Srinagar & Pahalgam — the Lidder Valley in Four Nights

Met at Srinagar and taken to the lake, half an hour or so. The afternoon is the included hour of shikara, paddled out among the floating gardens and the lotus beds — the best possible first look at a city that is organised around its water rather than beside it. Check-in is from two in the afternoon and checkout at noon, which is worth knowing when planning an early flight at the other end of the trip. · Srinagar · Private vehicle

The gardens along the eastern shore below the Zabarwan range: Chashme Shahi of 1632 around its spring, Nishat Bagh of 1633 rising in twelve terraces for the zodiac, and Shalimar Bagh, built by Jahangir for Nur Jahan in 1619 and the model every later Mughal garden works from. Pari Mahal above them was a Sufi school before it was a pleasure terrace. The afternoon takes the Shankaracharya temple on its hill for the view over the whole lake system, and the old city's craft workshops if there is time. · Srinagar · Private vehicle

South-east about 90 km and two and a half hours, through Pampore where the saffron is grown — in late October the fields are purple and the crocus is picked by hand at dawn — and past Awantipora, whose ninth-century temples were built by King Avantivarman and stand in ruins beside the Jhelum. Pahalgam at about 2,200 m is where the Lidder comes out of the mountains, and the afternoon is best spent walking beside it rather than driving anywhere. · Srinagar to Pahalgam · overnight Pahalgam · Private vehicle

The morning goes up the side valleys, and this needs explaining: the package vehicle is not permitted beyond Pahalgam town, so Betaab, Aru and Chandanwari are reached by local union taxi hired at the stand and paid directly. Betaab is the closest and the prettiest; Aru is higher and quieter; Chandanwari is where the Amarnath pilgrimage begins. Baisaran, the meadow above the town, is a walk of about an hour or a pony ride, also on direct payment. Back to Srinagar in the afternoon and aboard a houseboat for the night. · Pahalgam to Srinagar · overnight Houseboat · Private vehicle and union taxi

Breakfast on the houseboat, with the option of going out on the water first for the floating vegetable market, which trades from around half past four and is finished by seven. Then the transfer to the airport. Security at Srinagar involves multiple screenings and vehicle checks well before the terminal, so allow at least three hours before departure rather than the two the distance would suggest. · Srinagar · overnight — · Shikara and private vehicle