Boulevard". Its full of hotels at different price points. This area is also beautiful but if you want a local feel you can look for hotels in Residency road (which is like the colaba of mumbai or CP of delhi) the main market area.
What else do you wanna know? i can tell you about places to see in srinagar, local food and restaurants, shopping, and alternate places to visit which are lesser known.

pm me your number cos all that is too much to write

Hotel budget is tight, as I dont want to spend much on stay part. max 2000. 1500 would be sweet spot. I dont want any fancy hotels just simple clean room and bathroom and wifi is all I need. Food I can manage from outside.
Which area of srinagar I want to stay?? I have no idea, thats where I want suggestions. If staying near dal lake is what is advices I shall try that.

The thing is I am a bit skeptical to book hotels from Delhi itself (online) just by looking the pictures, as those are all fabricated. Hence was looking for someone who has actually stayed in one of the hotels and can suggest. I will PM you my number.

ah one more thing all 3 places other than srinagar dont allow outside vehicles to ply in their area. I am not sure about self driven vehicles from outside the state but they definitely dont allow taxis from outside that area e.g srinagar to ply locally. That is the domain of the local cab operators who have exorbitant rates for day trips around town

mmm never heard this no one told me, you mean I would not be able to enter pehalgam/gulmarg/sonamarg, on my personal car ..????

 

[sam9s]

Gulmarg, Sonmarg day trips might be fine but do have a night or two at Pahalgam. You could shift base to Pahalgam for the last night or two.
You don't seem to have given any time for Srinagar itself.
Srinagar to Chandigarh in a day would be hectic, I do feel.
Give enough time to soak in the scenery en route.

Ok if I do decide to spend a night at Pehalgam, I have to skip either sonamarg or gulmarg, which one to skip ??? Yes I deliberately have not given time to srinagar other than few hours that I will stay. how would you suggest the literary given 8 days I have?

 

[sam9s]

you want to stop at pathankot? I think jammu will be good place to stop by. If you go through udhampur, dont forget to taste delicious kalaari.

In srinagar, do also spare some time for city to visit mughal gardens and dal lake. Pahalgam/gulmarg/sonmarg can be done in separate day trips. Find a hotel in srinagar and do trips to these places. You can bargain for good hotel prices in srinagar. Prefer a hotel close to dal lake.

Srinagar to chandigarh in one day will be too hectic. 650 km drive including 300km in hilly areas.

Jammu is a bit off way, plus I have relatives in pathankot so thats another reason. OK if Delhi ->Chandigarh is too hectic, than I guess

Srinagar->pathankot (stay)
then pathankot->chandigarh

 

[regeHA]

The thing is I am a bit skeptical to book hotels from Delhi itself (online) just by looking the pictures, as those are all fabricated.

User reviews will be genuine. I've used Tripadvisor a lot and they are pretty much spot on in terms of reviews, prices, places to see, food reviews, etc.

And booking ahead will save you a lot of hassle in actually hunting for hotels once you are there.

PS: Google Maps now allows d/l for 30 days, so be sure to load up on the maps, and also Nokia HERE maps are a distant 2nd, but its still there for backup.

 

[Audiodoc]

Srinagar is my home town. Jammy srinagar is a 6 to 8 hour journey depending on traffic. You can go to gulmarg and come back in one day. Same for sonmarg. An overnight stay in palalgam is recommended 120 km from srinagar. Good hotels are available everywhere multistar class if money is not an issue. Traffic has increased to a great extent from the 80s and 90s when I was a kid. Roads are mostly fine by indian standards. Treacherous roads are the ones from sonmarg to kargil and leh.

 

[Audiodoc]

In srinagar you can stay in our locality besides my ancestral house CH2 inn at Broadway 2 km from Dal lake. There are many hotels in this area however as you get closer to the lake the prices usually go up.

 

[Naturelover]

Ok if I do decide to spend a night at Pehalgam, I have to skip either sonamarg or gulmarg, which one to skip ??? Yes I deliberately have not given time to srinagar other than few hours that I will stay. how would you suggest the literary given 8 days I have?

You wouldn't need to skip either. Do Pahalgam the last and stay the night there. Haven't been to Kashmir in a long time but Gulmarg might be too crowded to be really enjoyable. I, for one, look for peace when travelling to the hills. Between the two, Sonmarg would be my choice.

I would also skip the day in Chandigarh. Gives me an extra day in Kashmir. 8 days for Kashmir is in itself far too short especially with 2 day drives each way. Give yourself another 2 days at least if you can.

 

[mpw]

got back last night from sotc kashmir tour...

very enjoyable

dont miss

srinagar
pahalgam
gulmarg - take level 2 gondola upto 14000 ft - internet booking
sonamarg

 

[kvm]

From my visit couple of years back:

+1 to overnight stay at Pahalgam

See if you can plan a day/night stay on the houseboat @ Dal lake - good/ different experience!

Good luck and enjoy your travel & stay!

 

[ghatgepatil]

Just giving ideas. Might help in looking at newer spots other than the usual points in J&K.

