Kargil is different. It has a large Shiite population. It is not unusual to see billboards with the face of Iran's Khomeini. The people are friendly, but less interested in tourism. There are the best naan breads being baked fresh all day in the market.
In response to @dorcorner - taking a private car is not a bad idea if you are interested in landscape photography. The road to Ladakh is exhilarating and my heart rate increases just thinking about it. Shared vehicles tend to be overcrowded. If you share a car, try to negotiate to get the front seat, and do make sure it will be just you sitting there. Also, depending on the glacial melt, parts of the route will be closed during the night, so you may be forced to stop for the night in some small hamlet.
Srinagar to Kargil... check it before going there, road between Srinagar and Kargil remanis blocked by snow from November to May.
Here are some pics from a early December Srinagar-Kargil-Leh run - road closed three weeks later. Which is fairly typical, two closures in early January over the last six years. Just closed when I flew in last time early January, bought fresh ( well, frozen .. ) grapes in the market.
Last year , after driest winter in decades , open road to Leh end-March. This winter has started the opposite way , probably not opening in April. Updates on my blog.
Buses & cars : great company on the buses. They are dirt cheap, so jumping off on a whim and continuing later is painless. Coming from Kargil I’ve jumped off just before Saspol , crossed the river and walked a few klicks to Alchi. Which is lovely. I often take a morning bus out from Leh , and for the return leg walk down to the main road and see who picks me up first.
You can as suggested negotiate for a single front seat on a shared car , and you’ll pay for two seats. If you hire your own car & driver , make yourself useful and pick up people on the way.
Hi we were in Kashmir mid december last year. We only stuck to the tourist areas of Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Most if the places had recieved early snowful and our favourite was going through the luttle villages around Pahalgam, having snow fights with the local kids. There was a shutdown in Srinagar when we were there but managed to still get around and avoid the areas that were having problems.But yes things can happen at any time in Kashmir. But it was my favourite part of our trip in India this time and found the locals great and kept us up to date with the situation. Would love to go back in a other season.
Four civilian , seven CRPF wounded in attack at Lal Chowk four days ago .
And more than twenty ( sic!) troops killed in attack against convoy on Jammu-Srinagar road today , more wounded.
Thank you for sharing. Hopefully any would-be travellers stay apprised of the situation.
It seems like Kashmir is still very unsafe and unpredictable. In that case, I will fly to Leh, and unfortunately skip Srinagar.
My plan is to travel across Ladakh, but had an idea to fly to Srinagar, and after to go to Padum, and Leh area in the end.
Is Kargil safe place?
It looks like you intend only to travel by road. The area is popular for trekking, in case you'd consider it.
I trekked in that area starting from Leh by jeep to Photoskar, then trekking six days to Padum, and again by jeep from Padum to Kargil. The last bit Kargil to Srinigar by bus.
As for the safety, the situation hasn't changed for several decades. It's been a conflict area since India and Pakistan independence in 1947. There are random clashes and bomb explosions, and the most recent one was today (post #15). However, as a visitor you shouldn't worry too much. Tourists are not a target. During my stay in Srinigar there was a bomb explosion outside the police station, however, that was far from where I stayed, at lake Dal.
Despite the ongoing conflict and random attacks, the area has been popular among visitors, mostly from India, but also in fairly large numbers from Europe and other parts of the world. Leh to Srinigar is the most frequented route.
If you decide to go, I'd recommend to skip Padum, unless you go trekking. Padum is like a large village, off the main route and void of attractions. You might visit Kargil though, which is more interesting, and from there go by bus to Srinigar.
As for the safety, the situation hasn't changed for several decades. ...Tourists are not a target.
A few were hurt last year , and one was killed by stone throwers in May. Eight pilgrims killed in a attack on a bus the year before.
..the area has been popular among visitors, mostly from India, but also in fairly large numbers from Europe...
Domestic and international tourism imploded for obvious reasons last time in 2016 : two months of curfews after the killing of Burhan Wani , more than hundred dead , and the frustrated docs in Srinagar going over a new threshold when they started to leak X-ray images . This was was the first time ever all airlines gave free full refunds on tickets to Srinagar. For the long term/intermediate perspective look up the history of the Tourist Reception Centre , that had been almost rebuilt on my visit in 2014 , the Hotel Punjab that went up in flames in a day long gunfight in January 2010 , the Silver Star Hotel being shot up in 2012 with two staff killed etc.
Updates on my blog.
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