If Kashmir is ‘Paradise on Earth’, Pahalgam would definitely take the crème de la crème spot. While we spent 2 days here, I could happily spend a week or longer here. Its pristine beauty, with breathtaking valleys, lush green meadows and snow capped mountains will definitely steal your heart. Lying in the middle of Lidder Valley, Pahalgam has too many beautiful places to see. This blog will help you plan your travel so that you can witness the beauty of most of these places.
How to reach Pahalgam?
By Road: You can drive down to Pahalgam from Srinagar or Jammu, the road conditions are great. If you want to hire a cab from Srinagar, there are plenty of options. There are standard rates fixed by the Taxi Union and hence there is very little room to bargain. Please keep in mind that the cab that you hire from Srinagar cannot be used within Pahalgam. You will have to take another cab for local Pahalgam sightseeing. This rule is in place to ensure that local cab drivers have enough opportunities to earn.
We had booked a cab for all 8 days of our trip. The journey from Srinagar to Pahalgam is about 90KM and should take you little over 2 hours. However, there was a military road block on the day we travelled and hence had to take a longer detour.
Fair warning, cab drivers in Kashmir drive a tad too rashly for my liking.
What to see in Pahalgam?
- Aru Valley
- Baisran Valley
- Betaab Valley
- Chandanwari
- Lidder River
- Pahalgam Golf Course
- Sheshnag Lake
- Tulian Lake
- Trasar & Marsar Lake
- Amarnath Temple
How to plan your trip to Pahalgam?
Day 1: Plan on reaching Pahalgam by latest 11AM. This way, you can have an early lunch and start exploring. You can either hire a cab for local sightseeing or take the services of a pony.
💡 We’d suggest taking a cab from the central Taxi Stand. Again, standard rates apply fixed by the Union.
Kick start your adventure off by visiting the Lidder River, there are a bunch of parks by the banks of the river where you can laze around. The colour of the water in this magnificent river is such a teal/aquamarine blue that you’ll not want to stop staring it. It’s truly mesmerising. However, these parks do tend to get crowded with loud families and hence maybe avoid them and just pick a quiet spot en route.
You can then move on to Pahalgam Golf Course. While we couldn’t visit this place, you should definitely add it to your list. It is one of the highest golf courses in the world situated at an altitude of 8000ft, nestled between alpine trees, an absolute stunner is what we’ve heard.
Along the same road, comes Aru Valley, base for many treks such as Tarsar Marsar Trek and Kolahoi Glacier Trek. Aru Valley is a haven for those who love to hike. A small village at the base welcomes you with crazy views of the surroundings. You can either spend your time by the river, in the JKTDC Park or you can hike (Or hire ponies) for a short trek with a steep last leg to ‘Green Top’. At the top, you are treated to a flat top with a panoramic view of the magnificent mountains.
Day 2: Start your day early, we were up and about by 7:30 AM and hiked from our stay to Baisaran Valley. Baisaran Valley is popularly known as Mini Switzerland. After a stunningly beautiful 6KM hike, lush green meadows, much like the ones in Switzerland, welcome you. It’s an absolutely lovely place to have a picnic. We were one of the first ones to reach the meadow and spent a good hour rolling in the green grass, soaking up the surroundings of snow capped mountains and gorging on piping hot maggi. A morning definitely well spent. This hike is an easy one and well marked, it should take you about 1.5 hours to the top at a leisurely pace. You can also choose to hire a pony here, however, beware that the hike up is scarier on the back of a pony as compared to your own feet. On your way back down, you can choose to take the route that takes you directly to the main taxi stand (This route is little treacherous).
We then hired a cab from the main taxi stand to head to Chandanwari. Chandanwari is the base for the Amarnath Yatra which is a 32KM hike from here. The drive up here is winding and runs right by the Lidder River, providing for magnificent views. Every photo you end up taking here will be breathtaking. It is believed that this is where Lord Shiva abandoned his Bull (Nandi) on his way up to the Amarnath cave where he is believed to have revealed the secret of immortality to his wife Goddess Parvati. While this place is teeming with devotees during the season, July and August, we pretty much had it to ourselves in October. We hiked up a couple of kilometers to a small waterfall. While the waterfall in itself wasn’t that great, the surroundings were beautiful.
We then moved to our last stop, Betaab Valley, where the movie Betaab was shot. This valley is turned into a beautiful tourism park now. While I didn’t like that fact, the valley with Lidder flowing through it is like picture perfect postcard. A great place to spend a relaxed evening, to feed your mind and soul.
End your two day sojourn in Pahalgam by exploring the local market and indulge in a huge, much deserved cuppa at ‘Cafe Log Inn’ (Do order the Walnut Brownie here).
Where to Stay in Pahalgam?
We stayed in a very basic hotel, ‘Santoor Palace’, run by a bunch of crazy people who were hooked to Hookah. We chose this purely for its views, right by the Lidder River, the fact that it was super budget friendly didn’t hurt.
💡 We would suggest you pick a hotel close to the river, the views are totally worth it
What to shop in Pahalgam?
On your way to Pahalgam, you will pass through multiple saffron fields and apple orchards. This is where you need to shop for the original ‘Kashmiri Kesar’. We shopped for a bunch of things such as Dry fruits, Kashmiri Kahwa Powder, Kashmiri Lal Mirch Powder, and of course a lot of Kesar. You can also find many stores along the way selling cricket bats made from the original Kashmiri Willow wood. You can also shop for some smaller souvenirs made from walnut wood.
What to see if you have a couple of days extra in Pahalgam?
It absolutely depends on what interests you.
If you love trekking, Pahalgam is a Trekker’s Paradise. You can pick from one day treks to Tulian Lake or Lidderwat. Or you can pick multiple day treks to Trasar Masar Lake or Kolahoi Glacier or Sheshnag Lake. Of course, you can also do the Amarnath Yatra, if you’re there during the season.
If you like exploring historical sites, there is Mamaleshwar Temple, built in the 12th Century, entirely from stones. And Avantipur Temple, although in ruins now, it is a great place to marvel at the architectural significance of the era plus take some great photos. There is also Aishmuqam, a Sufi Baba’s shrine located on a hillock.
If you’re an adventure buff, Pahalgam offers plenty. White water rafting on Lidder River is available just before and after monsoons. Skiing, the second best place in Kashmir, after Gulmarg of course. Best time to enjoy skiing would be January and February.
While we had a couple of misses since we reached Pahalgam later in the day, we hope this blog can help your plan your trip better.
Winding Roads & Pages 
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