Day 1: Arrival in Srinagar

Land in Srinagar and meet your local guide. Check into a heritage property near Dal Lake with wooden architecture, terrace views, and the real Srinagar vibe. The afternoon eases into a shikara ride across Dal Lake where your guide points out things you would miss, which houseboats are family run, where the lotus blooms thickest, and why the floating vegetable gardens exist in the first place.

• Dal Lake Shikara
• Mughal Gardens
• Heritage Stay

• Dal Lake Shikara Ride: A slow paddle across Dal Lake with your guide narrating the lake's working life, the houseboat families, the floating markets, and the way light shifts on the water as evening approaches.
• Nishat & Shalimar Bagh: Walk through the terraced Mughal gardens with your guide sharing the history most tourists skip, the Persian symmetry, the cascading fountains, and the romance behind the design.
• Boulevard Evening: Free time for a quiet boulevard walk or terrace tea as the city softens into night.

• Welcome kahwa on arrival with your local guide
• Sunset shikara ride through floating gardens
• Walk through centuries old Mughal garden terraces
• Easy first night to settle in and meet the group

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation: Heritage stay, Srinagar

Day 2: Into Gurez Valley

Drive north with your guide through Bandipora and past Wular Lake, one of Asia's largest freshwater lakes. The road then climbs Razdan Pass at 11,672 ft, a seasonal and dramatic crossing. Your guide explains the winter closures and what life is like when valleys get cut off for months. By afternoon you reach Dawar in Gurez Valley and check into a local guesthouse your guide knows personally. The valley is quiet, remote, and completely different from tourist Kashmir.

• Wular Lake
• Razdan Pass
• Dawar Village

• Wular Lake Drive: Skirt the edges of Wular with stops for tea and photographs of the migratory birdlife.
• Razdan Pass Crossing: 11,672 ft pass into Gurez. Stop for the views and your guide's stories of winter isolation.
• Dawar Village Check In: Settle into a family run guesthouse, the kind of stay that only opens its doors when a local vouches for you.

• Meet the Shina community of Dawar village and learn their culture and history
• First views of the turquoise Kishanganga river
• Walking through Dawar village at golden hour
• Quiet evening in a Dard Shina guesthouse

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Guesthouse, Gurez Valley

Day 3: Explore Gurez Valley & Dard Shina Stories

Drive deeper into Gurez to Tulail Valley. Your guide points out wooden bridges, shepherd trails, and mountain peaks with local names that aren't on any map. Stop at Dawar's cultural museum where your guide translates old photographs and explains Dard Shina traditions, long winters, and border village life. Then the Tulail meadows open wide. Walk the grass while your guide shares the tragic love story of Habba Khatoon, the Kashmiri poetess the peak is named after, a story that hits different when told by someone who grew up hearing it.

• Village Museum
• Tulail Meadows
• Habba Khatoon Peak

• Dawar Cultural Museum: Old photographs, weaving tools, and household objects that tell the story of Dard Shina life across centuries.
• Gurez Cultural Tour: Walk through traditional villages, interact with locals, and experience the unique Dard Shina culture, wooden architecture, and everyday life of Gurez Valley.
• Habba Khatoon Peak Viewpoint: The pyramid peak that watches over Gurez, with the love story your guide tells in his own words.

• Translated stories from Dard Shina elders at the museum
• The Habba Khatoon love story told by a local
• Quiet riverside dinner back in Dawar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Guesthouse, Gurez Valley

Day 4: Tulail Valley Exploration

Today, explore deeper into the untouched side of Gurez as your guide takes you toward the remote Tulail Valley. This route follows the Kishanganga river upstream, passing through some of the most isolated and culturally rich villages in the region. This day is a slow exploration by road with short walks, allowing you to experience raw village life, traditional wooden homes, and quiet landscapes far from tourist routes.

• Kishanganga Drive
• Remote Villages
• Riverside Lunch

• Kishanganga River Riverside Drive: Follow the turquoise river as it winds through the valley, with multiple scenic stops along the way.
• Sheikhpora Village: A remote village offering insight into traditional wooden homes, local lifestyle, and untouched surroundings.
• Tulail Valley: One of the most offbeat regions of Kashmir, known for its raw beauty, open landscapes, and minimal human presence.

