Getting to Kashmir by Land

If you are looking for more excitement on your Ski Himalaya adventure, you may want to travel by land instead of flying between Delhi and Srinagar.

Check how to get to Kashmir by air

Traveling By Land to Kashmir

This is an option to consider if you have some extra time or are looking to save money. It's about 900 kilometers between Delhi and Srinagar, but you'll have the chance to see some magnificent scenery along the way. Although the road is beautiful, conditions can be extreme and dangerous in the winter.

How We Like To Do It

We have never actually traveled from Delhi to Srinagar by land but have made the trip from Gulmarg Ski Resort to Delhi four times by land.

There are two sections to this trip:

• Taxi between Gulmarg and Jammu
• Train between Jammu and Delhi

Heading in the direction of Srinagar, take a private taxi from Gulmarg to Jammu. Jammu is the nearest railway station to Srinagar (a distance of 290 kilometers). The Kashmir Railway is under construction, and it will eventually link Jammu and Srinagar. The route crosses extreme terrain and has encountered many complications, which has delayed its completion until at least 2017.

Please note! If your final destination is Srinagar, private taxi services are available to take you from Jammu to Srinagar at a reasonable cost.

It's best to start out early as it is 355 kilometers from Gulmarg to Jammu, and it can take between 7 and 14 hours by private taxi. Leaving early will also ensure that you arrive before the last train to Delhi. The taxi travels on a scenic road that passes through some awesome valleys and over a couple of mountain passes - one of the mountain passes goes through a long tunnel. The scenery along this road is an added bonus to your Ski India vacation.

It's a good idea to book your train ticket in advance. You can use www.makemytrip.com or www.cleartrip.com. As you will be traveling in the cooler climate (rather than the typical Indian heat), Non AC sleeper class is fine for the winter months. You can treat yourself to 3-tier AC for more comfort.

The last train from Jammu to Delhi is at 23:45. We recommend booking the 21:00 or 21:45 train. Depending on road conditions, you may be able to catch the 20:35 train if you leave early enough from Gulmarg.

If you do miss the last train to Delhi, there is a hostel right outside the train station to your left when you are facing the train station (we missed our train once and stayed at the hostel).

Depending on which train you take, you will reach Delhi in the wee hours of the morning or early afternoon. Some trains arrive in the New Delhi train station while other trains go to the Old Delhi train station.

Taxi Only

Traveling by taxi only is another option which we really do not recommend. It will cost you more money, and you won't get a good night's sleep like you would on the train. One benefit of the taxi is that it is a simple means of transportation, but it adds more time to your Ski Kashmir holidays.

Bus

You can take a taxi from Gulmarg to Srinagar bus station. The trip to Srinagar should take approximately 2-3 hours, depending on the road conditions. From Srinagar bus station, take a bus (not such a great bus) to Jammu. From Jammu, transfer to another bus for the remainder of your journey to Delhi.

In India, if you have the option of taking a train over a bus, the train is always better…

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