Season guide
Best time to visit Kashmir
April to October covers Kashmir’s green season, with tulips in April, gardens through summer and clear valleys into autumn. December to February brings snow to Gulmarg and the ski season. Each is a genuinely different trip rather than a better or worse one.
- Tulip season
- Early to mid April
- Green season
- April to October
- Ski season
- January to March
- Autumn colour
- Late October to November
Spring and the tulip garden
The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden below Zabarwan opens for roughly three to four weeks from early April and is the largest of its kind in Asia. The window is short and shifts with the weather each year, so it is worth confirming before booking around it.
Autumn
Late October and November bring chinar colour across Srinagar and the Mughal gardens, thin crowds and cold clear air. It is the quietest good-weather window of the year.
Questions people ask
When is the tulip garden open in Srinagar?
Usually for three to four weeks from early April, depending on the season. Dates are announced shortly beforehand rather than fixed in advance.
Is Kashmir good in winter?
For snow and skiing at Gulmarg, yes. Srinagar is cold and some higher roads close, so a winter trip is generally Srinagar plus Gulmarg rather than the full valley circuit.
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Tours that go there
Every one of these is run by our own team, with the drivers and the permits arranged.
Read next
- Srinagar travel guideSrinagar sits at about 1,585 metres on Dal Lake and is the arrival point for almost every Kashmir itinerary. A houseboat night, a shikara ride and the Mughal gardens fill two days, after which most trips move on to Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonmarg.
- Gulmarg travel guideGulmarg is a meadow at about 2,650 metres, two hours from Srinagar, best known for the gondola that climbs towards Apharwat at roughly 3,980 metres. It is India’s main ski destination in winter and a green alpine meadow in summer. One night is usually enough.
- Pahalgam travel guidePahalgam sits at about 2,130 metres where the Lidder river comes down from the Kolahoi glacier, roughly two and a half hours from Srinagar. Aru, Betaab and Chandanwari are the three valleys reached from it, and it is also the traditional starting point of the Amarnath yatra.
- Snow trip packagesJanuary and February are the reliable snow months in Himachal and Kashmir. Kufri and Solang get snow before Shimla and Manali towns do, and Gulmarg is the most dependable of all because the gondola climbs to about 3,980 metres. December is possible but not guaranteed anywhere.
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