There are three ways into the Kashmir valley: fly to Srinagar, take the train on the new all-weather line from Jammu or Katra, or drive up the NH-44 from Jammu. For most visitors the flight is the answer. The train has become a genuine alternative since 2025, and the road is now mainly for people who want to drive.

This guide covers all three, with what each costs in time and money, and then which one makes sense from your city. Everything here is the arrival end; the trip itself starts in Srinagar, which is where every itinerary in the valley begins.

The quick answer

  • Fastest: fly to Srinagar (SXR). Delhi–Srinagar is about 1 hour 20 minutes non-stop.
  • Most scenic: the Vande Bharat from Katra or Jammu Tawi, over the Chenab and Anji bridges.
  • Best when combining with Vaishno Devi: train to Katra, darshan, then the Vande Bharat on to Srinagar.
  • Cheapest for a family: usually the train, if you have the time. Flights can be cheaper booked early in a quiet month.
  • Least reliable: the road, which can close for hours or days in bad weather.

By air: flying to Srinagar

Srinagar International Airport (SXR, officially Sheikh ul-Alam Airport) is the only commercial airport in the valley, about 12–14 km from the city centre and Dal Lake. Around 35 flights a day connect it with about ten Indian cities, with IndiGo running the largest share.

Which cities fly direct

  • Delhi: the most frequent route by far, with non-stop flights through the day. See Delhi to Kashmir.
  • Mumbai: direct flights, making long-weekend trips practical. See Mumbai to Kashmir.
  • Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata: direct services on some days, otherwise one stop via Delhi. See Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
  • Jammu and Leh: short regional hops, Leh depending on the season.
  • Everywhere else, including Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Lucknow: usually one connection, most often in Delhi.

Routes and frequencies change with the season, so check what is flying on your dates rather than relying on any list, this one included.

What it costs

A one-way Delhi–Srinagar fare is often ₹4,000–7,000 booked a few weeks out in a quiet month, and two or three times that around Christmas, New Year and the start of the summer holidays. The Kashmir trip cost guide puts flights in the context of the whole budget.

Arriving at Srinagar airport

  • Getting into the city: a prepaid taxi counter operates at the airport, and the drive to Dal Lake takes 30–45 minutes depending on traffic. If you have booked a package, your driver meets you at arrivals. Ours do.
  • Mobile phones: prepaid SIMs from outside J&K do not work in the valley. Postpaid connections do. Tourist SIMs are sold at the airport.
  • Leaving: security at Srinagar is heavier than at most Indian airports, with screening at the outer gate as well as inside. Reach the airport three hours before departure, not two.
  • Last flights: departures thin out by late afternoon. Assume your last day is a half-day.

By train: the new all-weather line

Since June 2025, the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla rail link has carried passenger trains right into the valley. It is the first route into Kashmir that does not depend on a mountain road or the weather at the airport, and the journey itself is spectacular: the Chenab bridge, the highest railway arch bridge in the world, and Anji Khad, India’s first cable-stayed rail bridge.

The trains into Srinagar

  • Katra–Srinagar Vande Bharat: about 3 hours, with morning and afternoon departures from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra.
  • Jammu Tawi–Srinagar Vande Bharat: extended to Jammu Tawi on 30 April 2026. About 4 hours 45 minutes, stopping at Udhampur, Katra and Banihal. Runs six days a week, not on Wednesdays.
  • Fares: AC chair car from Katra has been around ₹700–900, executive chair car roughly double. Book on IRCTC.
  • Built for winter: the trainsets have heated water systems and anti-frost windscreens, so services run through the snow months when the highway may not.

Getting to Katra or Jammu

There is no through train from Delhi to Srinagar yet. You take one train to Katra or Jammu Tawi and change. The Delhi–Katra Vande Bharat takes about eight hours, and overnight trains run from Delhi and other cities to Jammu Tawi. Book the two legs as separate tickets with at least two hours between them, so a late first train does not cost you the second.