1. Srinagar >> Sonamarg >> Drass (stay one night at Drass). Very small basic hotels / guest houses @ Drass. Visit Kargil War Memorial next morning. Its very close to Drass town.

2. Same morning itself leave Drass from Pahalgam. Long drive. Stop, look, go. See Avantipur ruins on the way. Pick up saffron @ Pampore on way to Pahalgam. Hit the bed at Pahalgam. You would be dead tired.

3. Hire a car @ Pahalgam. Yes, outside taxis cannot ply there, but self-driven might be allowed. Don't try to drive. Locals know the place. Give them some of your moolah. That region needs some monetary assistance! Do local sight-seeing @ Pahalgam. Night stay @ Pahalgam

4. Drive to Kokernag next morning. Forgotten the route. 2 hour drive from Pahalgam. Ask. Easy to find your way. Beauty of a place. Lovely garden with a stream flowing. You would forget about ALL other gardens @ Srinagar!! Now, the 'gem' in Kokernag ... one of the world's largest trout-farms! A Govt Property, but they love tourists visiting them. Don't have trout at Pahalgam! Rip-off!! Eat some sumptuous preparations near the trout farm. Again, ask for the restaurants' location. Start back to Srinagar.

5. DUMP Gulmarg. That place is worth it only 'under the snow'! Else, moronic rocks all around. Some like, many don't. I don't!

 

[sam9s]

OK with esteemed guidance from fellow members here and few Trekkies on Trip adviser, did some changes. I agree, and I am skipping the usual places of Srinagar except Pehalgam. Skipping Gulmarg and Sonamarg. Adding Yusmarg, Sinthan Top and now Kokernag into the program. Working on the itinerary n route now. Will update soon.

 

[sam9s]

OK time to update the thread since only 3 days to start the journey ..... This is my final two itinerary I have finalized. Once with a place called Chatpal and other without it. This is how I have made the trip ..

Day 1 : Delhi->Gurdaspur (dropped pathankot since my wife has relatives in gurdaspur)
Day 2 : Gurdaspur->Srinagar
Day 3 : Srinagar one night stay
Day 4 : Srinagar -> Pahalgam, stay at pahalgam
Day 5 : Pahalgam - > Sinthan top (stop at kokernag) stay at Sinthan top
Day 6 : Sinthan top -> Gurdaspur
Day 7 : Gurdaspur - > Ambala (Dropped Chandigarh since again we have relatives in Ambala)
Day 8 : Ambala - > Delhi.

=================OR ADDING CHATPAL================

Day 1 : Delhi->Gurdaspur (dropped pathankot since my wife has relatives in gurdaspur)
Day 2 : Gurdaspur->Srinagar
Day 3 : Srinagar one night stay
Day 4 : Srinagar -> Pahalgam, stay at pahalgam
Day 5 : Pahalgam - > Chatpal stay at Chatpal
Day 6 : Chatpal - > (via kokernag) Sinthan top stay at sinthan top
Day 7 : Sinthan top - > Gurdaspur
Day 8 : Gurdaspur - > Ambala (Dropped Chandigarh since again we have relatives in Ambala)
Day 9 : Ambala - > Delhi.

The problem first is there is no option I can find to stay at Chatpal, but online reviews and snaps, makes this to be a dream place to visit. Has anyone visited this place, can suggest place to stay here. Few reviews only suggest there is a JKT bungalow, but google does not give me anything.

 

[sam9s]

Thought to update ......

HOME :: Finally after a gruesome adventurous journey, back to home sweet home. My trip statistics as follows ..

Name : Srinagar-Kashmir-Getaway

Distance Travelled : 2453 KM

Quick Route :

DELHI->Gurdaspur->Pathankot->Sunderbani->Rajouri->Azmatabad->Shopian->SRINAGAR
SRINAGAR->Sangam->PEHALGAM->Laripora->CHANDANWADI->Pehalgam->Anantnag->CHATPAL->Anantnag->KOKERNAG->Daksum-SINTHANTOP->Kishtwar->Patnitop->Udhampur->Lakhanpur->Gurdaspur->Batala->AMRITSAR->Ambala->DELHI

Days Travelled : 10

Car Driven : Swift VDI Diesel

Complete Journey can be followed on the below link ..

https://findpenguins.com/sam9s-trips/trip/kashmir-srinagar-getaway

Selected photos will follow

PS: Special thanks to parambir, who helped me understanding few aspects of the local area and also provided me contact info of a local reference in case I needed some help. That boosted some great confidence in me while I landed in to Srinagar.

Parambir sir thank you Wholeheartedly for the assistance you provided, very less people do that in this current word we live in. Thanks again:thumbsup:

 

[Naturelover]

Great, Sam! Nice pics.
This findpenguins seems to be a good thing. How was your experience with the app?

 

[sam9s]

findpenguines is really good to track your travel, I however missed two things, adding videos and audio notes, apart from that it worked perfectly, best part is it works offline as well, so even if there is no network it will create the log and sync it online as soon as it finds network or wifi. This was really handy.