Best Time to Visit Kashmir: Month by Month

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) publishes 1991–2020 climate normals for Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam, and the figures below are its monthly averages: the average daytime high and night-time low, and the rain. They are long-term means, so any given year runs warmer, colder or wetter. Across all three places the pattern is the same. January is the coldest month and July or August the warmest, March is the wettest and October the driest. Pahalgam is cooler than Srinagar, and Gulmarg cooler still.

Anantnag district calls March to October the busiest period for visitors. Our place guide, the Kashmir travel guide, covers the sights, the routes in and how many days to allow.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises against all travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and warns that your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against its advice. Other governments publish their own advice, which changes. Read yours and your policy before you choose a month; our travel insurance guide lists what to check. This guide gives no verdict of its own on safety.

Gulmarg is where snow is easiest to count on. The Baramulla district describes the town as fully covered in a white blanket of snow in winter, and IMD's normals put its January days at 0.7°C and nights at −7.7°C. Our gondola and skiing day is planned for December to February. Incredible India says Pahalgam's meadows are blanketed with snow in winter, and the Budgam district says Yusmarg gets snow then. Snow also closes roads and places, so keep your dates flexible.

• Gardens and the tulip festival: spring, from March. Chashma Shahi is open from March to November and at full bloom in May and June.
• Warmest days and the meadows: June to August, with Srinagar at about 28 to 30°C.
• Lotus on Dal Lake: July and August.
• Autumn colour and saffron: October, the driest month, with saffron flowering around late October.
• Snow and skiing at Gulmarg: December to February.
• The driest weather: October, at all three stations.

Pahalgam is a transit camp for the Amarnath Yatra, and Baltal, 15 km east of Sonamarg, is also a base camp for it. Anantnag district's advice is to book accommodation well in advance during the Yatra, in July and August. If you travel then, ask your operator what the pilgrimage means for roads and movement on your dates.

The Sonamarg tunnel, inaugurated in January 2025, will maintain connectivity to Sonamarg through the winter, according to the Press Information Bureau, and All India Radio called it all-weather; it is still worth checking conditions after heavy snowfall. The Srinagar–Leh highway beyond it closes in winter and typically opens in May, and the dates change every year. For Ladakh's own seasons, see our best time to visit Ladakh guide; the places themselves have guides of their own: Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg. The routes we run are on our Kashmir tour packages page.