Many people take the train to Jammu followed by a taxi or bus ride to Srinagar. The journey from Jammu to Srinagar is costlier in the summers because the capital is being shifted from Jammu to Srinagar on both the state buses and Sumos. State buses are safer but take more time and are a bit uncomfortable.
Foreign travelers on visas are required to register upon arrival at the airport or to their hotel or houseboat.
By bus
J&K State Road Transport Corporation J&KSRTC operates fairly comfortable buses from Jammu costing around Rs 350 and do the journey in around 12 hr. 2 day buses run between Srinagar and Leh staying overnight in Kargil.
There are also direct buses from Delhi taking almost 24 hr to reach Srinagar.
By plane
Sheikh ul Alam Airport Urdu: Ø´ÛØ® اÙعاÙÙ ÛÙØ§Ø¦Û Ø§Úا Hindi: शà¥à¤à¤¼ à¤à¤² à¤à¤²à¤® हवाठठडà¥à¤¡à¤¾ is commonly known as Srinagar Airport Urdu: Ø³Ø±Û Ùگر Ú©Û ÛÙØ§Ø¦Û Ø§Úا Hindi: शà¥à¤°à¥à¤¨à¤à¤° हवाठठडà¥à¤¡à¤¾ It is an international airport IATA: SXR ICAO: VISR.
A new terminal for arrivals and departures with air bridges and other up to date operational facilities was inaugurated on 14 February 2009. International, domestic and seasonal Hajj pilgrimage charters to Jeddah are operated from Sheikh ul Alam airport.
Flights are operated by Jet Airways, Air Deccan, SpiceJet, Kingfisher Airlines, Go Air, Jet Lite and Indian Airlines (http://www.indianairlines...) from Delhi and Mumbai to Srinagar, with or without a stopover at Jammu. The frequency is once or twice a day by each airline. The cost is approx Rs 2,500 from Jammu, Rs 2,500-5,000 from Delhi one way and higher from Mumbai, depending on the season.
The airport is still heavily patrolled and you may see many soldiers or other armed security detachments. Winter flights can easily be canceled due to weather conditions. Tickets are easy to purchase in the city. The airport requires a ticket for entrance. A taxi into town should be Rs 550 and direct to Gulmarg is Rs 1,500-2,000
When departing Srinagar by air, make sure you have a printed copy of your ticket at hand, otherwise you will not be able to enter the airport. Additionally, allow approximately 1 hr to get from Srinagar to the airport. Security checks can cause traffic to bank up if there are a few flights leaving at around the same time.
By taxi
Hiring a TATA Sumo SUV fits up to 9 people, or 5 comfortably plus luggage from Jammu costs approximately Rs 1,900-2,700 depending on time of year or even time of day. To reduce costs many people choose not to take an exclusive taxi, and share the Sumo taxi with other travelers. This costs about Rs 300-400 per person. For a comfortable trip, try for a seat in the middle row - the front bucket seat is sometimes uncomfortably shared by 2 people, and the far back could be quite bumpy as the highway is full of mountainous roads. The journey takes around 4 hr ??? if bus takes 12 hours taxi must would take atleast 8-9 hrs..