Rahul's Travel and Food

“Kashmir, where the mountains touch the sky and the lakes reflect the heavens” . I was planning to visit Kashmir for last many years but somehow it was not able to do so due to various reasons. Finally this February successfully visited this heaven on earth.

Planning

Kashmir is destination which can be visited in all weather and every weather have its own charm. Our priority was experiencing snow and snow fall so selected February.

When started planning for this trip first question was whether go independent or with travel agent, many people told that Kashmir is different ,not easy to do independently ,should have a local travel agent engaged .

We talked to few travel agents too, few were highly recommended on online forums or by so called influencers ,most of them were quoting relatively higher quote that ideally it should be and more concern was that most were very pushy ,trying to add/plan as per their comfort, hotels as per their choice which we didn’t liked at all, so we decided to go independently and later we found the decision was not wrong, overall we spend less what agents were quoting and also as it was low season (except Gulmarg) so no problem finding transport on the spot.  

Next was finalizing itinerary and for our first trip to Kashmir we stuck to typical tourist circuit of Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam.

After that comes booking part, as it was already January mid and we were planning for February mid so we needed to book at least flight ASAP. First we booked flight then comes the hotel part. Its Skiing season for Gulmarg so hotels were filling fast in fact most of the hotels which we shortlisted earlier were already booked so we adjusted with next available option and that was overpriced too. At Pahalgam and Srinagar all options were available with noninflated rates.

  December to February is winter in Kashmir valley and temperature could be well below zero even for complete week so we needed to have proper winter wear and accessories  which are good for below zero degree  so a visit to Decathlon planned.\

Now The Tour

Day 1

Finally the day come and we reached Kashmir, We landed at Srinagar from Jammu on a chilling Sunday ,before that we were in Katra for Mata Vaishno Devi darshan. We got the the trailer what we are going to experience in our Kashmir trip even before landing at Srinagar, just after take-off from Jammu ,we saw snow-capped  and valleys wrapped in fresh white snow, looks we were flying above heaven .

Arrived Srinagar at 2 pm, when came out from terminal temperature was just above zero degree but actual feel looks like below zero, now we had an idea what weather to expect for next one week. After coming out of terminal was surrounded by taxi guys ,also there is a prepaid taxi counter ,when enquire about rates it was around 1200 for drop to Dal lake. We were only 2 and was not in hurry so moved further to check about bus.

There is a JKRTC bus which operates between airport and Tourist Reception Centre which starts from airport. Bus starts from parking situated within campus, after exiting the terminal take right turn. When we reached at the spot come to know that the bus has left for TRC just 10 min before and as its Sunday so it was the last one to depart, don’t know was true or not but didn’t wanted to waste any time so start searching for share taxi and at the same place found an Innova going TRC on share ,it was rs 150 pp  and hope to get an auto from TRC around 100 rs for Boulevard rd where our hotel was situated .As it was Sunday and no traffic on the road so reached TRC in 25 min ,just after disembarking from taxi we were surrounded by auto drivers ,start to quote from rs 200 and finally settled at rs 100.

This time we were in Srinagar for only one night, later will return for 2 nights before flying back. Booked hotel Vintage for a night due to its location, exactly on boulevard road with Dal view and its proximity to few good eating places.

We received a warm welcome at the hotel with a cup of hot Kahwa  and swift check in .Its newly build property with courteous staff, our room was dal view room, room was  warm and cosy with sufficient space.

After taking little rest time to explore nearby area and have early dinner. It was around 6:30 evening , already sunset and temperature was freezing ,we came out with layers of winter wear and accessories still were shivering initially .First we stroll on boulevard on the bank of Dal Lake but as it was chilling cold outside couldn’t continue for long and decided to have early dinner. Decided to have at Shamyana which was just next to our hotel.

Situated at Boulevard road on the bank of Dal lake Samyana is one of the oldest restaurant in Srinagar.Though Samyana menu includes North Indian/Punjabi and Chinese too but we ordered Kashmiri cuisine which is their USP.  

Though outside temperature was just below zero degree but inside it was very cosy ,in fact hot and later had to put off the jacket .  

Ordered tomato soup and then Mutton Rogan Josh, Mutton Goshtaba and steam rice. Rogan Josh  was one of the best I have till date, Goshtaba is part of Kashmiri Wazwan cuisine (cuisine which is traditionally served in Kashmiri marriage ) consist of minced meat balls dipped in yogurt based gravy ,liked the gravy but the meat balls were different that what we used to have in Kofta, good first meal in Kashmir ,liked it . In dessert  we ordered walnut Tart with Ice Cream, after excellent Kashmiri dinner it  was good choice .

