Doodhpathri and Yusmarg: open or closed, how to get there and when to go

Is Doodhpathri open right now?

Yes, as far as published reports show. Its last closure was for the weather. On 22 July 2026 the Doodhpathri Development Authority (DDA) closed it, citing “incessant rainfall, flash floods, and landslides along the approach roads”, Rising Kashmir reported. It reopened on Friday 21 August. “On the first day of reopening, nearly 500 tourists visited Doodhpathri,” the DDA’s chief executive told Rising Kashmir.

Doodhpathri is not on the official list of closed destinations as on 7 July 2026, whose end date is 31 December 2026. Budgam district’s own notice names only “Budgam - Tousmaidan”, which is Tosamaidan. On 29 September 2026, a Lashkar-e-Taiba commander was killed in an encounter with security forces near Palmaidan in Doodhpathri, Kashmir Life reported, citing police. We found no report of any closure for visitors after it. Closures are announced through local news, so check the news or ask your driver the day before you go.

Doodhpathri’s closures since 2025

1. 29 Apr 2025
   Yousmarg, Tousmaidan and “Doodpathri” were among 48 of the valley’s 87 destinations shut after the attack at Baisaran near Pahalgam, IANS reported.
2. 13 Feb 2026
   The government told the Assembly that reopening Doodhpathri and Yousmarg was subject to security considerations beyond the Tourism Department’s mandate, Kashmir Life reported.
3. 16 Feb 2026
   After “a thorough security review”, the Lieutenant Governor listed 14 destinations, among them Yousmarg and Doodhpathri, “to be reopened immediately”, ETV Bharat reported.
4. 17 Feb 2026
   Doodhpathri reopened after nearly 10 months, Kashmir Observer reported.
5. 6 Jun 2026
   Authorities reported weekend footfall of around 2,500 tourists, Rising Kashmir said.
6. 22 Jul 2026
   The DDA closed Doodhpathri for rain and the risk of flash floods and landslides.
7. 6 Aug 2026
   A cloudburst was reported in the Raiyar–Doodhpathri area, with no casualties reported, Brighter Kashmir said.
8. 21 Aug 2026
   Reopened as the weather improved, Kashmir Observer reported.
9. 29 Sep 2026
   The encounter near Palmaidan. We found no closure for visitors after it.

You may still read about the “prolonged closure” of Doodhpathri. In The Wire on 28 September 2026, those words come from a tour operator describing his losses from the closures of Yusmarg, Tosamaidan and Doodhpathri. The article doesn’t report a new order, and Doodhpathri had reopened by then.

Why is Yusmarg closed?

Yusmarg, also spelt Yousmarg, is not on the official closed list either. What has kept visitors out is security restrictions, not a listed closure.

• April 2025 to February 2026: closed with the other destinations, then named on the Lieutenant Governor’s reopening list of 16 February 2026.
• May 2026: when The Wire visited on 12 May, police at a checkpoint about 2 km before the resort logged each visitor’s name, phone number, car registration and number of passengers. Tourists weren’t allowed beyond the main bowl, and overnight stays were banned. A senior government officer said there was “no official order on the restrictions”; a senior police officer said they “have been imposed for the safety of tourists only”.
• 2 Sep 2026: the Srinagar MP asked the Deputy Commissioner of Budgam to reopen Yusmarg. Kashmir Life said it “has remained largely inaccessible to visitors since security measures were tightened following the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack”.
• 4 Sep 2026: during a search operation “deep inside the dense forests of the Yousmarg and Pir Panjal belt”, Yusmarg was shut to tourists, Kashmir Observer reported.

We found no report of Yusmarg reopening after 4 September, as of 24 October 2026. See what’s closed in Kashmir for every place on the official list.

Doodhpathri, Yusmarg or Gulmarg?

The facts side by side, as of 24 October 2026:

Road times: estimated by the Go Kashmir app as of 23 October 2026. Heights: Budgam district and Incredible India, which gives 2,650 m for Gulmarg’s golf course. Taxi fares: Vargis Khan’s 2026–27 taxi-rate list, a travel blog’s figures that it says were “verified with Srinagar-based drivers and J&K Tourism operators”. It doesn’t state the vehicle, and these are not official fares.

