Snow, Shikara Rides, and Family Time: Vinod’s Kashmir Trip with Thrillophilia

Thrillophilia Verified Booking
PNR: BKDCBV8WJWY
Rating: ★★★★★
Travellers: Vinod Subhanji, Vidisha Subhanji, Vinisha Subhanji, Prashanth NR, Rohini L, Avani Nidhi Prashanth, Sheela Vasanth, Aditi Vasanth, Vasanth Kumar JR, Narsimha Prasad L, and Roopa L.
Trip Duration: 6 Days | 5 Nights
Date of Travel: 27 Apr 2026 to 2 May 2026
Package Booked: Highlights of Kashmir | FREE Shikara Ride on Dal Lake

Three days before the trip, Vinod’s family WhatsApp group was still active till almost midnight.

Someone was asking whether jackets would actually be needed in late April. One of the kids wanted to know if there would still be snow in Gulmarg. Another family was discussing how many bags could realistically fit inside one vehicle for eleven people. Vinod, meanwhile, had quietly spent the previous night going through more than one Kashmir trip review online, mostly hoping their own trip would feel just as smooth once it actually began.

Planning Kashmir for four families had sounded exciting in the beginning. But as the travel dates came closer, the reality of coordinating eleven people across different age groups started showing itself. Everyone travelled differently. Some liked packed sightseeing days, while others preferred slow evenings and comfortable hotels. The children were excited about snow, the older members cared more about convenience, and nobody wanted the trip to become tiring halfway through.

This was already their second trip with Thrillophilia, which honestly helped settle a lot of the uncertainty early on. Their previous experience had gone well enough that when Kashmir came up during a family conversation, the discussion was less about “who to book with” and more about whether six days would actually be enough for Gulmarg, Srinagar, Sonmarg, and Pahalgam together. At one point, someone in the family even compared the pace of the itinerary to Thrillophilia's Darjeeling tour packages, wondering if Kashmir would feel similarly relaxed despite covering multiple destinations.

By the time they landed in Srinagar on 27th April, though, most of that overthinking had already started fading.

Their Traveller Urbania was waiting outside the airport exactly where they had been told it would be. Bags were loaded, seats were claimed within minutes, and for the first time since planning had started, nobody had to think too much anymore.

The trip had officially begun.

Gulmarg and the First Proper Kashmir Views

The drive to Gulmarg became everyone’s first real glimpse of Kashmir.

Snow still rested on the mountains even in late April, while the valleys below had already turned green. For long stretches, the vehicle stayed unusually quiet because everyone was busy looking outside the windows.

Even the children, who had been restless at the airport earlier, suddenly stopped asking how much longer it would be.

Someone finally broke the silence with, “This doesn’t even look real.”

That pretty much summed up the drive.

The families checked into Hotel Zahgeer Continental, where the rooms and meals had already been arranged in advance. Nobody had to spend time figuring out room allocations or waiting around after the journey.

That ease quietly shaped the entire trip.

The evening sightseeing around Gulmarg stayed simple and relaxed. Wide meadows, cool weather, patches of snow near the higher slopes, and enough open space for the children to immediately start running around while the adults slowed down properly for the first time in weeks.

The trip had now started feeling real.

Srinagar, Mughal Gardens, and the Dal Lake Evening Everyone Waited For

Srinagar felt completely different from Gulmarg.

Busier, livelier, but also exactly like the Kashmir most people grow up seeing in films and photographs.

The group checked into Hotel Heritage Luxury for the next two nights before heading towards Nishat Bagh and Shalimar Bagh. Late April had made the gardens especially beautiful, with flowers in bloom and Dal Lake quietly reflecting the mountains behind it.

Still, it was the evening shikara ride that became the real highlight.

The lake had turned calm by then. Houseboats reflected softly on the water while smaller boats floated past selling saffron, dry fruits, and flowers. Some family members spent the entire ride taking photos, while others simply sat back and enjoyed the silence around them.

At one point, one of the older family members quietly said, “Now this feels like the Kashmir we had imagined all this time.”

Nobody disagreed.

Before the trip, safety had naturally been one of the families’ biggest concerns, especially while travelling with children and elderly members. But throughout the journey, nothing ever felt uncomfortable or uncertain.

Ansab from the Thrillophilia Kashmir team stayed connected throughout, updating the group before each day’s travel and making sure everything moved smoothly on the ground.

That constant coordination removed a lot of stress without anyone really noticing it.

Sonmarg Turned Into Everyone’s Unexpected Favourite

The next day, the families headed towards Sonmarg through the Sindh Valley.

The roads slowly opened into wider landscapes with rivers flowing beside the highway and snow-covered mountains appearing much closer than before. Compared to Srinagar, Sonmarg felt quieter and less crowded.

By the time they arrived, everyone had already started stepping out for photos before the vehicle properly stopped.

Some members of the family chose pony rides towards Thajiwas Glacier, while others stayed near the riverside instead. The children started throwing snow at each other somewhere along the way while the older members found quieter places to sit beside the water.

Nobody seemed interested in rushing anywhere.

And somehow, that became the best part of Sonmarg.

Because the optional activities had already been explained clearly in advance, there was no confusion once they arrived. No awkward discussions about payments or inclusions. Everyone already knew what to expect.

For a group this large, that clarity mattered far more than expected.

The families ended up spending much longer near the river than originally planned. Conversations became slower, phones slowly disappeared into pockets, and the mountains around Sonmarg quietly did the rest.

Pahalgam Brought the Perfect Slow Ending

By the time the group reached Pahalgam on Day 4, the trip had settled into its own rhythm completely.

Compared to Srinagar, Pahalgam felt calmer and softer. The roads narrowed, rivers sounded louder nearby, and everything naturally slowed down.

Hotel Sparrow became the group’s base for the final stretch of the journey.

The next day, they covered Betaab Valley, Aru Valley, and Chandanwari, and every stop somehow looked completely different from the previous one. Betaab Valley felt wide and open, Aru Valley greener and quieter, while Chandanwari brought the families closest to the snow-covered Himalayan terrain they had imagined before arriving in Kashmir.

One quieter stop unexpectedly stayed with many of them longer than the bigger attractions.

On the way, Ansab suggested they spend a little extra time at the Awantipora Ruins instead of treating it like a quick stop. Slowly, everyone ended up exploring the old stone structures together.

There was nothing as such flashy about the place. But maybe that is exactly why it stayed so memorable.

The Part That Made Travelling With Eleven People Feel Easy

For Vinod and the other families, the biggest success of the trip was simple: nobody ever felt tired because of the planning or logistics.

The hotels stayed comfortable throughout, meals were already arranged, transfers remained punctual, and even with eleven people travelling together, the trip never felt chaotic. Before arrival, the group had already received Ansab’s contact details along with vehicle and driver information for each day, which made things much smoother once the journey began.

What the families appreciated most was how quietly the Thrillophilia team handled everything in the background. Small updates, coordination between destinations, and on-ground support were managed before they could turn stressful.

Later, Vinod wrote in his review:

“Ansab was very supportive and ensured we all had an amazing experience of Kashmir.”

Simple words, but honest ones. 

Because when eleven people return from a six-day holiday without stress becoming the main memory, something has clearly gone right.

Also Read: Ranganatha Guru’s Journey with Thrillophilia