Sonamarg (Meadow of Gold)
Sonamarg, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Nearby attractions
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.
Baltal Valley (Amarnath Base)
Sonamarg, Jammu and Kashmir
The tent city under Zoji La where the short, steep Amarnath route begins — a glacier-fed campground of prayer flags, ponies and pre-dawn departures.
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.
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.
Kashmir Great Lakes Trek
Sonamarg, Jammu and Kashmir
India's most celebrated trek — seven days from Sonamarg to Naranag past Vishansar, Krishansar, Gadsar, Satsar and the Gangbal twins under Harmukh.
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.
Tarsar Marsar Trek
Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir
Twin almond-shaped alpine lakes at 4,000 m joined by a ridge crossing — many trekkers' pick as India's prettiest moderate trek, out of Aru.
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.