Travel style
Honeymoons
Quiet rooms with the mountains outside
Honeymoons in Kashmir houseboats, Bhutan's valleys, Himachal orchards and Sikkim's hills, from saver homestays to the best lodges. Slow days, good rooms, no rush.
Photo: Skywayman9 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · CommonsThe best mountain honeymoons are slow: two or three bases, not seven, and rooms worth staying in. We avoid back-to-back long drives and add a day with nothing planned.
Budgets vary widely, and the Himalaya suits all of them. A week in Kashmir on a houseboat and in a Gulmarg hotel costs a fraction of a week in Bhutan's lodges, and both work.
Trips
Honeymoons trips
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Comfort
Classic Kashmir: Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam
Private car with driver
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Signature
Signature Kashmir: palace, meadow and river
Private car with driver and a private guide
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Signature
Kashmir in winter: Gulmarg snow and Srinagar
Private 4x4 with driver and snow chains
Photo: Anirvan Shukla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Comfort
Leh, Nubra and Pangong with a private car
Private Ladakh Taxi Union SUV with driver
Photo: Anirvan Shukla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Signature
Thiksey camp, Nimmu House and Nubra in style
Private SUV with driver and a private guide throughout
Photo: Navneet Sharma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Shimla and Kinnaur with Oberoi stays
Private SUV with driver and guide; toy train from Kalka
Photo: Navneet Sharma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Shimla and the Kullu valley in luxury
Private car with driver
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Signature
Taj Rishikesh and Mussoorie in comfort
Private car with driver
Photo: Travelling Slacker · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Signature
Kasar Devi and Binsar, slow and private
Private car with driver
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Kathmandu, Bandipur and Pokhara by private car
Private car with driver
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Dwarika's, Bandipur and Tiger Mountain
Private car with driver; domestic flight Pokhara–Kathmandu
Photo: Mayukh Ghose · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Tea and toy train: Kurseong and Darjeeling
Private car with driver
Photo: Mayukh Ghose · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Taj Chia Kutir, Windamere and Glenburn
Private SUV with driver
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Sikkim heritage hotels, 6 nights
Private SUV with driver and local guide
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Sikkim signature: Gangtok and the north
Private SUV with driver and local guide
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Comfort
Paro, Thimphu and Punakha in comfort, 6 nights
Private car with driver
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Signature
Bhutan by Amankora lodges, 8 nights
Private car with driver
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Signature
Six Senses and COMO Uma Paro, 7 nights
Private car with driver
Photo: Itrajib · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Tawang and Dirang in comfort
Private SUV with driver and private guide
20 places
Where to go
Photo: Skywayman9 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Gulmarg
A ski meadow at 2,650 m with a gondola to Apharwat
Photo: Unknown author · CC0 · Commons
Pahalgam
The shepherds' village where the two Lidder rivers meet
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Srinagar
Houseboats, Mughal gardens and an old city of craftsmen
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Pangong Tso
A 134 km brackish lake at about 4,250 m, best at first light
Photo: Neerajsinghazm · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Manali
Head of the Kullu valley, under cedar forest and snow peaks
Photo: Akshat Sharma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Naggar
The old Kullu capital, with a timber castle and Roerich's home
Photo: Navneet Sharma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Shimla
The old summer capital, reached by a 1903 mountain railway
Photo: This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Jispa
A riverside stop on the Manali–Leh road at 3,200 m
Photo: Paul Hamilton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Mussoorie & Landour
A Raj-era ridge town, and the quiet cantonment above it
Photo: SudiptoDutta · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Binsar
An oak sanctuary on the Chand kings' summer hill
Photo: ParthaPratimNath · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mukteshwar
Orchards, cliffs and a Shiva temple on a 2,171 m ridge
Photo: Skalvanov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Nainital
An eye-shaped lake, a Raj summer capital and the gateway to Kumaon
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Arup1981 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Gondola to the Apharwat ridge
The Gulmarg Gondola climbs in two phases from the meadow to Kongdori and then to the Apharwat ridge close to 4,000 m. I…
Photo: Rudolph.A.furtado · CC0 · Commons
First ski lessons on the Gulmarg nursery slopes
Gulmarg is the best place in India to learn to ski. Gentle slopes near the meadow, rental shops by the gondola and cert…
Photo: Vinayaraj · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Meadow walk to the Maharani Temple and St Mary's
A gentle walk across the meadow links Gulmarg's two heritage buildings: the Maharani Temple, built by Maharaja Hari Sin…
Photo: Nandanupadhyay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Betaab Valley and Chandanwari by union taxi
Follow the East Lidder upstream from Pahalgam to Betaab Valley and the roadhead at Chandanwari, the start of the Amarna…
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Trout fishing on the Lidder with a day licence
The cold, clear Lidder holds brown trout, introduced to Kashmir in British times, and the Fisheries Department issues d…
Photo: Divya Gupta (divya.co) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Across the Lidder to the Mamleshwar temple
A short walk over the Lidder bridge leads to Mamleshwar, a small old stone Shiva temple with a spring-fed tank, on the …
Photo: Suhail Skindar Sofi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Dawn shikara to Dal's vegetable market
Before sunrise, farmers from Dal's floating gardens paddle their produce to a gathering point near Rainawari and trade …
Photo: ANSAR AHMAD · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mughal gardens of the Zabarwan, terrace by terrace
Four gardens line the foothills above Dal Lake: Shalimar, Nishat, Chashme Shahi and Pari Mahal. Visiting in a morning s…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: McKay Savage · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Budget
Zostel Srinagar
A backpacker hostel in the Nishat area, a short walk from the eastern shore of Dal Lake, with dorm beds, private r…
Photo: Unknown author · CC0 · Commons
Budget
JKTDC Huts and Cottages, Pahalgam
The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation runs cottages and huts in Pahalgam, set among pines near the…
Photo: GharWapsi · CC0 · Commons
Mid
Ahdoos Hotel
A long-established city hotel on Residency Road in central Srinagar, best known for its restaurant, one of the val…
Photo: Chongkian · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Hotel Highlands Park
A heritage hotel from the early 1960s on a rise above the Gulmarg meadow, with a main lodge and separate cottage-s…
Photo: Suneeta3 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
The Pahalgam Hotel
One of Pahalgam's oldest hotels, established in the early 1930s, set in gardens above the Lidder with rooms and su…
Photo: Vinayaraj · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
The LaLiT Grand Palace Srinagar
The former Gulab Bhavan, a summer palace completed in 1910 for Maharaja Pratap Singh, set in large lawns with chin…