I would suggest you make Achabal as camping point and visit Kokernag, Verinag, Sinthan Top, Daksum, Aharbal

and MArtand from there.

This is what I would suggest:
Leave Srinagar early morning, head for Achabal. J&K tourism department has excellent stay facilities there. (You ar
also likely to meet the tourism officer for this part of Kashmir, Mr. Shafkat Ahmad, in Achabal. He/his staff will help
you in every which way you can.)
After putting off your luggage in Achabal, start right away for Sinthan Top. Spend time at the top, on the way
back, visit Daksum, which is the base for the Sinthan pass and enjoy the walks in Daksum and the WLS. After
Daksum, on the way back to Achabal, halt at Kokernag, visit the botanical garden there as well as the trout
fisheries, the largest in Asia. (It is unlikely you ll have time for Verinag on this day).
Get back to Achabal for the night halt.
Te next day, again start off early, go straight south to Verinag, maybe take a quick halt at Kolam Chinar on the
way. After visiting the Verinag garden, head towards Aharbal. It will be a longish but a beautiful drive. Visit the
waterfall, and if you have time and inclination, go for a walk towards Kungwatar. Kungwatar is far off, but you can
walk upto Sangam point to get some beautiful vistas on the walk.
Head back for the night at Achabal.
The next day, head towards Pahalgam. Martand sun temple ruins (as well as the Mattan temple) are on the way to
Pahalgam.
After you are done with Pahalgam and whereabouts, on your way back to Srinagar, visit the Avantipura ruins.

day 1- srinagar
day 2- srinagar to gulmarg [night stay]
day 3 - gulmarg to srinagar [visit doodhpatri on the way]
day 4- srinagar
day 5-srinagar to sonmarg [not very sure whether it would be possible for snow]
day 6- srinagar to achhabal [visit sinthan top, daksum, kokernag as advised]
day 7 visit verinag - night stay at achabal
day 8 - pahalgam- on way martand sun temple and ruins
day 9- pahalgam sightseeing - Aru, Baisaran , betaab valley, chandanwari etc [can all these
be done in a single day? ]
day 10- srinagar
day 11- patnitop
day 12- katra
On the way to Gulmarg, there is a place called Drung near Tangmarg. It's a beautiful place and we were told by the
villagers that the ski course from Gulmarg ended here.
DAY 1 [25.3.14] Srinagar , evening shikara ride
Day 2 : Day trip to Gulmarg. Night stay at Srinagar
Day 3 : Day trip to Sonmarg. enroute Mansabal lake
Day 4 : Local sightseeing at Srinagar
Day 5 : Srinagar - Doodhpathri - Srinagar
Day 6 : Move to Pahalgam, Night stay at Pahalgam
Day 7 : Cover balance spot at Pahalgam and come back to Achabal for Night stay
Day 8 : Achabal - Sinthan - Daksum - Kokernag - Achabal
Day 9 : Achabal - Aharbal water falls - Achabal
Day 10 : Achabal - Verinag - patnitop or up to Jammu

DAY 1 [25.3.14] Srinagar , evening shikara ride

Day 2 Day trip Sonmarg [ khirbhawani & manasbal lake]
night stay at srinagar
Day 3 Start early move to pahalgam- [enroute Avantipur ruins, If we cover martrand sun temple, ruins and
mattan temple will it be too late to reach pahalgam and cover Baisaran in the 2nd half? ]
evening baisaran
Night stay in Pahalgam
Day 4 Aru, chandanwari, betaab valley,
night stay at Pahalgam
Day 5 Move towards Verinag,
quick halt at kolam chinar, visit verinag garden,
check in at achabal JKTDC
[can we cover daksum, WLS and kokernag botanical garden, trout fisheries same day in the 2nd half
after checking in achabal post lunch? ]
Day 6 Visit sinthan top [if open]
head towards Aharbal waterfalls -go for a walk towards Kungwater -try going till Sangam.
Transfer to srinagar. [can we move to gulmarg direct ? We wish to stay one night at Gulmarg.
Day 7 Gulmarg
night stay at srinagar
Day 8 Srinagar [day trip- local sightseeing ]
Day 9 Srinagar dudhpatri Srinagar
If you are coming back to Achabal then cover Martand and Mattan while coming back from Pahalgam and I am little
bit confuse with your itinerary . My suggestion is then from Srinagar comr and stay at Achabal and then cover
Kokernag, Daksum, Aharbal waterfalls and then visit Pahalgam from Achabal.
For Day 3, I think you can cover Martand as well. Just leave very early from Srinagar. Before office hours. Because
traffic gets really bad.
For day 5 and 6, I think you need a more expert opinion. I am not sure time will permit. (Of course bear in mind,
we did the trip by public transport. And by nature, we are very slow travellers. Photography takes up a lot of time.
So my sense of time required, might be a little conservative.)
However - if it is possible - this is the order I would follow. First head to Sinthan Top (if open). If not roam around
Daksum. Then Kokernag. Then head to Verinag. And halt for the night at Achabal. The reason is, you are anyways
going upto Daksum, might as well go to Sinthan Top the same day. Why cover most of the distance the next day
again? Also, I would suggest covering Sinthan Top in broad day light. You dont want to drive through those roads in
fading light. On teh contrary, if it gets a little late from Verinag, its okay, it a regular route back.
You can skip Chandanwari in Pahalgam. it will make your trip relax and you can actually enjoy the beauty of
Pahalgam. So on day 2 visit Baisaran valley before lunch and visit Aru after lunch. It will give you time to sit
around Lidder river and even you can visit other places.
on 3rd day visit betaab valley and moved to Gulmarg.

