Itinerary for 2nd week of June 2008 in Kashmir. Suggestions?

Hi,

This is my planned Itinerary as of now for June 2008. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

6th June, Fri night - Leave for Jammu from Delhi (travel by train to be planned), scheduled to arrive in Jammu around 11..

7th June, Sat - Travel to Pahalgam by taxi. Seems we'll reach only in the late evening, so retire for the day at Pahalgam.

I think i'll book a cab from Jammu for the entire week I'm in J&K. Please suggest a friendly, safe driver if you know one.
My friends were lucky enough to get a driver named Ramlal, last year, who took good care of them by keeping salesguys and guides at bay and getting amazing discounts at hotels for them. Seems, he knew the best eateries as well. But, they don't have his number :-(

8th June, Sun - River rafting and fishing (hopefully) at Lidder river, stay overnight at Pahalgam.

9th June, Mon - Trek to Aru village and stay overnight at riverside hut in Gulmarg (hopefully!).

10th June, Tue - Travel to Gulmarg, Gondola to Kongdori (Mt. Apharwat), stay overnight at Gulmarg.

11th June, Wed - Travel to Yusmarg, then onto Sonamarg and walk to Thajiwas glacier, stay at Sonamarg. Is this too ambitious? Will there be enough time to travel from Gulmarg to Yusmarg and onto Sonamarg?

12th June, Thu - Travel to Srinagar, do local sightseeing in Srinagar (Dal Lake, Hazratbal Mosque, Old City), stay overnight at houseboat.
13th June, Fri - Travel back from Srinagar to Jammu by taxi, start return train journey to Delhi.
14th June, Sat - Reach back in Delhi.

Any suggestions for other places/activities (other than apple picking at some orchard)? Should we include Anantnag Sulpher Springs and Avantipur ruins enroute to/from Pahalgam?

Also, can someone post some suggestions about permits and timings for the various activities please. For e.g., it seems you need a permit for Wular lake and for fishing. Likewise, saw a post on IM that said, in order to get the Gondola ride to the highest point, you have to be at Gulmarg before 10.30 a.m.

Few details to aid your answer :-)
Travel group - family of 2
Age group - late twenties.
Overnight stay budget - Rs 1000 to 2000 per day per room, inclusive of breakfast and dinner. Read a few reviews on the Gurkha House Boat on Nagin Lake in Srinagar and Mintoo cottage in Pahalgam, aside from j&k TDC huts on IM. Any other suggestions? Haven't seen any reviews on the JKTDC properties online. Eagerly awaiting Vidugoyal's trip account.
Total budget for a 6N/7day (7th June to 12th June) trip ex-Delhi -> Rs 30K (excluding shopping ;-)

Warm Regards,
travelbyte

No suggestions yet

I'll keep an eye on it over the next couple of days travel and give it a bump if needs be......

Thank you, you are an

hi i just got back from kashmir...
it was divine, u might want to spend more time in pahalgam... initially i was supposed to stay in pahalgam for 2 nights, but ended up staying there for 5 nights...
didn't quite srinagar and actually found the houseboat is rather boring and stifling hot during the day...
the best part about my trip was the people in pahalgam, my guide took me to visit some of the neighborhood families to have tea in their kitchen and really it's heartwarming.
oh... be sure to packed heavy duty sunscreen... i've got major sunburnt from my hikes even though i've applied sunscreen... even though the wind is cooling the sun can really get you during the day.

Hi Monika,

Thank you for your reply.
I have updated my itinerary and have a few more questions. Please respond if you have the time. Thanks in advance.

7th June, Sat - Reach Jammu Tawi around 6.30 a.m., travel to Pahalgam by taxi, stay at Pahalgam.
Please suggest a friendly, safe driver/guiide if you know one.

8th June, Sun - River rafting and fishing (hopefully) at Lidder river, stay overnight at Pahalgam.

9th June, Mon - Trek to Aru village and stay overnight at riverside hut (hopefully!)in Pahalgam.

I'm in Pahalgam for 3 nights, please recommend any additional place/activities that you found interesting here. I hope i get to spend some time with local families too.

10th June, Tue - Travel to Gulmarg, Gondola to Kongdori (Mt. Apharwat), stay overnight at Gulmarg.

11th June, Wed - Travel to Yusmarg, then onto Sonamarg and walk to Thajiwas glacier, stay at Sonamarg. Is this too ambitious? Will there be enough time to travel from Gulmarg to Yusmarg and onto Sonamarg?

12th June, Thu - Travel to Srinagar, do local sightseeing in Srinagar (Dal Lake, Hazratbal Mosque, Old City), stay overnight at houseboat/hotel.
Actually, i haven't booked any places to stay and plan to check out options after I reach Srinagar. Will keep your advice about the HB in mind. Thanks!

13th June, Fri - Travel back from Srinagar to Jammu by taxi, start overnight return train journey to Delhi.

Can you also recommend places to stay in Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Srinagar? I haven't booked any hotel 'cos i heard you get better deals if you go there in person rather than booking over net/phone. There is some risk involved since it is peak season. What do you think?

Thank a lot again,
Warm regards,
travelbyte

Hi travelbyte...
ermm i must honestly tell you, i was such a slacker in terms of planning i was doing the same stuff everyday there which basically do a 6-8 hours hike then spend the afternoon sipping tea and going down to the town. =)
hike wise, went to beta valley (dunno whether spell it correctly), aru valley which is superb and ask your guide to bring you to see the gypsy huts it's kinda a revelation of how basic a person can live, then to baisaran which i found beautiful once you get past the area where the hordes of indian tourists picnic... apparently it's a popular place for them thanks to the bollywood movies.
so i guess u can consider baisaran...

will post some pic in a couple of days...