KASHMIR INDIA’S MOST

BEAUTIFUL
(8 DAYS, 7 NIGHTS)

Tour Route: Srinagar – Sonamarg – Gulmarg – Pahalgam– Srinagar

Tour Duration: 8 Days, 7 Nights

Estimate travel dates: December 25 – January 1

Group size: 18 people

Fly In: December 25 (to Srinagar)

Fly Out: January 1 (from Srinagar)

BRIEF ITINERARY:

Dec 25: Srinagar Arrival. Transfer to Hotel. Shikara rides on Dal. O/N Srinagar
Dec 26: Day Trip to Sonamarg. O/N Srinagar
Dec 27: Transfer to Gulmarg. Evening Free.O/N Gulmarg
Dec 28: Day in Gulmarg. Gondola ride to Apharwat Peak. O/N Gulmarg
Dec 29: Gulmarg to Pahalgam. Enroute stop at Pampore bat’s village. O/N Pahalgam
Dec 30: Day in Pahalgam. Visit Betaab Valley and Chandanwadi. O/N Pahalgam
Dec 31: Day in Pahalgam. Visit Aru Valley. O/N Pahalgam
Jan 1: Drive back to Srinagar airport. Fly back to your city
DISCLAIMER:

The itinerary is subject to weather conditions. All routes within Kashmir are open even during the winter
months, but in the extreme case that some routes get closed due to snowfall, we shall makealternate
plans.

DETAILED ITINERARY:

December 25: Fly into Srinagar; Overnight at Srinagar

Fly into Srinagar in the morning. Upon your arrival at the airport, a cab will transfer the group to
the hotel. The moment you step out of the plane, the pleasant weather greets you and you can see
the mountains everywhere in the background.

After freshening up a bit, we shall go for the beautiful Cheshmashahi Mughal Garden and then
go on a shikara ride on the lovely Dal Lake. And since we are cool like that, we will convince the
boatman to let us ride the shikara ourselves, err under his guidance.
 The last week of December usually records low temperatures hovering just around 0 - 2 degrees
celsius. And the lake usually freezes when the temperate goes down to minus ten degrees around
end of January. Shikaras ply daily on the waters of this most popular lake in Kashmir.

In winters, boating in the Dal is a beautiful experience with snowy white mountains flanking the
lake in the background and the Mughal gardens and the markets overlooking the lake with pride.

We then head to the beautiful Nishat Bagh Mughal Gardens. A terraced garden, Nishath Bagh was built
in the 17 centuries. It is the second largest Mughal Garden in Kashmir after the Shalimar Bagh, but is
more beautiful than Shalimar. Also known as “The Garden of Bliss”, it has the Zabarwan Mountains
forming an imposing majestic background and during December, the mountain would be pristine snow
white.

The biggest advantage of visiting Kashmir during the winter season is that there won’t be too many
tourists then. In summers, the Dal Lake is full of shikaras and tourists.
In the Mughal gardens there is no space to even walk in the summers as there are so many peoplethere.
This winter, we would have the whole gardens to ourselves and will be among the select
travellers gliding slowly on the shikaras on the magnificent Dal. Now, we wouldn’t want to miss that
opportunity, would we?

In the evening, let’s go to the amazing Mughal Darbar and have some delicious Kashmiri food.

December 26: Day Trip to Sonamarg; Overnight at Srinagar

These are the last few days of 2022, and this holiday is all about relaxing and taking in the beautiful
sights slowly at your own pace.

This trip is not going to be about madly rushing everywhere, or waking up early and hurrying to checklist
twenty things.

It is about sipping Kahwa and taking in the morning sun, having a nice breakfast and then setting off in
our minibus, smiling and staring at the beautiful countryside, stopping wherever we find something
pretty, taking photographs, getting closer to the mountains, besides sitting with the people you have
met on the group and getting to know them, striking up conversations with the locals, or just soaking in
and losing yourself to the surroundings!

Today after breakfast, we head to Sonamarg. The drive, just like to anywhere in Kashmir, is beautiful. In
this sixty kilometer journey, we shall be crossing orchards, fields, and soon there will be snow walls, six
to eight feet high, flanking both sides of the roads.
We shall stop halfway, in the middle of nowhere, at a dhaba that will serve us steaming hot chai, pakoras
and parathe. There will be a meadow on one side, with a mountain covered in snow in thebackground.
And behind the dhaba, there will be a bristling stream where we shall play.

We will then continue to Sonamarg. When we reach there, we can either go for a hike somewherein
the hills by ourselves and have our own mini adventure. Somewhere we can stop and spend time
near the river.

We will walk up a little distance, and closer to the hills. Spend a little time amidst the mountains. Time
for conversations, snow fights, sitting and absorbing the beauty of this piece of heaven. It is a beautiful
place, cliffs so high, their faces so jagged and snow all over.
We shall return to Srinagar in the evening.

December 27: Drive down to Gulmarg. Overnight at Gulmarg

All of Kashmir is beautiful, but Gulmarg, not just the place, but even the route to it, makes my heart
sing. The route is full of pine trees, Deodars, Chinars, Amaltas and Kikar trees flanking the
mountainside and render the tall hills an even greater beauty.
Gulmarg is probably one of the most scenic places I have seen in all of India. And we spend shall spend
two amazing days exploring the vistas.
Gulmarg is the top destination to ski in India, and one among the top ten in all of Asia.

In winters, in December and January, a lot of western tourists come to Gulmarg, just to ski. On this day,
we shall see the ski resort, and one can try their hands at some basic beginner skiing.