Now it was time to return back to hotel .It was freezing cold outside but fortunately hotel was just 2 min walk, it was one of the reason to select this hotel, proximity to Dal lake and also to restaurants.

This was end of our first day in Kashmir

Day 2

Next day woke just around sunrise with wonderful view of Dal Lake and its house boats from our room. It was a sunny morning, though it was too cold with temperature around zero degree but how can I miss a small morning walk around Dal on boulevard road so strolled little bit.

Now it was time to get ready and have breakfast which was served at roof top of hotel with Dal view. It was a buffet spread but not a big one, It didn’t justified with rate we paid ,not value for money .

After breakfast it was already 11 so decided to check out ,we checked out left the baggage at reception and went for Shikara ride on dal lake. There are ghat with stairs from where we can book Shikara for ride. Try to avoid touts standing near Ghat (but its almost impossible to avoid them anywhere ).

We bargained for rs 350 for one hr ride, rates also depends upon points to be covered. Now a days there are overcrowding of House boat at Dal lake and throughout the ride most of the views were with house boat.

If someone is thinking to experience some Bollywood type romantic vibes during Shikara ride at Dal lake then unfortunately he would be disappointed .The time you start your shikara ride there would be some seller who would approach your boat with their selling product, during shikara ride there won’t be even a continuous 10 min when you are not approach by any seller, from Shisha to local handicraft, kebabs to Kahwa, be ready for them and most of the places in Kashmir they are too rigid, even after  saying no they would take time to go. majority of time wasted telling them no but what can be done, consider it as part of adventure.

After the boat ride it was time to proceed to Gulmarg ,our next destination. As we didn’t booked taxi in advance to visited tourist taxi stand near the Ghat to get one, got an innova @2400 for drop ,confirmed from locals that road to Gulmarg is accessible ,otherwise if heavy snowfall then road from Tangmarg  would be restricted and only local vehicles with snow chains are allowed. In that conditions have to leave the cab at Tanmarg and travel to Gulmarg using local cab, share options also available.    

On the way we stopped briefly for tea and snacks, road from Srinagar to Tanmarg is almost on same level passing through fields and surrounded by hills ,no ghat section up to Tanmarg, roads are well maintained.

At Tanmarg all cab stops at shoe and winter wear rental shop, there are shops at Gulmarg too but if going during peak winter then suggested to hire from Tanmarg ,as snow would be every where is Gulmarg and hard to walk even a feet without them. We were having proper snow wear so didn’t needed to rent them ,rented only shoes @100 per day per shoe.

At the rental shop there were multiple locals so initially it was difficult to understand who actually was the owner ,and later realised that one person who was in his late 20s or early 30s  was pretending  that  he is with us, when I asked him he simple said he is our guide , when we said that we don’t required guide then he start to justify that without guide it would be difficult for us to explore Gulmarg ,when we again and again denied his requirement he started to be aggressive ,I had these situations in mind but didn’t had idea that very 2^nd days had to face this, finally we  left the place after getting snow shoes  ignoring him for Gulmarg .

After Tanmarg the weather started to change and after 2-3 km can see snow both side of the road ,the closer we were going towards Gulmarg more fresh snow both side. When we reached Gulmarg it was like a fairy dream place, fresh white snow everywhere, whole Gulmarg was covered with snow . But come to know that our cab can’t reach till our hotel,driver tried his best but not able to take further ahead of Gandola   station, had to drop there. We had booked Grand Mumtaz which was less than a km from the place where we were dropped but due to snow it was not possible to walk with baggage even few metres so understanding the situation we hired 2 porters for baggage and also four our guidance as its was not easy to walk. Thank god that we had rented the snow shoes in Tanmarg only otherwise would have been more difficult.

When we reached the hotel it was already 5 pm and we called it our day, no more activity ,just enjoy the snow from hotel. The location of the hotel was near Gandola but away from market and eating options ,when you are staying in Gulmarg during snow time practically have to take dinner too at hotel as its not easy (or possible) to visit other hotel after sunset.

We had planned our trip very late so at the time of hotel booking most of the high rated properties at Gulmarg were already booked, only this one was having rooms to book at highly inflated price but as our main reason of visiting Kashmir is February was enjoying snow as much as we can so cant missed to stay at Gulmarg. The price we pay for booking this hotel was more than 10k per night but as I said no option were left so went with it. Overall the hotel experience was bad except  there friendly staff and heating system.

