ROUTES · 4-DAY · EASY
Kashmir Long Weekend.
Fly in, houseboat, Gulmarg gondola, fly out. Four days is tight for Kashmir but enough to get the essentials — Dal Lake, one valley trip, and that first glimpse of the mountains that makes you underst
Kashmir Long Weekend
Fly in, houseboat, Gulmarg gondola, fly out. Four days is tight for Kashmir but enough to get the essentials — Dal Lake, one valley trip, and that first glimpse of the mountains that makes you understand why every Mughal emperor was obsessed with this place.
Highlights
Logistics
Direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore to Srinagar. Book houseboat on Dal Lake (₹3,000-8,000/night). Pre-book a local driver (₹2,500/day). Don't try to squeeze Pahalgam AND Gulmarg into 4 days — you'll spend the whole trip in a car.
Day by Day
Arrive Srinagar. Check into houseboat on Dal Lake. Afternoon shikara ride — let the boatman take you through the floating vegetable market if it's morning, or the lotus gardens. Evening: Mughal Gardens (Nishat Bagh is the best one). Dinner on the houseboat.
Full day Gulmarg. Leave by 8AM. Gondola Phase 1 (must do, views of Nanga Parbat on clear days). Phase 2 only if no small kids and weather is good — it's 4000m up and can be brutal. Khilanmarg meadow walk. Lunch at Gulmarg. Return to Srinagar by 5PM.
Srinagar day. Shankaracharya Temple (hilltop, city views). Old City walk through the lanes. Hazratbal Mosque. Chashme Shahi garden + Pari Mahal. Afternoon: Dal Lake kayaking or second shikara ride. Lal Chowk for shopping — saffron, papier-mache, pashmina (bargain hard).
Early morning: flower market by shikara (5:30-6:30AM, worth the alarm). Pack up. Last chai on the houseboat. Depart.
Route Map
ALSO ON NAKSHIQ
Eight more rooms in the magazine.
Guides
Visa, scams, food, packing.
Everything the guidebook won't tell you — written for India in 2026.
Blog
Field notes from the road.
Long-form reads on regions, festivals, and the offbeat circuit.
Road trips
Curated multi-day routes.
Driving itineraries with day-by-day stops, distance, and difficulty.
Collections
Themed reading lists.
Wettest places. Sacred lakes. Solo-female-safe. Curated cuts.
NakshIQ 100
The 100 best destination-months.
India's highest-scoring places, ranked across all 12 months.
The Window
Our weekly newsletter, archived.
One honest spread, every Sunday. The full back catalogue.
Skip list
What we'd skip — and what we'd do instead.
Overhyped places with honest alternatives.
First trip
Planning your first time in India.
Safety, scams, what to wear, food survival, solo female travel.