Kashmir in January 2027: Weather, Snow, Chillai Kalan and What to Pack

January is the coldest month of the year in Kashmir, and the one with the best odds of snow. Srinagar averages 7°C by day and -2°C at night, Gulmarg 1°C and -8°C, on the IMD normals; nights in cold spells go to -6°C in the city and -9°C or lower in Gulmarg. It is also the month when a trip can be stopped by the weather: last January all flights at Srinagar were cancelled twice in one week.

This page is the January plan: what the weather really does, where the snow is most likely, what last January did with dates, what a trip costs with rooms and fares we checked for January 2027, and how to keep a spare day in your pocket. Temperatures are the India Meteorological Department's long-term averages (1991 to 2020); every price carries the date we checked it. For snow across the whole winter, start with snowfall in Kashmir; the month before is in Kashmir in December.

Kashmir weather in January 2027

January sits in the middle of Chillai Kalan, the 40-day cold spell that runs from 21 December to 30 January. Days in Srinagar are often clear and around 7°C; nights are below freezing almost every day, and pipes freeze. Gulmarg is about 6°C colder than the city. The figures below are the India Meteorological Department's 1991-2020 normals.

The days are short but lengthening. In Srinagar the sun is up from about 7:36 am to 5:32 pm on 1 January, 7:36 am to 5:44 pm on 15 January, and 7:29 am to 6:00 pm on 31 January: about ten hours of light, so plan every drive to end by sunset (sunrise-sunset.org, for 2027).

Srinagar weather in January

The city's January is dry cold: bright days near 7°C, frosty mornings, and nights around -2°C on average. Cold spells go much lower. On 10 January 2026 Srinagar recorded -5.7°C, after -6°C the night before, and Dal Lake froze in parts, with boatmen pushing through ice at the ghats. The all-time record for the city is -12.8°C, set on a December night in 1934. Snow in the city is not a given: in the 2025-26 winter it did not arrive until 23 January.

The city on its own, with what is open, a three-day plan and the heating question: Srinagar in January.

Gulmarg weather in January

Gulmarg is the coldest of the main places and the likeliest to be white: 0.7°C by day, -7.7°C at night, and 161 mm of precipitation that falls as snow. In a normal January the meadow is under snow and the ski season is at its peak, but a dry spell can leave it thin; Apharwat, at the top of the Gondola, keeps its snow longest. On 5 January 2026 Gulmarg recorded -8.8°C, the coldest night of that winter to that date. Every month at the Gulmarg station, with the records, is in Gulmarg weather by month.

Pahalgam and Sonamarg in January

Pahalgam sits between the two, 4.9°C by day and -6.1°C at night, with the valleys above it under snow. Sonamarg is the coldest of all, with a January mean near -10°C, and it is reachable only because the Sonamarg tunnel keeps the road open; the pass beyond it, Zoji La, shuts for days after every big fall.

What January 2026 was like

Last January shows both faces of the month. It began cold and dry: by 10 January the plains had still seen no snow, the Meteorological Department forecast dry weather to the 20th, and the lakes froze at the edges. Then the weather turned. Snow began in Gulmarg on the evening of 22 January; by the morning of the 23rd a couple of inches lay there, Srinagar had its first snow of the winter, and every flight at the airport was cancelled. The Jammu highway was shut from 23 January, while the Katra to Srinagar Vande Bharat kept running through the snow. A second storm from 26 January brought about 4 feet of snow to Sonamarg in four days and an avalanche into the Sarbal area of the resort on the night of the 27th (no one was hurt). On the 27th, a Tuesday, all 58 flights to and from Srinagar were cancelled, leaving hundreds of visitors stranded at the end of the Republic Day weekend. Zoji La, the Mughal Road, Sinthan and Razdan passes were all shut.

The lesson is not to avoid January. It is to plan the trip so that a two-day storm costs you a day, not the holiday.

This winter so far, checked on 25 October 2026

Snow has touched the tops several times already. Light snow fell on the higher reaches of Gulmarg on 10 October, and on 24 October fresh light snow fell on Sinthan Top and Peer Ki Gali, with Gulmarg at 1.6°C that night and the Meteorological Centre forecasting dry weather to 31 October, KNO reported. The bigger question is the winter itself. On 9 October the director of the Meteorological Centre Srinagar, Dr Mukhtar Ahmad, told The News Now that Jammu and Kashmir may have a relatively dry winter under El Niño, which the US agency NOAA expected to last through January to March 2027, while warning that one or two big snowfalls in peak winter cannot be ruled out. A forecast this far out is a hint, not a promise. If it holds, January 2027 is more likely to look like the dry first three weeks of January 2026 than a white month, so plan Gulmarg for the snow and keep the dates flexible.

Early, mid or late January?