And since we expect to see quite a bit of snow in Gulmarg this time of the year, we can build our own
snowmen, or our own forts, and divide ourselves into teams and have a snow fight. Game of Thrones
style, “my friends, winter is coming!”

December 28: World’s Highest Gondola Ride; Overnight at Gulmarg

We shall take the Gondola ride on the world’s highest cable car, all the way up Apharwat Peak.

More than 4000 meters high, the second level is not very far from the Line of Control between India and
Pakistan. This will probably be the most adventurous day of the trip ride.
The second (higher) level is accessible only if there are no snow storms at the upper reaches of the peak. Hence,I
am arranging for tickets for the first level. Based on the weather that day, we can choose to go to level two or stay
at level one.
I expect that even at level one, there will be fresh snow all around us.
December 29: Drive to Pahalgam; Enroute stop at Pampore Bats village

In the morning, after breakfast, we leave for Pahalgam. A lot of chinar trees and woolly dogs later, we
shall see the first of the saffron fields just before Pampore village.

Pampore is a bats’ village. As the name suggests, the entire village is engaged in making cricket
bats, and we shall stop at a small bat factory enroute.

We then continue our journey through the mountains, meadows on both sides, and soon the Lidderriver
will join us, running parallel bristling and icy all the way to Pahalgam.

We shall check into the hotel by late afternoon. Later, we will head out into this beautiful town. There
will be lots of woods to explore with bristling cold streams hiding from us, and teasing us to find them.

It is also the last day of the year. Kashmir might not be known for its parties or for clubbing. But
wherever we are, let us party like crazy tonight, and bond and wish for the happiest new year!
December 30: Betaab Valley and Chandanwadi visit, overnight Pahalgam

It’s the first day of a brand-new year! And we couldn’t have possibly started it at a more beautiful place.

After a lazy relaxed breakfast, the next morning, we will visit the beautiful Betaab Valley nearby.

Made famous when the movie Betaab was shot here, this beautiful locale and now tourist hotspot has
manicured lawns running next to a clear stream, and it almost looks like a Swiss alpine village.

There are also pony rides offered here to see some sightseeing points. We could also just sit in the snow
and watch the magnificent mountain. After all, peace and tranquil is also what every trip should offer us.
We then head to the snow-covered mountains of Chandanwadi, which is the last motorable point forthe
Amarnath trek. The frozen Sheshnag lake is here. Chandanwadi usually has winter sports like
snowboarding.
Let’s get lost in nature, in Kashmir and gear up to end 2022 amidst this surreal beauty.

December 31: Aru Valley visit; overnight at Pahalgam

After a lazy breakfast, we head to another of Pahalgam’s famous valleys – Aru Valley. A

large green meadow during summers, it has been a location for the shooting of many

Bollywood movies. In winters, it looks like a mountain meadow in Switzerland – a mix of

white and green,with towering imposing snowy white cliffs in the background.
It is our last night in Kashmir. Let’s stay up and play games and dance, create memories with new found
friends that we are going to miss when we are back home.

January 1: Drive down to Srinagar airport; head back to your cities

After breakfast, we head for Srinagar airport. Book your departures back to your cities in the afternoon
because we will not reach Srinagar before noon. It makes sense to book your flights post 2pm.

As all good things come to an end, so must this trip. It’s time to bid farewell to each other, to the
mountains and this beautiful land that has been so ravaged by man.

Thank you for coming on this trip, folks! Hopefully we will meet somewhere soon again, some other
destination, some other trip!
What's included?

• 2 nights’ accommodation in Srinagar on twin sharing basis

• 3 Nights in Pahalgam on twin sharing basis
• 2 Nights in Gulmarg on twin sharing basis
• Daily Breakfast
• All intercity transport within Kashmir by minibus from Srinagar – Sonmarg– Srinagar
– Gulmarg - Pahalgam
• Airport transfers
• Dal lake shikara ride, entrance tickets to Mughal Gardens
• Gulmarg Gondola Ride tickets up till first level
• Pahalgam vehicle to go to Chandanwadi and Betaab Valley
• All permits
• Government taxes, Hotel taxes and service charges except tips for tour guides anddrivers
• Trip Leader from This Guy’s team

Exclusions in package price:

• In some of the towns in Kashmir, they don’t allow vehicles from outside that townto visit
sightseeing points. One needs to either use ponies or local cars. The cost for that will be divided
among all the trippers on the spot, wherever necessary. Everywhere else, we will have our own
minibus to travel
• Pony rides
• Adventure sports
• Lunches, dinners and any personal expenses such as shopping, drinks, laundry

Total Cost:
Kashmir 7 nights (without flights):

• Rs. 36,000 per person (if booked on or before October 1)

• Rs. 37,000 per person (if booked on or before October 20)
• Rs. 38,000 per person (if booked after October 20)
Flight Bookings:

On December 25, please reach Srinagar by the first available flight in the morning. Ideally
everyone should be there before 11 am.

On January 1, please book any flight that leaves Srinagar post 2 pm.

Note- Please call/whatsapp Sakshi (7011240084) or Neeraj (8592894040). If you have any doubts or
queries, or need help for booking the trip! Please make sure to confirm flights with us prior to booking
the same. This is mandatory.

Cancellation Policy:

• 60 or more days before the trip start date: full refund

• Between 60 and 40 days of trip start date: 50% refund
• Between 40 and 14 days of trip start date: 25% refund
• In last 14 days before trip start date: no refund possible

Also, please note, cancellation charge is applied on total trip cost, not on any partial or
token amounts. E.g., if you paid 20,000 for a 35000 trip, 2 months in advance and decide to
cancel a trip 30 days before trip start date, the cancellation charge will be applied on 35000,
not 20,000.