Travel style · Kashmir
Homestays and villages in Kashmir
Sleep in the hive itself
Homestays are the Himalaya's best value and its best way in: Ladakhi kitchens, Spiti mud houses, Kumaoni stone homes, Lepcha villages in Dzongu, Apatani homes in Ziro. Simple rooms, home food, money that stays in the valley.
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsA homestay is a room in a family home, with meals from the family kitchen. Expect clean, simple rooms, often a shared or outside bathroom in the high valleys, and food made from what the village grows.
Kashmir is a 135 km long valley at about 1,600 m, ringed by the Pir Panjal and the Great Himalaya. Come April to June for tulips and meadows, September to November for chinar and saffron, January to March for snow in Gulmarg. Six to eight nights covers Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg.
Trips
Homestays and villages trips in Kashmir
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Saver
Gurez Valley on a budget by shared Sumo
JKSRTC or private bus to Bandipora, shared Sumos, one shared car day
5 places
Where to go
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Aru Valley
Trailhead village for Lidderwat, Kolahoi and Tarsar
Photo: Ankur P from Pune, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Doodhpathri
The valley of milk, 42 km from Srinagar
Photo: Aniketchoudhary87 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Gurez Valley
Log villages on the Kishanganga below Habba Khatoon peak
Photo: Umarsami · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Pampore
Saffron town on the karewas, 15 km from Srinagar
Photo: Suhail Skindar Sofi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Yusmarg
Pine meadows on the Doodh Ganga, a walk from Nilnag lake
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Mike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Aru to Lidderwat along the stream
A long but steady walk of about 10 km each way leads from Aru village through fir forest and meadow to Lidderwat, where…
Photo: Irfanaru · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Tarsar and Marsar lakes trek from Aru
From Aru, this trek climbs via Lidderwat and Shekwas to Tarsar, a deep blue lake below steep peaks at about 3,800 m, th…
Photo: Oliver139 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Meet the herders' camps above Aru
From June to September, Gujjar and Bakarwal families camp in the meadows above Aru with goats, sheep and horses. A slow…
Photo: Ankur P from Pune, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Riverbank and meadow walk on the Shaliganga
Walk along the Shaliganga from the main meadow, cross on log bridges, and climb gently to open grassland with views of …
Photo: Ankur P from Pune, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Pony ride from Doodhpathri to Mujpathri
Mujpathri is a small hamlet on the bank of the Shaliganga beyond the main Doodhpathri meadow. A pony ride there and bac…
Photo: MateenSalimBhat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The milk legend and Budgam's herders
Doodhpathri's name ties it to Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani, the Kashmiri saint known as Nund Rishi. A slow morning among …
Photo: Zahid samoon · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
Walk Dawar's log-house villages
A slow walk through Dawar and the villages along the Kishanganga shows how Gurez lives: log houses built for long winte…
Photo: Abhirup Paul · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Day drive into the Tulail valley
East of Dawar, the Tulail valley climbs past small villages, fields and broad meadows on a rough road. It is the most r…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Homestays and villages elsewhere