Hotel was in rundown condition and looks for years there hadn’t been any basic maintenance ,everything from room furniture to bathroom fitting were run down  .We were tired now so had a quick evening nap, woke up around 9 pm and went to restaurant. The restaurant was full of guest and no table was vacant, after 15-20 min wait got a table and come to know that we can’t order a la carte ,have to go with their buffet priced @1100 per person ,we were not in mood for proper meal but had no option other than going for buffet. Though price was more than what we used to pay at any buffet/barbeque chain of restaurants but the spread was just basic, certainly  not worth the price, also service was pathetic, have to wait long for any type of bread or any item which needs to be refill. Just as many  services in Kashmir the dinner was overrated too. The restaurant was itself a rundown place, looks like its still stuck in 80s ,also having shortage of plates, glasses and accessories .

Finally dinner completed and its time to sleep, at that time snowfall had started and we slept with a wish to experience live snowfall tomorrow.

Day 3

Next day we woke up with our dream coming true, we can see from the window that it was snowing ,it snowed whole night and whole surrounding was covered with at least 2 feet of fresh snow. What could have better than this for us ,we planned the whole trip for snow and we got it at our hotel only. Now we get ready to experience some snowfall.

The hotel campus was covered with snow, also hotel had created a model of Taj Mahal by snow, there was a local person who was maintaining it even if snowfall, loved his dedication towards his work.

After some snow experience time to had breakfast, breakfast was included in our hotel price, it was a buffet breakfast but again very basic and mis managed, hotel seriously needs to renovate itself from scratch .

After breakfast it was time to explore Gulmarg. Earlier we had plans to check for Gandola tickets but after experience so much of snow in hotel itself we were not in mood now to go on top, better to explore 1 or 2 points in Gulmarg only and then get back to hotel.

Now next problem was how to commute with in Gulmarg ,we had experience yesterday that walking is almost impossible and after overnight snowfall cant even think about it. We start searching for options, first option was sledge pulled by porters ,though not a comfortable option but decided to give it a try, at least for experience ,not for a long ride. There were many sledge man waiting outside the hotel. We talked and bargained and fixed the deal for drop to Igloo café which is near Gandola ticket counter.

It was snowing heavily and ride to café was not comfortable but enjoyable ,something different experience ,took around 10 min to reach. The Igloo café is build using snow bricks and remains  there only for 3-4 months during winter .Inside the café everything from was made of ice bricks, though temperature inside was little bit better than outside .Menu were limited ,people visit just to experience the igloo ,not the food. We just ordered hot chocolate, spend total half an hour there and leave for next destination.

Now time to reach next destination which was Mohinishwar Shiva temple situated near Gulmarg market. This time we found ATB bike to travel, hired 2 bikes to drop us to the temple, that was another experience, traveling on a ATB  in snow covered Gulmarg when its snowing was an experience of different level.

We reached in 10 minutes but last few  steps to reach the temple was not an easy task. First we have to walk down to the temple and then another 30 stairs up. Most difficult was going down as snow was everywhere and was slipping ,almost impossible ,again we need to hire sledge men who helped us to reach to the steps of Temple ,after that had to negotiate the steps to temple. It was snowing and weather was so freezing that even few step to temple was looking like 100 steps, also was too slippery BUT was worth the effort. Finding and having Darshan in a Temple in Kashmir, my first temple experience in Kashmir .The temple was small but well maintained by Indian Army.

Now it was enough for a day for us, too much of snow experience ,time to get back to hotel, before that’s first to get back to Gulmarg market again coming down using stairs and   then up using sledge, our sledge men were waiting for us.

After coming to market it was time to grab some tea and maggie, there are many small Dhaba near the temple ,after spending hours in freezing and snowing weather it was a well deserve break, had hot tea and vegetable and egg maggie

Now it was time to get back to hotel and need to find another option to get back, this time  we hired a 4X4 Gypsy with snow chain ,reached hotel comfortably ,it was around 3 pm and was still snowing, already had too much of snow activity, time to rest .

This was end of our day activities, just had dinner at hotel and nothing to do more.   

Day 4

Woke up with majestic view of snow fall, now it was time to leave Gulmarg and explore Pahalgam. Before breakfast had a brief photo session in snow around the hotel. We had booked  the same driver who dropped us Gulmarg to drop us Pahalgam. In morning he called us that due to excessive snow   Tanmarg Gulmarg road is closed for normal traffic, only local cab with snow chain were allowed so we need to reach Tanmarg by arranging a vehicle locally. When enquired in hotel come to know other couples/families who were also going to Tanmarg ,we club with 2 more couples and booked the cab .

