Srinagar & Ladakh Trip – 6 major places in 10 days with budget of 50k
Disclaimers are important
What do you think when I say the place “Srinagar”? Utmost beauty meets Terror? Well it’s heavenly, safe to explore the tourist places, but utmost terror at the borders. Initially I was quite paranoid while planning the itinerary and was in a great dilemma whether to keep Srinagar in the list, but trust me the risk was worth taking.
11th – 13th Aug | Srinagar:-
Disclaimer for Veggies – You would be disappointed by the taste of veg food in Srinagar, one of the best recommendation would be to go for a breakfast buffet at “The Lalit” encompassing a lavish spread of South Indian, Punjabi and other English breakfast dishes, costing approx. Rs 1000/per person. In case you don’t wish to spend so much, you can try the restaurant “Shamiyana”, near to dal lake with an average taste of food and ambience.
The Lalit 
Food at “The Lalit” 
Disclaimer for Shopping – Shopping to be avoided at dal lake floating market as the products are not genuine to be paid for.
One of the recommended shops would be “Shahjee”, on the way to Gulmarg which sells authentic shawls, sweaters, home accessories, etc. One of the most interesting thing about this shop is they take you through the journey of “Hand knotted Carpet making and decaying industry growth”. This session gives you a complete insight on the Silkworm Cocoon region wise and how Kashmiri silk worm act on mulberry/apple leaves. The amazing demo we saw was the fire proof and light test done for the carpets. They also mentioned that their Ardabil carpet is displayed at Royal Albert hall.
Also Kashmir is famous for its dry fruits, including almonds, walnuts (sourced from Uttarakhand, rich in omega 3), black berries (for hemoglobin), Apricot and cranberry(for urine infection), Elachi (sourced from Afghanistan) and Shahi jeera. But be aware of these while shopping, the walnuts bought by us were insect-borne and hence all were a waste.
Disclaimer for Travel – If you are booking an Innova or any other car, makes sure they have the sun control films and basic requirements of Aux to enjoy the heavenly landscape with some soft music. Also, while going to Gulmarg, there would be people nagging you to take a horse ride till Gulmarg ticket house. DO NOT fall prey to it, its 1 km walk and for the entry point, ask your driver for guidance or else local people might mislead you.
Gulmarg Gondola 
Disclaimer for Ice skating- In the non-winter months, locals allure you to try the ice skating at level 3 of gondola ride, but there is no ice present in those months; hence do not give to their constant nagging.
Love for Kashmiri Children and language- You will fall in love with Kashmiri kids, really sharp features and the sweet Urdu words will be music to your ears. “Behral” (means “meanwhile”) is the only word I could learn:)
Love for Kashmiri tea and culture- Kashmiri people use “kangdi” , charcoal filled hot basket used as a fire pot to cook or to be used as a personal heater. And with these handy equipment’s they make “kahwah”, a tea similar to green tea with kesar and honey as added component.
Love for Dal lake houseboat – A thing not to be missed out in Srinagar is staying at Dal lake houseboat. We stayed there for two full nights and every time the shikara ride was a unique experience, be it watching the sunset or sunrise or gazing through the lotus leaves floating aside.
Dal Lake 
Houseboat 
Love for Apple farm – A must thing to do is a brisk walk at the apple farm and taste the variety of apples present. These apples do not taste like the metro cities one; in fact way more juicy and soft.
