Jammu & Kashmir
Alpine lakes, saffron valleys and the Pir Panjal's snow-fed meadows.
Legend
- Treks
- Hikes
- Passes
- Mountains
- Lakes
- Waterfalls
Quick Stats
- Spots
- 53
- Landforms
- 6
- Terrain
- Greater & Pir Panjal Himalayas
Trails & landmarks
Dal Lake
Srinagar's jewel — shikara rides, floating vegetable gardens and houseboats under the Zabarwan hills.
Wular Lake
Asia's largest freshwater lake — a flyway wintering ground for bar-headed geese below Harmukh.
Manasbal Lake
The 'supreme gem of Kashmir lakes' — deep water lotus beds under the Baladar ridge.
Gulmarg
Meadow of flowers — world's second-highest cable car, Asia's premier powder and golf in summer.
Apharwat Peak
The Gulmarg Gondola delivers you to the ridge — powder bowls in winter, glacier fields in summer.
Pahalgam
Shepherd's village where the Lidder meets the Sheshnag — base camp for Amarnath and the Great Lakes.
Aru Valley
A wooden-hut hamlet above Pahalgam — the gateway to Kolahoi, Tarsar and the Great Lakes trail.
Betaab Valley
Pine-fringed meadow on the Lidder — named for the Bollywood film, still postcard-perfect.
Sonamarg
Meadow of gold — a last green halt on the Srinagar–Leh road, guarded by glaciers on all sides.
Thajiwas Glacier
A 3 km uphill from Sonamarg — the tongue of a snowfield you can touch and toboggan on in early summer.
Yusmarg
Jesus's meadow — quiet pine slopes, Nilnag lake nearby and a direct trail to Sang-e-Safed valley.
Doodhpathri
The valley of milk — a braided milky-white stream crosses rolling meadow below Tatakoti peak.
Kashmir Great Lakes
India's most scenic trek — seven alpine lakes in a week, crossing Nichnai, Gadsar and Zaj Pass.
Tarsar Lake
An almond-shaped blue lake in the Kolahoi shadow — the classic 4-day loop out of Aru.
Marsar Lake
Tarsar's twin — a mist-wrapped lake said to be the source of the Dachigam river and home to a sacred serpent.
Vishansar Lake
Lake of Vishnu — a crystal basin on the Great Lakes route, famed for its brown trout.
Krishansar Lake
Vishansar's sister — a higher tarn ringed by wildflowers under Kishensar peak.
Gadsar Lake
Lake of fishes — an alpine bowl ringed by primulas and snow, reached via the 4200 m Gadsar Pass.
Satsar Lakes
Seven interlinked pools on a meadow plateau — marmots whistle between the boulders.
Gangbal Lake
Kashmir's sacred kund at the foot of Harmukh — annual Hindu pilgrimage and the Great Lakes finale.
Nundkol Lake
Lake of Nandi — a stone's throw from Gangbal, with the Harmukh glacier calving straight into it.
Sheshnag Lake
Lake of the seven-headed serpent — a sacred halt on the Amarnath yatra above Chandanwari.
Kousar Nag
A long lenticular lake above Aharbal — Pir Panjal's hidden tarn, rarely trekked.
Mansar Lake
Sacred Jammu lake ringed by forested hills — Sheshnag shrine and a ritual parikrama trail.
Surinsar Lake
Mansar's twin — a Ramsar wetland in forested hills outside Jammu.
Kolahoi Peak
The goddess of light — Kashmir's finest alpine peak, a pyramid of ice above the Lidder glacier.
Kolahoi Glacier
The source of the Lidder — a short trek from Aru past Satlanjan's shepherd camps to the ice tongue.
Harmukh
The four-faced peak of Shiva — glaciated south face pours straight into Gangbal.
Mahadev Peak
The sharp summit above Dachigam — birders' paradise at the foot, high meadows above.
Tatakoti Peak
Pir Panjal summit south of Srinagar — the rugged backdrop to Yusmarg and Doodhpathri.
Habba Khatoon Peak
A perfect pyramid above Gurez — named for Kashmir's poetess queen, seen glowing at sunset from Dawar.
Amarnath Cave
The ice-lingam cave — 36 km up the Lidder via Sheshnag, one of Hindu pilgrimage's hardest yatras.
Gurez Valley
The Kishanganga valley at the LoC — wooden log houses, Dard-Shin culture and Habba Khatoon framing every view.
Tulail Valley
The east arm of Gurez — Kishanganga's upper valley, with walnut orchards and log-cabin villages.
Bangus Valley
Kupwara's secret bowl — rolling grasslands enclosed by pine-spired ridges, Gujjar dhoks on every slope.
Lolab Valley
Kupwara's 'valley of love' — walnut orchards, mulberry groves and the Lavnag spring.
Warwan Valley
Kishtwar's high valley — the classic Pannikher–Warwan crossover links Kashmir to Suru through Humpet.
Dachigam National Park
The only home of the hangul — oak and chinar forests above Dal, stretching up to Marsar.
Aharbal Falls
The Niagara of Kashmir — the Veshaw roars through a 25 m gorge en route from Kousar Nag.
Kokernag
A seven-fingered spring in a Mughal garden — the largest cold-water trout farm in Kashmir.
Verinag Spring
The source of the Jhelum — a deep blue octagonal basin in a Jahangir-era Mughal garden.
Achabal Garden
A Mughal terraced garden over a gushing spring — Nur Jahan's favourite retreat.
Daksum
Pine-wooded glade on the Bringi river — the access point for Sinthan Top and Kishtwar.
Sinthan Top
A high motorable pass linking Anantnag to Kishtwar — snow walls into June and endless Chenab valley views.
Margan Top
The rocky crossover from Anantnag to Warwan — old shepherd highway, now a rough 4x4 track.
Bhaderwah
Mini-Kashmir of Jammu — meadows at Jai, Padri and Seoj Dhar, all a short drive from town.
Patnitop
A pine-draped plateau on the Jammu–Srinagar highway — first snow of the season for a weekend escape.
Sanasar
A cup-shaped grassland near Patnitop — paragliding site and a short climb to Natha Top.
Natha Top
The ridge above Sanasar — cedar forest and a 180° Pir Panjal panorama on a clear morning.
Vaishno Devi (Trikuta)
A 12 km climb up the Trikuta hills to the Mata's cave shrine — India's second-most visited pilgrimage.
Shiv Khori
A 200 m natural cave enshrining a self-formed Shivalingam — the Shiva of Jammu's Reasi hills.
Machail Mata
The Chamunda shrine at the head of the Paddar valley — a 30 km yatra from Gulabgarh on foot.
Kishtwar High Altitude NP
Snow leopard and musk deer country — Nanth, Rinnay and Kibar valleys above the Chenab gorge.