It was a sumo, it was still snowing and can see good amount of snow on the road, I hadn’t see such amount of snow and snow fall in my life, found for what I planned Kashmir trip in February.     

At Tanmarg the cab drop us near the shoe shop where we rented the shoe, our driver was waiting there, then we started  our journey to Pahalgam.

In just one day there was drastic change in the scenery ,when day before yesterday traveling from Srinagar to Gulmarg, till Tanmarg it was green but today from Gulmarg to Pahalgam everything was covered with white snow, not a single stretch was without snow . On the way to Pahalgam from Srinagar there is a place named Pompore and it is famous for Saffron cultivation, there are many shops on highway selling Saffron and we too stopped to buy some ,also there are many Dhaba where we had tea and some snacks. It took around 4 and half hr to reach Pahalgam from Tanmarg due to snow and slow moving traffic many place on the way otherwise its 3 hr journey .  

We booked Hotel Pahalgam for next 2 nights. Hotel Pahalgam is a heritage property operating since British time, situated in the bustling Pahalgam market but at the same time calm and peaceful when inside the property. This property is still an old school property. Service and staff still remind someone about the old golden era of hospitality. Very courteous well dressed staff, Though the rate of the hotel was little above our normal budget and many properties were available in Pahalgam under our budget but we still choose this to experience some heritage feel.

After check in nothing planned for today except experiencing hotel hospitality. High tea was included in our tariff and it was served between 4 to 5 pm at their coffee shop “Pine Retreat” ,it was already 4:30 so after check in visited the coffee shop.

Coffee shop was itself a place to visit, situated in basement with big glass window with river view and bone fire to keep warm and cosy, very rustic and vintage interiors ,not sure but if its open to non residents too then I would strongly suggest to visit it during your stay in Pahalgam.

High tea menu had Tea/Coffee/Kahwa with some sweets and savoury snacks and cookies, it was buffet set up with unlimited options . Snacks were good, hot and freshly made, perfect for the freezing weather.

Now its time to rest again ,nothing to do before dinner now. Room was situated at first floor in a complete wooden constructed building with river view (but the river was almost frozen). Room was perfectly heated and no one can say that its less than zero degree outside, also size of the room and bathroom was good and well maintained, nothing to complain about.

It was 9 PM now and time to have dinner which  was also included in the room rent. As it was off season in Pahalgam so there were very few tourist in the hotel and when we reached the restaurant only one family was having dinner. The restaurant was also made of wood with outer wall covered with glass, sufficient heating so inside was cosy.

Dinner included was a set menu, for us they had prepared non vegetarian Kashmiri Pundit cuisine. It include different Chicken, Paneer and Saag dishes with daal and served with different roti and rice. Best meal of our trip ,good selection of items, freshly cooked and served with lots of love by the restaurant staffs.

Day 5    

Today we woke up with pipping hot bed tea ,weather was cloudy but no snowfall  , even today everything which was seeing from hotel window was covered with white snow . Had breakfast at hotel ,then have to decide where to visit in/around Pahalgam today.

Pahalgam have many place to visit, many hiking options but not much in February (Winter/Snow) , almost all places covered with snow and many places like Baisaran  valley needed Horse/Pony rides which we don’t like . Finally we decided to visit only Betab Valley and Mamleshwar Temple.We book a cab through local taxi union ,even if you had booked cab for whole Kashmir tour in Pahalgam have to use local cab.

First we visit Mamleshwar temple,it was a beautiful small Shiva temple very close to Pahalgam, location of the temple was superb and was maintained too. There were no tourist when we visited,half an hour is sufficient for visit.

Next stop was Betab Valley,it’s the location where many scenes of Betab movie was shot, Sunny Deol farm house was set up here, certainly its more beautiful is summer when there is greenery all around and river flowing still as hotel manager suggested to visit so visited .Whole valley was covered with snow but was worth visit is wants some insta worthy photos. White snow with trees like Chinar,Deodar,Pine and willow in surrounding was  making us to believe that we are at any Bollywood movie location, took lots of Photos here and spend around 2 hr .

