Srinagar

Srinagar is the valley’s arrival point and its only real city — every Kashmir itinerary begins here, and the efficient ones never leave. Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg are all inside a three-hour drive, so a Srinagar base lets you unpack once and travel out each day rather than losing half a day to hotel check-ins.

It also deserves more of your time than it usually gets. Most packages give Srinagar an afternoon of Mughal Gardens and an hour on the lake, then move on. That is enough to see the city and not nearly enough to understand it — the Old City, in particular, is the part visitors remember and the part almost no itinerary includes.

How to spend two days here

The first day is the standard circuit and it works: the Mughal Gardens along the eastern shore, Shankaracharya Temple on the hill for the geography of the whole valley in one look, and an hour on the water towards evening.

The second day is the one worth arguing for. Downtown Srinagar — the Jama Masjid at Nowhatta on its 378 deodar pillars, Khanqah-e-Moula in carved timber and papier-mache, Hari Parbat carrying a Durrani fort, a temple and a shrine on one hill — needs a morning on foot with somebody who can explain what you are looking at. Then Hazratbal in white marble on the western shore, and the rest of the afternoon free.

Timing the day

Two things move on the clock here. The shikara ride is far better at 6 am than at 5 pm — still water, light on the Zabarwan range, and the floating vegetable market actually trading. And midday Friday around the Jama Masjid is prayer time, so do the gardens then and the Old City on a different morning. More on the seasonal side in our best time to visit Kashmir guide.

What sits outside the package price

• Entry fees at each of the Mughal Gardens, charged individually.
• The shikara hour, unless your itinerary states it is included — ours does.
• The Tulip Garden in season, which is ticketed separately.
• Lunches, and anything bought on the water.

Srinagar appears in every itinerary we run, and the Kashmir 4N/5D circuit uses it as the base for all four nights — ₹27,200 for two and ₹38,200 for four, priced as a group total rather than per person.