The shikara at dawn is quiet. Most tourists go at four in the afternoon and skip the morning. We left the houseboat just before sunrise and the lotus stems were still folded shut. Kingfishers worked the floating gardens. The boatman didn't say much for the first hour, which was the right call.

Sonmarg means meadow of gold. For the wildflowers, which you won't see in winter. But the deep snow has its own version of the name. The Thajiwas glacier road is closed past a certain point, but the local horsemen take you partway up on Kashmiri ponies. Our pony was named Champa and she preferred the cleared track.

The Aru valley road from Pahalgam is open in clear weather and the chinar trees along the Lidder are bare in winter. Black against the snow. We walked about three kilometres up the road and the wood smoke from a shepherd's hut was the only sign of anyone. The cold makes the air taste mineral.

The Gulmarg gondola has two phases. The second runs up to almost 4,000 metres and the air thins enough that you feel it. We were there in February. The skiers were lining up for fresh powder and the rest of us stood in the cold, taking it in. The chai at the top is hot enough to need both gloves.