Mid-January is the best value: the New Year crowd has gone, the ski courses are running, and its fares were the lowest of the three January weeks we checked. The last ten days have the best odds of fresh snow, and the most risk of a lost day.

If snow on the ground is enough, go between about 6 and 20 January. If you want to watch it fall, go in the last ten days and keep a spare day: the stranded visitors of 27 January 2026 were flying home after the Republic Day weekend, and 2027 has the same long weekend in the same week. Gondola dates open well in advance, so book Gulmarg first.

Does it snow in Kashmir in January?

In the mountains, usually: Gulmarg, Sonamarg and the valleys above Pahalgam have snow on the ground in most Januaries, and Apharwat, near 4,000 m at the top of the Gondola, holds it longest. It is not guaranteed. January 2026 brought no significant snow until the 22nd; the fall that began then ended what ETV Bharat called a three-month dry spell across Jammu and Kashmir, with an 85% deficit since 1 November. The 2025 Gulmarg leg of the Khelo India Winter Games was moved from February to March for lack of snow. In Srinagar it snows on some days in most Januaries, but not on dates you can book around.

For whether there is snow on the ground this week, use our live Gulmarg snow report rather than a forecast app.

What if there is no snow when you visit?

Go higher, not home. Gondola Phase 2 to Apharwat, near 4,000 m, is the likeliest place to find snow in a dry January, when the wind lets it run; it costs ₹1,000 on top of the ₹800 Phase 1 ticket. Sonamarg, through the tunnel, is the second bet. Keep the Gulmarg night movable so it can follow a fresh fall, and fill a dry day with what January does best anyway: harissa at dawn, the old city, and a shikara on a still lake.

Is Dal Lake frozen in January?

Only at the edges and in the shallow inner channels, on the coldest nights. It happened on 10 January 2026, after -5.7°C, when boatmen rowed through ice at the ghats. A full freeze is rare: the last one on record was in 1986. Shikaras keep running unless ice blocks the channels, and nobody should walk on the ice. More in our Dal Lake guide.

Planning a January trip and unsure how the snow will fall? Get instant plan: answer six quick questions and get a free day-by-day plan for your dates and group, with where to sleep and what each day costs.

Chillai Kalan: the great cold ends on 30 January

Kashmiris divide winter into three parts. Chillai Kalan, the "great cold", runs for 40 days, from 21 December 2026 to 30 January 2027 this winter; Chillai Khurd, the "small cold", follows for 20 days from 31 January; and Chillai Bachha, the "baby cold", for 10 days into early March. January is the heart of it: nights stay below freezing, taps freeze, and in the coldest spells parts of Dal Lake ice over.

It is also the month when Kashmiri winter life is at its fullest. People wear the pheran, the long woollen cloak, with a kangri, a small pot of embers, carried under it. Kitchens turn to harissa, the slow-cooked mutton and rice eaten at breakfast, and to hokh syun, vegetables dried in summer. For our family, winter means harissa: we used to ride to a small shop in Rajouri Kadal, downtown, at 4 in the morning in freezing cold, and it was worth it every time. Harissa is made all winter, from November, and a plate costs about ₹400 to ₹1,000 depending on where you eat it. Rajouri Kadal has many harissa shops, and the way locals have it is still the best: a friend who lives in the city brings it home first thing in the morning. If there is no such friend, Chai Jaai on the Bund serves a cafe version; what to order is in Kashmiri harissa.

Where to go in Kashmir in January

• Gulmarg, for the snow. The surest snow in Kashmir, the Gondola to Kongdoori and Apharwat, and the ski season at its peak. Our family's rule: stay at least one night, and bring a spare set of clothes and shoes that can take snow.
• Srinagar, for the winter city. Harissa at dawn, the old city, Hazratbal, a shikara on a still, cold lake, and the Mughal gardens with bare chinars. The city is slow in January, which is the point. The Tulip Garden is closed until mid-March.
• Sonamarg, through the tunnel. Open all winter since the Sonamarg tunnel opened in January 2025, and the snowiest place you can drive to. Thajiwas is a short pony ride or walk from town. Zoji La and Zero Point close for days after heavy snow, so treat them as a bonus.
• Pahalgam, quietly. Betaab is open all year and Aru is reachable when the road is cleared after snow, but the town is quiet in January and the valleys are under snow. One night is enough. Baisaran and Chandanwari were closed by the official order of 7 July 2026, which The Wire reported runs to 31 December 2026; whether they reopen in January 2027 was not known when we checked on 25 October 2026, so do not plan on them. More in our Pahalgam guide.
• Drung, for the ice. The waterfall on the Gulmarg road below Tangmarg freezes into a wall of ice as the winter deepens, and January and February are its surest months. It is open, unlike Babareshi and three other spots around Tangmarg on the closed list. Stop on the way up to Gulmarg.