Betab valley was good but overall experience reaching there was not good thanks to few locals who were working as touts to guides and sledge man. Betab Valley is situated in downside from the road and cab can drop till its gate most of the time. Our cab driver stopped the vehicle before the entry and said that cab cant go further and asked me to get snow shoe from the shop where it stopped and walked down till gate, getting shoe is ok but why vehicle cant go further ,we saw other vehicle going down and after lots of no he took the vehicle down till the entry. Road till the entry was totally fine ,he doesn’t want to take the vehicle down because he has to get commission from the shoe shop owner and also the touts who were offering sledge vehicle tour .When you came down you have more person to offer service so more option to bargain. We did the same .You can do it by own too but in winter whole area is covered with snow and not so easy to walk so better to involve a sledge man (but with hard bargain) ,it would be easy to move, they know the best photo place and pose plus free commentary .Also when you are visiting with them less chance of someone disturbing again. Even after finalizing the price after lots of bargain and confirming many times at the time of payment they started creating stories like they had showed extra spot or we should give bakshish too, already we had given more than their effort so have to simply ignore then and move.

Now back to hotel.it was around 4 so time to have high tea at hotels coffee shop again. After tea and snacks small stroll to Pahalgam market.Pahalgam market is just around 1 km long and our hotel was situated within the market. Bought some souvenirs /handicrafts ,later  dinner at hotel and this was end of another day.

Day 6

Now we were in final stage of our trip, time to get back to Srinagar and after a day flight back to home. Booked taxi for  Srinagar through taxi union .On the way from Pahalgam to Srinagar there are 2 place worth stopping ,one is Pompore for Saffron fields and shop and another is Awantipura for ruins of Awantiswamin temple. Pompore we had stopped when going pahalgam (and also its winter so everything was covered with snow) .

We stopped at Awantipura. The temple is few km away from Phalgam Srinagar highway, earlier Awantipura was capital of Kashmir and Awantiswami temple was most important pilgrimage place,later it was destroyed by foreign invaders.

Now only foundation and platform of ground floor remains, but looking at the ruins can understand how grand this temple would be during its golden days.

Now time to proceed to Srinagar. Throughout the journey we had stayed at luxury hotels but this time for next 2 nights we had booked a small guest house ( or can say home stay) run by a local family near Dal lake, its name was Blooming dale and owner Mr Firdaus who stays at the same campus and runs the property was a gem, very humble and jolly  person with deep knowledge of Srinagar (and Kashmir) history and culture.

The guest house was situated in by lane near Dal Lake. Dal lake was just 5 min from the property .When we reached there Mr Firdaus was waiting for us, we were the only guest for next 2 nights .The property is in same campus which have Mr Firdaus residence,5 or 6 rooms in 2 floors with dining facilities .Rooms were just ok ,nothing fancy, just like any home stay ,heater were provided along with electric blanket ,water heater was working fine, though  temperature was around zero degree outside but was cosy enough in the room.

Evening spend talking with Mr Firdaus about Local culture and politics, no doubt he was very knowledgeable guy. Had dinner at guest house only, they had a small kitchen were food is prepared as per order, after week of eating outside in restaurant the food was like home cooked, freshly made as per order.

Earlier we planned to do a walk around Dal gate with Mr Firdaus but due to bad weather had to cancel it. Planned a sight seeing tour of City with Mr Firdaus for tomorrow.

Day 7

Today was our last full day of the tour, made a leisure Srinagar tour with Mr Firdaus with limited place to visit. Had breakfast at Guest House and start for the city tour around 11 am.

Mr Firdaus was our guide for today, first destination was Shankracharya temple situated at Shankracharya hill overlooking the the dal lake. Vehicle can go up to a point from where around 250 stairs to Temple. Not too crowded so darshan took only 10 min, great view of Dal lake and the city. Come to know that there is also a trekking path to hill top, next time when in Srinagar will try that. 

 Now time to proceed to next destination which was Hazratbal Shrine, on the way we passed through different gardens but as every garden was covered with snow so no point visiting them, almost  complete journey was parallel to Dal lake ,what a beautiful ride, only area  around Hazratbal is Congested .

The shrine contains strands of what is believed by many Muslims to be the hair of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Hazratbal is a beautiful constructed with white marble on the bank of Dal lake, a well designed garden is also attached to it within its campus but as it was snow everywhere so no flower or greenery.  

After spending half an hour time to visit next place which was downtown, heart of the city, the Old Town,

Outside the Hazratbal there are many shops selling the traditional paratha and halva and other fried delicacy .  The Paratha are of giant size,2-3 feet in diameter, we bought a small portion of paratha served with suji halwa. Paratha was too chewy ,halwa was ok, didn’t impressed us, may not try again.

