Погода: Сринагар, февраль

February is the heart of Gulmarg's winter - December to February is when the snow is deepest - and the forum's notes are about logistics rather than whether to come. Gear and instruction are hired in the village, with training quoted around Rs 1,500 to 2,000 a head including kit. The gondola runs and the view from it is the other reason people come, but February queues are long, up to two hours on a busy Sunday, so it is a first-thing errand. Regulars are careful to add that the snow is inconsistent year to year and treat a thin season as a real possibility rather than bad luck. The record: 2.3C days that feel like 0C, -4.3C nights, 53.4cm of snow, 11.8 precipitation days and 8.6 hours of sun - with an AQI of 157 that is a Kashmir-valley winter figure rather than the air at the resort's altitude.

Regulars are consistent that overnight cold here is real but manageable, hotels in the city carrying sufficient heating arrangements even as temperatures drop near freezing after dark. Our row backs that cold, genuinely crisp read, 13.8C over 1.7C nights feeling -1C, with 124.3mm of rain across 8.8 days and a trace of early snow, 4.4cm, matching regulars' sense that the season's first real snowfall becomes possible from mid-month onward, especially at higher elevations like Sonmarg and Gulmarg. Regulars are specific Dal Lake and the Mughal Gardens stay genuinely worth visiting despite the cold, crowds noticeably thinner than peak season. Heavy woolens remain the standard advice for anyone venturing outdoors after dark. The record: humidity 51 percent, 8.6 hours of sun, a 6.4 kph wind and AQI 102.

Regulars are direct that the tulip garden's window is tight and weather-dependent - open roughly late March through late April, but rain can wither the flowers early, and the first week of the month is generally recommended over the third or fourth week to avoid missing the bloom entirely. Our row backs the wet reality behind that risk, a real 244.7mm of rain across 14.7 days, alongside mild temperatures, 20.2C over 8.4C nights feeling 6C. Regulars call spring rain here quick to shift rather than a settled pattern, with prolonged multi-day rain uncommon even though a shower on any given day is a real possibility. The record: humidity 62 percent, 10.3 hours of sun, a 6.4 kph wind and AQI 88.

Regulars split September at its middle: the first half still runs past 30C in the city, and autumn arrives from about mid-month, after which the days turn pleasant. Their range of roughly 27 to 32C by day and 12 to 18C at night brackets our 28C over 14.2C. The lake is at its best after the monsoon, and the fields and orchards do the rest - saffron flowering and apples ready through September and October. Pack for the evening rather than the day, and for rain: our row still carries 155.9mm across 10.3 days. The hill stations need a sweater after dark even when Srinagar does not. The record: humidity 62 percent, 11 hours of sun, a 5.9 kph wind and AQI 73.

May in Kashmir is peak season and regulars call the weather pleasant, which our row supports on temperature and argues with on everything else: 24.6C by day over 11.8C at night is comfortable, but 170.8mm across 14.3 precipitation days is the wettest month of the Srinagar year, about twelve millimetres on each wet day. Read pleasant as the thermometer rather than the sky. The other thing they repeat is about altitude: Srinagar itself is the mild part, and a pullover is wanted morning and evening all year at Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg above it. On the lake, a shikara at sunrise or sunset is the thing, with the Mughal gardens - Nishat, Chashme Shahi - the other half of the day. The record: humidity 62 percent, 11.5 hours of sun, a 6.7 kph wind and AQI 76.