The shikara moves before the lake fully wakes. Mist sits low on Dal Lake, and the only sound is the dip of the paddle. This is where your Kashmir trip begins — not at the airport, but here.
IndiGo flies direct from Delhi to Srinagar in under two hours. Alp Travel Co. meets you on arrival with a private transfer. Your base for four nights is Sukoon Houseboat, a cedar-panelled retreat moored on the lake. Breakfast arrives by boat. The quiet is real.
Days fill fast. You walk the Mughal Gardens — Nishat, Shalimar, Chashma Shahi — laid out in terraced stone and running water. An Old Srinagar heritage walk takes you through tight lanes and carved wooden doorways. One morning, your shikara joins the floating vegetable market: sellers lash boats together and trade across the water. Alp Travel arranges a private session with a papier-mâché artisan in his workshop. You watch, you try, you buy direct.
From Srinagar, the drive to Gulmarg takes two hours through Tangmarg. The tree line thins. The road climbs. The Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa sits at 2,690 metres, pine-framed and sharp-aired. Three nights here.
The Gulmarg Gondola runs in two phases. Phase one lifts you above the meadows. Phase two puts you at 3,980 metres, looking into the Karakoram range. Back at lower altitude, the meadows are wide and walkable. A pony trek covers ground you would not otherwise reach. Alp Travel includes spa credits at the Khyber Spa and arranges priority gondola boarding — no queue, no wait.
Summer brings wildflowers to the meadow floor. Winter brings tracked ski runs and deep quiet. The season shapes what you do; Alp Travel shapes how well it goes.
