Kashmir and Ladakh sit side by side but keep different calendars: the valley has four seasons, and Ladakh is a cold desert shut by snow and roads for much of the year. This guide uses the India Meteorological Department normals that Wikipedia prints for five stations, and adds the seasons and festivals from our hub guides. Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Katra use normals for 1991–2020, and Leh uses 1951–2020. Katra, in the foothills, is the Jammu side of the trip and runs far warmer than the rest.
Photos: Harvinder Chandigarh (CC BY 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Day highs: Srinagar 7.1 °C, Gulmarg 0.7 °C, Pahalgam 4.9 °C, Leh 1.5 °C, Katra 16.2 °C. Nights: Srinagar minus 1.9 °C, Gulmarg minus 7.7 °C, Pahalgam minus 6.1 °C, Leh minus 13.1 °C, Katra 6.8 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 63.6 mm, Gulmarg 161.3 mm, Pahalgam 136.0 mm, Leh 9.5 mm, Katra 101.9 mm. Chillai Kalan, the forty days from 21 December to 29 January, is the coldest stretch in Kashmir, with frequent snow, parts of Dal Lake freezing and the highway to the rest of India often closed. Gulmarg is in its ski season. Leh is reached by air, and Spituk Gustor is held. In January and February the frozen Zanskar becomes the Chadar trail, which the Leh administration regulates; ask it for the current rules.
Day highs: Srinagar 10.5 °C, Gulmarg 1.8 °C, Pahalgam 7.2 °C, Leh 4.2 °C, Katra 19.1 °C. Nights: Srinagar 0.7 °C, Gulmarg minus 6.4 °C, Pahalgam minus 3.9 °C, Leh minus 9.2 °C, Katra 9.2 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 85.0 mm, Gulmarg 207.5 mm, Pahalgam 144.5 mm, Leh 8.1 mm, Katra 122.3 mm. Gulmarg's record low is minus 31.6 °C, in February. Dosmochey and the Snow Leopard Festival are held in Ladakh. The shorter cold spells of Chill-i-Khurd and Chill-i-Bachha run to the end of the month.
Day highs: Srinagar 15.5 °C, Gulmarg 5.4 °C, Pahalgam 12.5 °C, Leh 9.7 °C, Katra 23.1 °C. Nights: Srinagar 4.3 °C, Gulmarg minus 2.7 °C, Pahalgam minus 0.3 °C, Leh minus 3.7 °C, Katra 12.6 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 104.6 mm, Gulmarg 215.6 mm, Pahalgam 171.2 mm, Leh 11.0 mm, Katra 92.4 mm. Gulmarg holds a three-day winter festival, and spring is the wettest season at Srinagar. The tulip garden festival runs in spring. March and April are easy months for the walk to Vaishno Devi from Katra.
Day highs: Srinagar 20.6 °C, Gulmarg 10.4 °C, Pahalgam 17.6 °C, Leh 15.3 °C, Katra 28.8 °C. Nights: Srinagar 7.9 °C, Gulmarg 1.9 °C, Pahalgam 3.3 °C, Leh 1.6 °C, Katra 17.1 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 91.8 mm, Gulmarg 166.2 mm, Pahalgam 144.2 mm, Leh 9.1 mm, Katra 74.8 mm. Tulips, blossom and the Mughal gardens at Srinagar, and the Apricot Blossom Festival in the Ladakh valleys. On the sources we have, the highways to Leh have not yet opened. Katra's days are warm but not yet hot.
Day highs: Srinagar 24.7 °C, Gulmarg 15.6 °C, Pahalgam 21.3 °C, Leh 20.0 °C, Katra 33.7 °C. Nights: Srinagar 11.2 °C, Gulmarg 6.1 °C, Pahalgam 5.8 °C, Leh 6.2 °C, Katra 21.3 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 63.5 mm, Gulmarg 139.3 mm, Pahalgam 120.1 mm, Leh 9.0 mm, Katra 36.6 mm. Katra is hot. Leh's highs reach 20.0 °C in May, and the highways to Leh have not yet opened by the sources, so flights are the way in.
Day highs: Srinagar 28.5 °C, Gulmarg 19.3 °C, Pahalgam 24.2 °C, Leh 24.4 °C, Katra 35.1 °C. Nights: Srinagar 15.0 °C, Gulmarg 9.4 °C, Pahalgam 8.9 °C, Leh 11.3 °C, Katra 23.5 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 46.4 mm, Gulmarg 101.6 mm, Pahalgam 91.2 mm, Leh 3.5 mm, Katra 134.0 mm. The Manali road to Leh opens in June, and the Hemis Tsechu is held. Katra is at its hottest. Wikipedia says summer at Pahalgam runs from June to October.