Next destination was  Moonlight bakery which is famous for its Walnut Fuzz. It is situated very close to Hazratbal and near Kashmir university .No doubt the walnut fuzz were good and wort visiting.

Now we proceeded towards Downtown ,on the way a short drive in side Kashmir University campus. What a campus it has, one  of the most beautiful university campus in India.

Now to Down town, first spot was Jamia Mashjid but as it was Nawaz time and no place to park the car so skipped.

Next destination was Khanqah-e-Moula also known as Shah-e-Hamadan Masjid , is a mosque located in the Old City of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Situated on the right bank of the river Jhelum , it was first built in 1395 CE, commissioned by Sultan Sikendar in memory of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani.  It is one of the best examples of Kashmiri wooden architecture, and is decorated with papier Mache.

Mr Firdaus had exceptional knowledge about local culture and history and he explained each aspects very well ,Though the building is beautiful but its not maintained well plus lots of hassle by beggars ,  not a pleasant experience.

Not only this place but found hardly any tourist in downtown area, looks tourist still avoid downtown ,though we felt safe every where in down town. In my opinion when in Srinagar should make at least a small visit to Down town.

It was around 5 pm now and so time to wrap up the sight seeing part, next was to Lal Chowk ,due to News Channels most iconic place of Srinagar, centre of any  political agitation in the city ,  our last points of the day.

It was just a photo stop ,what I felt that no visit to Srinagar is considered completed unless we have a photo with clock tower of Lal Chowk, we did the same and this was  end of our day. We left Mr Firdaus at Lal Chowk and explored little bit by own and later visited Hotel Ahdoos for early dinner.

Ahdoos is one of the most legendary hotel and restaurant situated near Lal Chowk and famous for Kashmiri cuisine .As this was our last evening at Srinagar so decided to have a good Kashmiri dinner. We ordered set Kashmiri Wazwan, it was perfect to end our tour. Wazwan was relatively pricy but worth ,good in taste, more than enough portion ,good service and perfect ambience. After the dinner took auto to reach back our guest house. This was our last day in Kashmir, tomorrow have flight at 1 pm back.

This was our complete tour ,our first Kashmir tour ,will return soon in any other season for sure.

Some suggestions as per experience for those planning to visit during winter

> Whatever mode of transport you choose do have some buffer time ( a day) .Snowfall can delay     any transport mode. If there is heavy snowfall for long then there are always chance of delays (and cancelation ) of flight from Srinagar airport .When we were is Kashmir ,on 2^nd and 3^rd day there was heavy snowfall and airport was close for a day.

> Even if using road to reach Kashmir valley from Jammu ,road can be block  .

> Winter is peak season is Gulmarg so book your accommodation at least 2-3 months in advance .We planned our trip very late and when booking hotels comes to know that most of the preferred /good hotels has been already booked.

> In Srinagar and Pahalgam it was off season, if not specific about hotels and comfortable visiting hotels without booking then can book easily  on the spot .

> Booking taxi on disposal for all day or not depends upon individual comfort . If visiting during off season like we visited then can do without booking taxi. It cost us less than what travel agents were quoting for complete tour. Also keep in mind that even if taxi is booked on disposal for whole trip it cant be used in Phalgam and Gulmarg (and few other places too) for local sight seeing ,have to use local taxi union cab and at the same time have to pay for cab to just stay at parked.

> At most of the tourist spot specially in Gulmarg and Pahalgam be prepared to be hassled and harassed by local touts/pony wala/porters/guides etc, not saying that everyone is like that but unfortunately majority of people who are associated with tourism activity are. Just politely say no if you don’t want to avail their service, avoid any confrontation, you are in a vacation and consider it as part of adventure.

> Also have small denomination not before reaching Kashmir, everyone expect bakshish,you would be asked many times throughout the day.

>If visiting during winter then avoid Houseboat, may not be a pleasant experience  due to severe cold, during night temperature can goes well below zero. Book any good (if possible central heated) hotel. I had stayed in both high end central heated hotel and budget guest house and I felt the difference.

 > Though Kashmir is heaven for non vegetarian eaters but at least in tourist cities like Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam vegetarian food is easily available. There are few pure vegetarian restaurants too.

>If having return flight from Srinagar then do have some buffer time, suggested to reach Airport little early, preferably between 3 to 2 and half hr .Reason of this is extra security check point before drop at terminal. Every passengers has to disembark from vehicle at security point with all baggage and get it scanned and again board the vehicle ,this process can easily take half to 1 hour extra depending upon rush.

Thanks for reading

Happy Travelling