Kashmir to Ladakh: Houseboats & Himalayan Roads (Self-Launched)

Fly or bus into Srinagar (most travellers arrive at SXR airport; shared taxis into the old city cost about ₹400-600 / £4-6, or take a prepaid airport taxi). Check into a budget guesthouse in the Dal Gate / Boulevard area and spend the afternoon walking Lal Bazar yourself — ask your host to point you toward the spice lanes. In the evening book tomorrow's shikara and houseboat night directly with a boatman at Dal Gate, or reserve online in advance; houseboat prices are very negotiable outside peak season. No welcome meeting required — message a few other solo travellers in advance if you want company on the road.

🚌Airport shared taxi to Dal Gate (~£5)

🛏Budget guesthouse near Dal Gate, Srinagar (£12-18/night)

• →Lal Bazar market wander
• →Dal Gate lakeside sunset

Srinagar is India's summer capital and worth a full day. Take a shared auto or cheap taxi out to the Mughal gardens — Nishat Bagh, Shalimar Bagh and Chashm-e-Shahi — which sit in a chain along the lake's eastern shore (entry a few rupees each, most travellers pay £3-4 total plus transport). In the afternoon, hire your own shikara (₹600-900 per hour / £6-9, negotiable — always agree the price and duration up front) and drift through the floating vegetable gardens. Optional: a half-day jeep to Dachigam National Park to look for the Hangul (Kashmir stag), bookable through your guesthouse for roughly £25-35 including permits.

🚌Shared auto-rickshaw + taxi to the gardens (~£6)

🛏Budget guesthouse near Dal Gate, Srinagar

• →Mughal gardens: Nishat, Shalimar, Chashm-e-Shahi
• →Private shikara ride on Dal Lake
• →Optional Dachigam National Park safari

Set an early alarm: head to the ghats before dawn and haggle a shikara for the sunrise floating vegetable market on Dal Lake — this is the local side of Srinagar the group tours see, and doing it independently costs around £8 rather than being bundled in. Afterwards climb (or taxi up) Shankaracharya Hill for the panoramic walk and the 8th-century temple, with excellent views over the whole lake. Move your bags to a traditional houseboat on Dal Lake for the night — book direct with a boat family (from £25-40 for a room, breakfast usually included) and eat dinner on board.

🚌Walking and short taxi hops around the lake (~£4)

🛏Traditional Dal Lake houseboat, Srinagar (~£30)

• →Sunrise shikara to the floating vegetable market
• →Shankaracharya Hill panoramic walk and temple
• →Houseboat dinner on the lake

Take a shared sumo/tempo traveller from Srinagar's tourist taxi stand to Pahalgam (~2.5 hrs, ₹400-600 / £4-6 per seat). Ask your driver to drop at the Avantipura ruins and the Martand Sun Temple en route — or hire a jeep for the day for roughly £35-45 if you want to stop freely. Martand's 8th-century colonnade facing the Kashmir valley is one of India's great archaeological sites and costs almost nothing to enter. Arrive in Pahalgam, check into a simple guesthouse above the Lidder River, then walk the bazaar and the riverside meadow on your own steam.

🚌Shared sumo from Srinagar to Pahalgam (~£6)

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Pahalgam (£10-16/night)

• →Avantipura temple ruins
• →Martand Sun Temple
• →Pahalgam bazaar and Lidder riverside walk

Book a local trekking guide in the Pahalgam bazaar the night before (about £20-30 for a half-day, guides wait around the main street and rates are negotiable) and hike the Lidder Valley — the Aru or Betaab valley trails are the easy classics, roughly 3-4 hours of gentle walking. In the afternoon take a shared jeep east to Sonamarg (~3-4 hrs, change at Kangan or Ganderbal; ~£6-9). Sonamarg means 'meadow of gold' — take a short walk up to the Thajiwas Glacier meadows (a pony or short jeep ride from town, £5-8) and browse the bazaar before dark.

🚌Shared jeep Pahalgam to Sonamarg (~£8)

🛏Simple guesthouse or homestay in Sonamarg (£12-18/night)

• →Guided Lidder Valley hike
• →Thajiwas Glacier meadow walk
• →Sonamarg bazaar

The big day: cross the Zoji La pass (3,528m) into Ladakh. Public buses and shared sumos run from Sonamarg to Kargil early morning (₹500-800 / £5-8, 3-4 hrs) — check departure times with your guesthouse the night before as they leave very early. Stop at the Kargil War Memorial at Drass if your driver is willing (most shared jeeps pause briefly; otherwise it's a small detour by local taxi). From Kargil take an afternoon shared jeep toward Leh and get off at Lamayuru (~3 hrs, ~£6). Stay in the Lamayuru Monastery guesthouse — book ahead by phone or email as rooms are limited, and be up for evening prayers if the monks are in session. Walk the surrounding 'Moonland' badlands at golden hour.

🚌Shared sumo Sonamarg–Kargil–Lamayuru (~£14)

🛏Lamayuru Monastery guesthouse (£10-15/night)

• →Zoji La pass crossing
• →Drass / Kargil War Memorial
• →Lamayuru Monastery and evening prayers
• →Lamayuru Moonland sunset walk

Take a morning shared jeep or the local bus toward Leh, hopping off where you want. Key stops: Alchi Monastery (best preserved in Ladakh, worth the short detour), Sangam — the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers — Magnetic Hill, and Gurudwara Pathar Sahib. Since public transport won't stop for all of these, the practical independent solution is to share a private taxi from Lamayuru with other travellers (₹3,500-4,500 for the vehicle split 3-4 ways, ~£10-14 each) or message a Leh-based driver the night before. Arrive in Leh, check into a guesthouse in Changspa, then walk the old town and Leh Market, finishing at Shanti Stupa for sunset.

🚌Shared taxi Lamayuru to Leh with sightseeing stops (~£14)

🛏Guesthouse in Changspa, Leh (£12-18/night)

• →Alchi Monastery
• →Sangam river confluence viewpoint
• →Magnetic Hill
• →Gurudwara Pathar Sahib
• →Leh Market and Shanti Stupa sunset

Squeeze in a sunrise walk up to Namgyal Tsemo Gompa and Leh Palace (free-to-cheap, 20 minutes' climb from the old town) for views across the Ladakh range, then a last breakfast of momos and butter tea. Leh's Kushok Bakula Rimpochee airport is a 10-minute taxi from town (~£3-4). Note that most flights to Leh are morning departures because of afternoon winds — book ahead and build in buffer if you're connecting in Delhi. Acclimatisation warning: if you're flying straight into Leh instead of driving up from Srinagar, add an extra rest day.

🚌Taxi to Leh airport (~£4)

🛏N/A (departure day)

• →Namgyal Tsemo Gompa
• →Leh Palace viewpoint
• →Old town breakfast