Chandanwari, Pahalgam: Is It Open? Snow, Taxi Fare and the Yatra Route (2026-27)

Chandanwari is the end of the road above Pahalgam: the place where the Amarnath pilgrims start walking, and where families from the plains come in spring to touch snow. It is the "C" of the Aru, Betaab and Chandanwari tour that every taxi stand sells. Right now it is also on the official list of closed destinations, which almost no travel site tells you. The rest of the area is in our Pahalgam guide.

Is Chandanwari open or closed?

Officially closed. The Anantnag district administration's list, "Details of closed Tourist Destinations in District Anantnag as on 07-07-2026", names Chandanwari. That list was still the current one on the district website when we checked on 3 October 2026, and we found no reopening order since.

It did open for a few weeks. Some time before mid-June 2026 it was reopened, with tourist vehicles stopped at Lower Chandanwari, short of the main area. Four days into the Amarnath Yatra it was back on the closed list.

What we cannot tell you is what happens at the barrier today. Nobody has reported from the road this month. Ask at the Pahalgam taxi stand on the morning, and do not pay for the three-valley tour until the driver confirms he is allowed up.

Also on the closed list is Baisaran Valley. Open, and worth your day: Aru Valley and Betaab Valley.

Where is Chandanwari?

The road is narrow, steep and winding, and the district's own plan calls it slide-prone. There is no ATM past Pahalgam, and phone signal fades beyond Betaab.

Chandanwari and the Amarnath Yatra

Chandanwari is the road head of the Pahalgam route to the Amarnath cave. Vehicles stop here, at the access control gate, and pilgrims walk the remaining 32 km. (The district plan's own stage table, below, adds up to 34.)

• 2026 dates: the Yatra ran from 3 July to 28 August. Registration opened on 15 April, for ages 13 to 70, with a health certificate.
• 2027 dates: not announced.
• For ordinary tourists: we found no evidence that Chandanwari was open to non-pilgrims during the 2026 Yatra. In earlier years the district restricted tourist movement on this road in the Yatra weeks, and visitors reported being stopped a short walk from the parking.
• On the roads: during the 2026 Yatra no tourist vehicle could leave Pahalgam for Srinagar after 3:30 pm, and all travel in the valley was limited to 7 am to 6 pm.

For pilgrims, the Deputy Commissioner fixes the rates for ponies, porters and palanquins each year. These were the 2026 pony rates from Chandanwari, by a notification of 15 May 2026.

Is there snow at Chandanwari, and in which months?

When it is open, Chandanwari is where people go for snow near Pahalgam in spring. The reports below are from visitors before the closure; there are almost none from 2025 or 2026, because tourists could not get there.

So April and early May are the months. The snow bridge over the stream lasts from about mid-May to late June in most years, guides say. By mid-June what is left is thin and grey.

Pahalgam to Chandanwari taxi fare

Only Pahalgam Taxi Union cars may run this road; a Srinagar taxi cannot. The fare is on the J&K Tourism approved rate list, and it covers one hour at Chandanwari.

There is no bus outside the Yatra, and nobody recommends walking it: 16 km of narrow, steep road.

Sledges, boots and what they should cost

The approved list sets rates by time. On the ground, sledge pullers quote by the run or by "level", and that is where the bills grow.

• What people have paid: a visitor in March 2024 paid about ₹5,000 for two sledges with coats and boots.
• The upsell: a low quote for the first stretch, then pressure to go higher. Agree the whole thing first, and do not pay in advance.
• Guides at the parking: one reviewer warned that they take money up front and have nothing to guide you to.
• In 2026: with so little business, a pony handler in Pahalgam told a reporter in August that rides which used to cost ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 were going for ₹200 to ₹300.

Chandanwari in winter

Not a tourist trip. The road beyond Betaab Valley is not normally cleared for visitors, and guides describe it as closed from about November until April. In the winter of 2025-26 the Border Roads Organisation was cutting through 4 to 8 feet of snow on it, under avalanche risk, to keep the security forces connected. Chandanwari was closed to tourists throughout that winter anyway.

What it is like when it is open

• At the top: a car park at the end of the road, a small market of tea, Maggi and dry-fruit stalls, and the stream. Toilets exist near the parking; reviewers call them dirty.
• Time: the taxi gives you an hour. Guides say one to three hours if you want to play in the snow.
• The honest reviews: outside snow season, "looks like a parking lot". In April 2025 visitors complained of litter, noise and too many cars. One called the drive up better than the place.
• The good ones: fresh snow in April, the river, and fewer pony touts than elsewhere.

Elders and children

• Access: cars reach the parking, and the ground near it is flat.
• On the snow: uneven and slippery. Hire boots, or stay on the cleared ground.
• The road: very winding. Children who get car-sick will feel it.
• The stream: fast and very cold. Keep children well back.
• Altitude: 2,896 m, about 600 m above Pahalgam. Some people feel mildly breathless.