• Riverside drive along the Kishanganga
• Riverside lunch experience amidst nature
• Short village walks through Sheikhpora and nearby hamlets
• Explore traditional homes, wooden bridges, and local lifestyle
• Jungle walks and slow exploration around Tulail Valley villages

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Guesthouse, Gurez Valley

Day 5: Gurez Valley to Wussan

Today is about movement, from high mountain valleys to lush forests and riverside camps. Depart Gurez after breakfast, following the Kishanganga downstream. The same river that thundered through narrow gorges now runs broader and calmer in sections. Watch villages slowly grow larger, fields more frequent, and the valley open up as you head towards Bandipora and Wussan.

• Kishanganga Drive
• Jungle Walk
• Hidden Waterfalls

• Kishanganga & Countryside Drive: Follow the Kishanganga downstream as the valley transforms. Villages grow larger, fields become more frequent, and the landscape opens up as you head towards Bandipora and Wussan.
• Arrival in Wussan & Riverside Relaxation: Wussan sits like a green bowl around the river with tall pines, gentle slopes, and cold, clear water. Check into your camp or cottage and spend time simply sitting by the riverbank, dipping your feet, or walking along the shore.
• Stargazing by the River: As night settles over Wussan, gather by the river under an open Himalayan sky. With minimal light pollution and the sound of the Kishanganga in the background, watch the stars emerge one by one. Your guide points out constellations and shares quiet stories around the bonfire while the Milky Way arcs overhead on clear nights.

• Evening bonfire and stargazing (weather permitting)

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Cottage at Wussan

Day 6: Naranag and the Trail to Dumail

Today takes you away from valleys shaped by roads, toward a landscape reached only on foot. Naranag sits quietly at the edge of the Kangan region, a village where old stone temples watch over a river that never stops moving, and where the real walk of the day begins. You start early, leaving the last stretch of motorable road behind. The path climbs gently at first, tracing the Wangat stream through pine and deodar cover before opening into wider, rockier terrain. Naranag itself holds centuries in its ruins, weathered temple stones from a much older Kashmir, standing beside the river as if nothing has changed around them. From here, the trail turns upward and inward. Shepherd huts appear at intervals, thin trails of smoke rising from them. The forest gradually gives way to open slopes, and the sound of the river stays with you the entire way, sometimes close, sometimes distant, but never fully gone. By the time you reach Dumail, the landscape has shifted completely. This is a resting point cradled between ridgelines, where two mountain streams meet and the noise of the walk fades into something quieter. Wild grass, loose stone, and the sound of water take over.

• Naranag Temple Ruins
• Wangat Valley Trail
• Dumail Confluence

• Naranag Temple Ruins: Centuries old stone temple remains standing quietly beside the river, a rare trace of ancient Kashmir untouched by crowds.
• Wangat Valley Trail: A forested path following the river upstream, shifting from pine cover to open mountain terrain.
• Dumail: A remote confluence point where two streams meet, framed by ridgelines and silence.

• Walk the early stretch of the trail with your guide, learning the history behind the Naranag ruins before the climb begins
• Pause at shepherd huts along the way, watching daily mountain life continue undisturbed
• Reach Dumail by early afternoon and sit by the confluence, letting the sound of moving water replace conversation
• Return along the same trail as the light softens, the forest turning gold before dusk

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Overnight stay at Srinagar

Day 7: Slow Departure

Keep the morning relaxed based on your flight time. Your guide can take you for last minute shopping at local shops for saffron, pashmina, and paper-mâché, the ones locals actually use, not tourist traps. Airport transfer with your guide. Leave with stories, not just photos.

• Final Srinagar Morning
• Local Markets
• Airport Transfer

• Local Bazaar Walk: Saffron, pashmina, and paper-mâché shops the locals actually use, not the tourist fronts.
• Final Boulevard Moment: One last walk along Dal Lake before the airport drop, a quiet bookend to the week.

• Last minute shopping in local bazaars for authentic Kashmiri goods
• Final boulevard moment by Dal Lake
• Airport drop coordinated around the group's flights

Meals: Breakfast