• Not in January: Gurez is cut off by snow on the Razdan Pass, and the Mughal Road is shut for the winter. Doodhpathri and Yusmarg are open on paper but snowed in for long spells, so treat them as a bonus on a clear day and ask the morning you go. Sinthan Top is not a snow problem: it is on the official closed list.

The places themselves, with distances and best months, are ranked in the 30 best places to visit in Kashmir. For Gulmarg in winter: our Gulmarg guide and skiing in Gulmarg.

Closed places in January 2027: what we know

Thirty tourist spots across the valley were shut by an official order of 7 July 2026, still the latest posted when we checked on 25 October 2026. The best known are Baisaran and Chandanwari near Pahalgam, Sinthan Top, Daksum, Aharbal and Kounsarnag in the south, Tosa Maidan, Bungus, the Dachigam area, and Babareshi near Tangmarg. The Wire reported on 15 July 2026 that the order runs to 31 December 2026. What happens from 1 January 2027 is not known yet: it may be renewed, changed or lifted. Plan January without these places, and if any of them matters to you, ask for the latest order the week before you fly; we will update this page when one is posted. The full list, by district, is in the 30 best places in Kashmir, and the wider picture in is Kashmir safe to visit.

A five-day Kashmir itinerary for January

Two nights in Srinagar, one in Gulmarg and one in Pahalgam, with an afternoon flight home as the spare. It follows our Kashmir itinerary with January changes: sleep on the meadow so you are on the snow before the day visitors, end every drive before dark, and never put the Gulmarg night just before the flight.

On the ground the five days come to about ₹53,700 for two at Comfort, or ₹82,600 with return flights from Delhi for 12 to 16 January 2027. With seven days, add a second Gulmarg night (a ski lesson one morning, the Gondola the next) and a Sonamarg day trip through the tunnel. If the forecast shows a big storm on your last two days, swap Pahalgam for a second Srinagar night so you are near the airport.

How much does a Kashmir trip cost in January?

About ₹41,300 per person for five days at Comfort when two travel together from Delhi on 12 to 16 January 2027, flights included; about ₹28,700 at Budget and ₹64,000 at Luxe. Without flights it is about ₹15,700, ₹26,900 and ₹49,500 per person. That is about 4% more than our mid-December figure (₹79,500 for two at Comfort), almost all of it the Gulmarg room; the fares are a touch lower.

Read the Gulmarg middle rate with care. Four of its hotels priced between ₹6,000 and ₹7,500 for 15 December showed no rate for 13 January, which pushes the middle up. Like for like, the median rate barely moved: among the 15 Gulmarg hotels priced on both nights, 9 charged the same within 2%, and the median change in Pahalgam and Sonamarg was also nil. In Srinagar, 42 of 74 hotels priced on both nights were dearer in January, the median hotel by about 3%.

Fares move with the calendar. From Mumbai the 12 to 16 January return was ₹20,333 with one stop and ₹28,317 nonstop; over Republic Day, 23 to 27 January, the Mumbai nonstop was ₹40,945, and the Delhi nonstop ₹16,257 against ₹14,467 in mid-month. That takes the Comfort trip for two from Delhi to about ₹86,200 over Republic Day, before any change in room rates that week. Fares change daily, so treat these as the level to expect, not a quote. Costs for other months and eight cities are in what a Kashmir trip costs.

Getting around in January, and the risk of being stuck

Snow changes the roads and, some days, the airport. Plan for it rather than being surprised by it.

The train is the link that held up best in the January 2026 snow: on 24 January, with the Jammu highway shut, the Katra to Srinagar Vande Bharat kept running through snow-covered tracks, ETV Bharat reported. Timings are in Katra to Srinagar by train.

For a dated report on the airport, see Srinagar airport status.

• Flights. Heavy snow closes Srinagar airport for the day: every flight went on 23 January 2026, and all 58 on 27 January. Book an afternoon or evening flight home and keep a spare day before it, above all after the Republic Day weekend.
• The Jammu highway. Open in winter but shut after heavy snow near the Navyug tunnel, as on 28 January 2026. Check the J&K Traffic Police advisory on the morning you drive.
• Gulmarg. In snow, only 4x4s and cars with anti-skid chains may drive the 13 km from Tangmarg. Registered vendors fit chains at Tangmarg; the drive up with chains clanking on the tyres is part of the fun.
• Sonamarg. Open through the tunnel; chains compulsory in snow; Zoji La beyond it closed after storms.
• Daylight. Sunrise in Srinagar is about 7:36 am and sunset 5:32 pm on 1 January, 6 pm by the 31st. Roads ice over after dark, so reach your hotel by sunset.

The drive and the chains in detail: Srinagar to Gulmarg; the tunnel: Srinagar to Sonamarg; flights, the train and the highway: how to reach Kashmir.

