Saturday, October 14, 2023

Paradise on Earth - Kashmir travel blog Series 1 of 5 : Dal Lake

Kashmir is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Its famous for the holiday destination and people around the world are traveling here. Due to the sites we chose to stay and explore during our first 6 days in Kashmir, we were able to mostly shelter ourselves from tourism vendors. It's time to organize a cool vacation with the heat rising. Kashmir is a wonderland that goes beyond its inherent charm.

Paradise on Earth - Kashmir
Dal lake Kashmir

Spoken in awe by the great poet Amir Khusrau

“Gar firdaus, bar ruhe zamin ast,
hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast.”

“If there is paradise on this earth, it is here, it is here, it is here…”

A lot of the places to visit in the Kashmir and min 5-6 days needed with the proper planning. We visited around the month of the may and this blog is divided in the 5 series . Read the blog till end and get to know more before travelling. The first series is about the travel iternaries 

About this blog : This is informative blog based on the experience and available open source information, the cost will vary . This blog is written without using any AI tool or Chat GPT. I will suggest to read it till end. 


Series 1 : DAL LAKE 
  • How to travel? Kashmir
  • Direct flight details (from India)
  • Currency details 
  • How to book?
  • Tour details
  • Local transport
  • Best time for visit?
  • What to eat and drink?
  • Budget $ and Day by day itinerary 
  • Travel Insurance
  • Series 1 : DAL LAKE
How to travel ? Kashmir  ( cost in INR)
  • Taking the bus or a flight from New Delhi to Kashmir Valley? Flying takes 2.5 hours and costs between 5,000 and 17,000 to travel from New Delhi to Kashmir Valley. As an alternative, you can take the bus, which takes 15h  and costs 1,000–3,200. 
  • If flying from the aboard then first reach to nearest airport or to Delhi
Currency : INR Indian rupees acceptable all over in Kashmir (1$ = 82 INR on date) 

How to Book ?
Best time for visit ?

Kashmir in the summer, from March to June: Kashmir is best visited during this season since the weather is perfect for sightseeing, not too hot or too chilly. The daytime temperature ranges from 15 °C to 30 °C. The mornings are nice, which makes them the best time of day for exploring and taking lengthy walks.

In Kashmir, the monsoon season lasts from July to September. Here, the monsoon does not blow heavily. Therefore, even though it may not be well-known as the greatest time to visit Kashmir, people do go during this time because off-season airfare and hotel deals are available. 

Kashmir in Winter: October to February is the height of the winter season in Kashmir. In November and December, the mercury might drop to zero degrees. The stunning snowfall that begins in December and lasts through March, however, is the reason that winter is the greatest time to visit Kashmir.  

           At the end if you love the snow and less activities needed then visit during Winter or else Summer is the best season. This details for the Srinagar only if the destination is this one.

Kashmir dal lake in summer 

Tour details : Five nights and six days, including the start and end days, will be the ideal amount of time to travel. Arrive in Kashmir by midday on the first day and begin your journey at the Dal Lake. You can spend one night in the boathouse at Dal Lake before continuing your journey on day two. Check the budget section in this blog for more details on the budget based on the 5 day package 

Local transport: 

On todays date from the Srinagar airport to reach in the city it took around 1000/- INR min for the cab. Apart from this the coaches, tourist taxis , minibus and auto rickshaws are available.

For the day in Pahlgam and Aru valley read that day series to know about the travel at the tourist places   

Weather in Kashmir 

  • Summer : Month : Mar to Jun  , Temperature : 15-30°C
  • Monsoon: Month : Jun to Sept, Temperature : 13-17°C
  • Winter: Month : Oct to Feb  , Temperature : -2-12°C
What to eat and drink?
With eating the special organic and hand made drink Kawa is very very famous in the Kashmir .
Kashmir Kawa 
What to eat ?
  • Veg food: 
    • Dum aloo
    • Kashmiri baingan
    • Kashmiri rajma
    • Momos
    • Naan
    • Modur pulav veg
  • Non Veg food:
    • Rogan Josh
    • Yakini Lamb curry
    • Aab gosh
    • Goshtaba
    • Shab deg
Budget : ( based on 2023 ) 
Even if you have the lower on budget side this place I will suggest to do with the package tour from the well recognized vendor. As the whether is unpredictable and if you are travelling first time then need to book the good stay places. The packages will take care travel from your home to home.  
Tour 1 : Shrinagar - Pahalgam - Gulmarg - Srinagar local (6 days 5 nights) 
50000 per person min ( Incl Hotel, Meal, Transport , Flight, Sightseeing - from Mumbai) 

Tour 2 : Kashmir Vaishnodevi (8 days 7 Night ) 
 Shrinagar - Gulmarg - Srinagar - Pahalgam - Katra - Vaishnodevi - Jammu  
65000 per person min ( Incl Hotel, Meal, Transport , Flight, Sightseeing - from Mumbai) 

Tour 3 : Shrinagar - Pahalgam - Gulmarg - Sonmarg -Srinagar local (8 days 7 nights) 
60000 per person min ( Incl Hotel, Meal, Transport , Flight, Sightseeing - from Mumbai)

Apart from this you can pick the Kashmir Ladakh tour as well based on the availibity 

 For more detailed itinerary follow all the series of blog. In the next blog you will get to know day 2 of the travel to Gulmarg, Aru valley , famous Bollywood shooting destination,  


Travel Insurance : Travel insurance is a sort of insurance that protects against a variety of risks. It covers any damages a traveler can suffer while on the road, including medical costs, lost luggage, canceled flights, and other misfortunes. Travel insurance is often purchased from the day of departure until the traveler returns to India. Its starts from the 300 INR per person from the travel booking partners

Now that this is over, I hope all of you are ready to schedule your vacation to Kashmir. Without more delay, here is the first day's details about the Dal Lake.

Series 1 : DAL LAKE 
In Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India, there is a lake called Dal. It is an urban lake, the second-largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir, and the destination that both visitors and locals go to the most in Srinagar. It is referred to alternately as the "Lake of Flowers" and is essential to tourism and relaxation in the Kashmir valley.

Dal lake Boat house stay 

On your first day of the visit to Kashmir take the cab/auto and reach to the Dal Lake ghat. Do prior booking of the boat house stay from the online as most of the time the boathouse are sold out. While reaching at Dal lake the typical colourful designed Shikra boats are available for the ride as well as to reach at your destination boat house. If booking is not done then need to pay min 300 INR per ride . 

What's special at Dal lake?
Dal Lake is very beautiful in surrounding and boat house stay will be one of the best memories in this tour.

Movies shooted at Dal lake .
This place is well known from old days for Bollywood movies and one of the attraction to shoot the movies.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for the comment!