Day highs: Srinagar 30.0 °C, Gulmarg 21.1 °C, Pahalgam 25.5 °C, Leh 28.5 °C, Katra 31.0 °C. Nights: Srinagar 18.4 °C, Gulmarg 12.0 °C, Pahalgam 12.9 °C, Leh 15.9 °C, Katra 23.2 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 64.0 mm, Gulmarg 101.7 mm, Pahalgam 107.1 mm, Leh 15.2 mm, Katra 514.3 mm. Both highways to Leh are running, and Leh is at its warmest. Lotus blooms on the floating gardens of Dal Lake in July and August. The Amarnath yatra starts from Pahalgam in July and August. Katra's monsoon has begun.
Day highs: Srinagar 29.7 °C, Gulmarg 20.5 °C, Pahalgam 25.4 °C, Leh 28.1 °C, Katra 29.7 °C. Nights: Srinagar 17.8 °C, Gulmarg 11.7 °C, Pahalgam 13.0 °C, Leh 15.1 °C, Katra 22.7 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 64.5 mm, Gulmarg 101.0 mm, Pahalgam 114.9 mm, Leh 15.4 mm, Katra 666.0 mm. The wettest month at Katra, where landslides in heavy rain can stop the yatra or the helicopters for a while. Leh is still warm and dry, and the lotus is in bloom on Dal Lake.
Day highs: Srinagar 27.6 °C, Gulmarg 18.5 °C, Pahalgam 23.7 °C, Leh 23.4 °C, Katra 29.7 °C. Nights: Srinagar 13.1 °C, Gulmarg 8.6 °C, Pahalgam 8.7 °C, Leh 9.2 °C, Katra 20.8 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 37.4 mm, Gulmarg 75.9 mm, Pahalgam 95.1 mm, Leh 9.0 mm, Katra 278.7 mm. The Ladakh Festival is held in September, with polo, archery and monastic dances. Autumn is Srinagar's driest season, with clear days. Katra is still wet.
Day highs: Srinagar 23.0 °C, Gulmarg 14.2 °C, Pahalgam 19.9 °C, Leh 16.7 °C, Katra 27.8 °C. Nights: Srinagar 6.2 °C, Gulmarg 3.8 °C, Pahalgam 2.6 °C, Leh 0.3 °C, Katra 16.3 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 21.8 mm, Gulmarg 47.7 mm, Pahalgam 38.2 mm, Leh 7.5 mm, Katra 35.6 mm. Leh's nights fall to freezing, and the Manali highway stays open until late October, after which the crowds thin. Srinagar's autumn is clear, good for the Mughal gardens. October and November are almost dry at Katra.
Day highs: Srinagar 15.9 °C, Gulmarg 9.0 °C, Pahalgam 13.1 °C, Leh 10.6 °C, Katra 22.6 °C. Nights: Srinagar 1.2 °C, Gulmarg minus 0.6 °C, Pahalgam minus 1.4 °C, Leh minus 7.2 °C, Katra 11.7 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 27.7 mm, Gulmarg 57.2 mm, Pahalgam 51.3 mm, Leh 3.6 mm, Katra 33.5 mm. Winters in Ladakh run from late November into early March, by Wikipedia. Thiksey Gustor is held. Sonamarg, by Wikipedia's account, is inaccessible once heavy snow and avalanches begin.
Day highs: Srinagar 9.9 °C, Gulmarg 4.6 °C, Pahalgam 7.9 °C, Leh 4.5 °C, Katra 18.5 °C. Nights: Srinagar minus 1.6 °C, Gulmarg minus 4.8 °C, Pahalgam minus 4.2 °C, Leh minus 11.7 °C, Katra 8.1 °C. Precipitation: Srinagar 27.2 mm, Gulmarg 74.1 mm, Pahalgam 59.7 mm, Leh 4.6 mm, Katra 61.0 mm. Chillai Kalan begins on 21 December. Losar, the Ladakhi new year, falls anywhere between 8 and 30 December by the district site. Days at Katra are mild.
The highway out of the valley can close in winter, and the Leh roads close by snow. Check the road each morning, and carry warm layers at every season, because the passes and the high meadows turn cold fast. For each place, read its own guide: Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg and Leh.
Read how to reach Kashmir and Ladakh from Delhi, the festivals by month, what to eat in Kashmir and in Ladakh.
It depends on what you want. Spring brings the tulips and the Mughal gardens, summer the meadows and the lotus on Dal Lake, and autumn the clearest days. Winter is the snow season, with skiing at Gulmarg, but the highway out of the valley often closes. Srinagar's own guide calls autumn its driest season.
June to September, when both highways to Leh run and days are warm: the daytime high is 24.4 °C in June and 28.5 °C in July by the India Meteorological Department normals. The Manali road opens in June and runs to late October. In winter, from late November, flights are the way in.
Kashmir sees moderate to heavy snow in winter, with the coldest stretch, Chillai Kalan, from 21 December to 29 January. Gulmarg's daytime high is 0.7 °C in January, and Leh's night low is minus 13.1 °C. Sonamarg is inaccessible by road in winter, by Wikipedia, and Pahalgam can see up to 4 m of snow.