Amits itinerary:
13/04/2014 DAY 1 KOLKATA-DELHI-SRINAGAR; reaching at 15:15; transfer to hotel;
Shikara ride; N/S Srinagar
14/04/2014 DAY 2 Local sightseeing at Srinagar, covering all the gardens (esp. Tulip),
Hazratbal mosque etc.;N/S Srinagar
15/04/2014 DAY3 Day trip to Sonamarg and back, N/S Srinagar
16/04/2014 DAY4 Transfer to Pahalgam; enruote Avantipur ruins; Baisaran in the afternoon;
N/S Pahalgam
17/04/2014 DAY5 Visit Aru Valley, Chandanwari, Betab valley; N/S Pahalgam
18/04/2014 DAY6 Transfer from Pahalgam to Gulmarg, N/S Gulmarg
19/04/2014 DAY7 Gondola ride at Gulmarg & relax; N/S Gulmarg
20/04/2014 DAY8 Transfer from Gulmarg to Srinagar, enroute Wular lake; N/S Srinagar
21/04/2014 DAY9 Drop at Srinagar airport for onward journey

Amits revised itinerary:

13/04/2014 DAY 1 KOLKATA-DELHI-SRINAGAR; reaching at 15:10; transfer to hotel;
Shikara ride; N/S Srinagar
14/04/2014 DAY 2 Local sightseeing at Srinagar, covering all the gardens (esp. Tulip),
SWhankaracharya Temple etc.;N/S Srinagar
15/04/2014 DAY3 Day trip to Sonmarg and back, enroute Khirbhawani & Manasbal lake;
N/S Srinagar
16/04/2014 DAY4 Transfer to Achabal; visit sinthan top, daksum, kokernag; N/S Achabal
17/04/2014 DAY5 Transfer to Pahalgam; enroute visit Matrand Sun Temple, Avantipur ruins;
N/S Pahalgam
18/04/2014 DAY6 Visit Baisaran/Chandanwari before lunch, Aru after lunch N/S Pahalgam
19/04/2014 DAY7; Transfer to Gulmarg; enroute Betab Valley; N/S Gulmarg
20/04/2014 DAY8 Gondola ride at Gulmarg; Transfer from Gulmarg to Srinagar; N/S
Srinagar
21/04/2014 DAY9 Drop at Srinagar airport for onward journey; flight at 11:10

13/04/2014 DAY 1 KOLKATA-DELHI-SRINAGAR; reaching at 15:10; transfer to hotel;

Shikara ride; N/S Srinagar
14/04/2014 DAY 2 Local sightseeing at Srinagar, covering all the gardens (esp. Tulip),
SWhankaracharya Temple etc.;N/S Srinagar
15/04/2014 DAY3 Day trip to Sonmarg and back, enroute Khirbhawani & Manasbal lake;
N/S Srinagar
16/04/2014 DAY4 Transfer to Achabal; visit sinthan top, daksum, kokernag; N/S
Achabal/Kokernag
17/04/2014 DAY5 Transfer to Pahalgam; enroute visit Matrand Sun Temple, Avantipur ruins;
N/S Pahalgam
18/04/2014 DAY6 Visit Baisaran/Chandanwari before lunch, Aru after lunch N/S Pahalgam
19/04/2014 DAY7; Transfer to Gulmarg; enroute Betab Valley; N/S Gulmarg
20/04/2014 DAY8 Gondola ride at Gulmarg; Transfer from Gulmarg to Srinagar; N/S
Srinagar
21/04/2014 DAY9 Drop at Srinagar airport for onward journey; flight at 11:10

On our way back to hotel, I asked Ahmedbhai about Kashmiri wazwan, where I can get the best food. He
suggested Ahdoos and mughal Darbar at Residency road. He said actual traditional wazwan can be seen only in
some occasions where foods are traditionally cooked and served in a large dish in which atleast four persons sit
together to eat it. The cuisines served are Gustava, Yakhni, Rogan josh etc along with rice.
I took a walk to reach the Dal gate. I walked straight towards Kohna khan road from dal gate. After crossing Asha
Bengali dhaba on my right I reached at Mamta chowk, a four point crossing. After crossing the road the first lane in
the left side of the road is named as Khyber lane. On reaching this spot, anyones hunger could be raised. Both side
of the road was thronged with kebab shops. Local people called this lane as BBQ Street. The air was filled with
mouthwatering smell of kasmiri kebabs. Many locals were buying this delicacy and carrying along with them. I
noticed one shop named Imran Cafeteria was having a crowd of people. I entered the shop and ordered for
kashmiri sheekh kebab and tikka kebab. The Roti, salad, Rayta and chatni was given free with this. The shops were
also having some sitting arrangements. All of us relished our dinner that night.
The Bengali Restaurant name is Hotel Claridge.The guy managing it is from Medinipur.Couldn't recall the food
rate,but reasonable.
Now,i could recall the rates - Rs.55(veg. meal),Rs.60(egg meal),Rs.85(fish meal),Rs.70(chicken meal)...the new
rates can change now.
Claridge Guest House & Asha Dhaba
Contact No.9796178627,9419018356
Hotel Sahara Konkhan, Dalgate
Contact person Hameed
Phone 0194-2475478, 9419010592
Mughal Durbar (1st floor), Ahdoos for Kashmiri food, Krishna Dhaba for veg ( try their KHEER), Khyam Chowk
Shera and other joints for Kababs.