Things to do in Kashmir in January

• Ski, or learn to. January is the most reliable month of the season. A beginner day with both Gondola phases, rental and lunch costs about ₹3,000 to ₹4,500; lessons are extra.
• Ride the Gondola. Phase 1 to Kongdoori is the easy snow; Phase 2 to Apharwat, near 4,000 m, is for healthy adults and closes in wind. Book the first morning slot on the official portal. Two travel guides in 2026 report that it shuts for maintenance on the second and fourth Mondays, which in January 2027 are the 11th and the 25th, so check before you plan your Gulmarg day on either.
• Sledge and snowball on the meadow. Kongdoori has tea stalls and sledges; the meadow in front of the hotels is enough for children.
• A shikara in the cold. The lake is still, the mist sits on the hills, and the rower is glad of the fare. The price is per boat, not per person.
• Harissa, kahwa and a kangri. The winter food is the reason some of us go home in January.

Where and when to eat it, and what a plate costs, is in our guide to Kashmiri harissa.

Ski courses in January 2027: the IISM batches

The Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering in Gulmarg has posted its 2026-27 snow skiing schedule, and two of its 14-day courses fall wholly in January. Booking opens on 12 November 2026 at 10 am, and operators report seats going within minutes in recent seasons, so be ready at the opening time. Fees, age rules and how to apply are in our guide to skiing in Gulmarg.

Booking the Gondola, slot by slot: our Gondola guide. The shikara, ghat by ghat: what a shikara should cost.

What to wear in Kashmir in January

Dress for the night minimum, not the daytime high, and for Gulmarg, not Srinagar. The cold you feel is at dawn, after sunset and in the wind at the top of the Gondola.

Boots and coats are easy to hire if you would rather not buy them for one trip: at Tangmarg on the way to Gulmarg, and in Pahalgam at the approved rate below.

Our one rule, learned the wet way: after an hour of snowball fights you are soaked through, and the drive back is long and cold. Everything else can be rented; dry clothes cannot.

Where to stay, and how it is heated

In January the room matters more than the view. Ask exactly how it is heated before you book: an electric heater, a bukhari (a wood or kerosene stove), or central heating. Ask about power backup, because heaters stop when the power does, and whether hot water runs all day. In Gulmarg, stay close to the Gondola and the meadow so nobody walks far through deep snow.

Houseboats can be wonderfully cosy in winter if the heating is good. The owners' association rate card charges heating separately.

The room rates above are for 13 January 2027. Our ranked hotel lists, priced for 15 December, show which hotels are worth the money: hotels in Gulmarg, hotels in Srinagar and houseboats in Srinagar.

January or February?

January for the deepest cold, the quietest weeks and the ski courses; February for the most snow. Gulmarg averages 161 mm of precipitation in January and 208 mm in February, almost all of it snow, and February days are a little milder (1.8°C against 0.7°C at Gulmarg). Both months carry the same risk of a storm that shuts the airport for a day.

If you have a choice and snow is the whole point, the last week of January and the first half of February give the best odds of fresh snow with the deep cold easing. The month before is in Kashmir in December, and every month side by side in the best time to visit Kashmir.

Is January a good time to visit Kashmir?

Yes, if snow is the reason for the trip and you can live with cold nights and a possible lost day. No, if you want green valleys, gardens in flower or long days of sightseeing: that is May, June or October.

Costs for a winter trip, flights included, are in Kashmir trip cost; the day-by-day plan in our Kashmir itinerary; and the whole year side by side in the best time to visit Kashmir.

Before you book a January trip

Where these dates and numbers come from

• Weather: IMD normals for 1991 to 2020 for Srinagar, Pahalgam and Gulmarg, as on our place guides; the January 2026 readings and events as reported at the time (IANS, All India Radio, DD India, ETV Bharat, Kashmir Life, The Daily Guardian); ETV Bharat (27 January 2026) for the dry spell; the Khelo India move from newsonair (2025).
• Daylight: sunrise-sunset.org, for Srinagar in January 2027.
• This winter: Kashmir Observer (10 October 2026), KNO (24 October 2026) and The News Now (9 October 2026), quoting the Meteorological Centre Srinagar.
• Prices: our own checks on 25 October 2026: return fares on Google Flights for 1 to 5, 12 to 16 and 23 to 27 January 2027, and one night on 13 January 2027 at every well-reviewed hotel we track; plus the official Gondola, shikara, houseboat and Pahalgam rates.
• Ski courses: the IISM Gulmarg 2026-27 schedule on iismgulmarg.in, read on 25 October 2026.
• Closures: the official list of 7 July 2026, re-read on 25 October 2026, and The Wire (15 July 2026) for its end date. The status from 1 January 2027 is not known yet.