Baltal Valley (Amarnath Base)
Sonamarg, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Nearby attractions
Zoji La Pass
Dras, Ladakh
The knife-cut 3,528-m gateway between Kashmir and Ladakh — snow canyons in spring and the 1948 tank-assault legend of Operation Bison.
Zoji La Pass
Sonamarg, Jammu and Kashmir
The 3,528-m knife-cut between Kashmir and Ladakh — a legendary cliff road above snow walls, guarded by the Zojila war memorial at Gumri.
Amarnath Cave Shrine
Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir
The 3,888-m cave of the naturally forming ice Shivalinga, waxing and waning with the moon — goal of one of Hinduism's greatest high-altitude pilgrimages.
Kolahoi Glacier Trek
Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir
The 'goddess of light' — Kashmir's Matterhorn (5,425 m) and its shrinking glacier snout, reached by a two-day valley walk from Aru via Lidderwat.
Sonamarg (Meadow of Gold)
Sonamarg, Jammu and Kashmir
The Sindh valley's golden meadow under a wall of glaciers — gateway to Thajiwas, Zoji La and Ladakh, ablaze with wildflowers in July.
Thajiwas Glacier
Sonamarg, Jammu and Kashmir
Sonamarg's resident glacier — a short pony trail to snowfields that survive high summer, sledge runs and silver waterfalls off the ice.
Chandanwari & Sheshnag Lake
Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir
The Amarnath Yatra's first snow-bridge camp and, a day's climb above, the seven-peaked emerald lake of the serpent king at 3,590 m.
Aru Valley
Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir
A hamlet-in-a-meadow up the Lidder's west fork — trailhead for Kolahoi glacier and Tarsar-Marsar, all pony bells, shepherd huts and towering green walls.
Betaab Valley
Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir
The deodar-ringed meadow on the Lidder that Bollywood named — lawns, snow-peak frames and river islets on the Chandanwari road.