A direct Delhi–Srinagar Vande Bharat sleeper has been announced, expected around the end of 2026. Until it is in the IRCTC timetable, plan as if it does not exist.

When the train is the better choice

  • You are visiting Vaishno Devi as well. Katra is on the way.
  • You are travelling as a family and the train fares for four beat peak-season flights.
  • Flights are full or Srinagar airport is disrupted by weather.
  • You want the journey to be part of the trip.

It is not the better choice if you have five days or fewer: from Delhi it costs about a day each way.

Families sledging and building a snowman at Sonamarg in winter, below snow-covered peaks
Sonamarg, on the road to Ladakh. The Z-Morh tunnel now keeps it reachable in winter.

By road

NH-44: Jammu to Srinagar

The national highway from Jammu to Srinagar is about 270 km and takes 8 to 10 hours in practice, through Udhampur, Ramban and the Banihal–Qazigund tunnel under the Pir Panjal. It is scenic and the road has improved a lot, but it is still a mountain highway: landslides in the wet months and snow around Banihal in winter can close it for hours or days, and one-way traffic rules apply on some stretches. Drive it in daylight and do not plan a flight or train connection for the same day.

The Mughal Road: Jammu region to Shopian

The historic Mughal Road crosses the Pir Panjal at Peer Ki Gali from Poonch and Rajouri to Shopian. It is open only in summer and early autumn, roughly May to November depending on snow, and closes completely in winter. It is a beautiful drive and an alternative when NH-44 is jammed, but not a route to depend on.

From Ladakh: over the Zojila

Travellers coming from Leh enter the valley over the Zojila pass via Kargil and Sonamarg. Zojila is seasonal and snow closes it in winter. The Z-Morh tunnel now keeps the Srinagar–Sonamarg stretch open all year, but it does not help you over the pass itself.

Buses and shared taxis

J&K State Road Transport Corporation buses and shared cabs run between Jammu and Srinagar. They are the cheapest way in and the slowest, and they are best used by solo travellers on a tight budget.

Which route from your city

  • [Delhi](@originCity-32c19aa31d5a): fly. Nothing beats a 1 hour 20 minute flight. Take the train if you are adding Vaishno Devi.
  • [Chandigarh](@originCity-f03fa107675b): fly if there is a direct service on your dates; otherwise the drive to Jammu and the train or road onward is practical.
  • [Mumbai](@originCity-9f8c93c92640): fly direct. The train takes more than a day to Katra.
  • [Jaipur](@originCity-d8289ef73a71) and [Ahmedabad](@originCity-d2f947095e70): fly via Delhi, or take a direct train to Jammu on the days it runs, then the Vande Bharat.
  • [Lucknow](@originCity-90d56dc55be2): fly via Delhi, or an overnight train to Jammu Tawi.
  • [Kolkata](@originCity-6e1707d0a635): direct flights, or the long-established trains to Jammu Tawi for those with time.
  • [Bengaluru](@originCity-d47b9771bc6d), [Hyderabad](@originCity-4bc9f4cf86d6), [Chennai](@originCity-6fc3ba60c6cb) and [Pune](@originCity-5c61bd1c7791): fly. Pune travellers should compare against a direct flight from Mumbai.

Once you are in Srinagar

Every destination worth seeing on a first trip is within three hours of Srinagar, so the efficient plan is to keep one base and drive out and back: Gulmarg about 2 hours, Pahalgam about 2.5 hours, Sonamarg about 3 hours. App cabs are effectively absent, so you either have a car with a driver for the trip or use union taxis point to point.

If this is your first time in the valley, the first-timer’s Kashmir travel guide covers what to expect when you land: SIM cards, cash, dress, and what to book in advance.

Planning the arrival with us

MIRHA Tour & Travels is based in Srinagar. Our packages are land-only: you book the flight or train at whatever fare suits you, and we meet you at the airport or the railway station and time the first day around your arrival. If you are coming by train via Katra, we can build Vaishno Devi into the plan.

See the Kashmir tour packages, or tell us where you are travelling from and your dates and we will suggest the route and the itinerary that fit together.