Doodhpathri and Gulmarg are close in height and in drive time from Srinagar. If you want a cable car or ski slopes, that is Gulmarg: see the Gulmarg guide and Gulmarg Gondola tickets. Between Doodhpathri and Yusmarg, the deciding fact this autumn is access: Doodhpathri is open, and Yusmarg was shut on 4 September. Doodhpathri and Yusmarg are an estimated 1–1½ hours apart by road, according to the Go Kashmir app as of 23 October 2026. For a loop from Srinagar through Doodhpathri and Gulmarg and back, adding the app’s three leg estimates gives 5½–7¾ hours of driving; that is a sum of ranges, not a single app estimate. To compare Gulmarg with Pahalgam and Sonamarg, see Gulmarg vs Pahalgam vs Sonamarg.

What is special about Doodhpathri?

1. The meadow and its name

   Doodhpathri means “Valley of Milk”, says the Budgam district site. It tells the story that the saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani, also known as Sheikh ul Aalam, struck the ground here looking for water for ablution, and milk flowed instead. From a distance, the district says, the water in its streams still looks milky.

2. A bowl in the Pir Panjal

   The meadow lies in a bowl-shaped valley in the Pir Panjal range, at 8,957 ft, with pine, fir and deodar forests around it. In spring and summer it fills with wildflowers such as daisies, forget-me-nots and buttercups, and shepherds bring their cattle up to graze, according to the district.

3. Tangnar, Mujpathri and Palmaidan

   J&K’s tourism corporation, JKTDC, lists three spots nearby: Tangnar, 2 km before Doodhpathri on the way in; Mujpathri, a hamlet 3 km away on the bank of the Shaliganga river; and Palmaidan, about 5 km away, named for its big stones and used by shepherds in summer. Police reported the 29 September 2026 encounter near Palmaidan.

4. What’s there now

   In June 2026 the DDA said it had set up parking, designated services for pony operators and ATVs, and moved the tea stalls outside the toll plaza, Rising Kashmir reported. A health centre inside the tourist zone is planned.

What is there to see at Yusmarg?

These are the sights the official pages describe. In May 2026 visitors weren’t allowed beyond the main bowl, so treat the treks as off-limits until the restrictions are lifted.

1. The meadow and the Doodh Ganga

   Yusmarg is about 47 km from Srinagar, with long stretches of grassy pasture and pine forest, according to JKTDC. Its river, the Doodh Ganga, foams white over the rocks, “which gives it this name”. The Budgam district site says Yusmarg is often called the “Meadows of Jesus”.

2. Nilnag and Sang-e-Safed

   JKTDC describes a 4 km trek to Nilnag, a small lake among pine trees, and a full-day trek to a frozen lake in the Sang-e-Safed valley, 10 km away. The district lists Tattakutti (4,725 m) and Sunset Peak (4,746 m) among the peaks above it.

3. Charar-i-Sharief, on the way

   The road from Srinagar passes through Charar-i-Sharief town, says the district; JKTDC puts it about 13 km from Yusmarg. The town has the shrine of Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani, known as Nund Reshi or Alamdar-e-Kashmir: the same saint as in Doodhpathri’s story.

How to get there from Srinagar

Road times: estimated by the Go Kashmir app as of 23 October 2026. Distances, routes, airport and station: the Budgam district pages for Doodhpathri and Yusmarg (both updated 21 January 2025); the Yusmarg page gives 47 km in its introduction and 53 km in its road directions. Taxi fares: Vargis Khan’s 2026–27 taxi-rate list, a travel blog’s figures, not official fares; see Srinagar taxi fares for the official 2026 fare rules.

• By bus: JKTDC’s page describes a bus from Lal Chowk in Srinagar to Budgam, a vehicle on to Khansahib, and a cab from the Khansahib stand to Doodhpathri. For Yusmarg it says local buses run only as far as Charar-i-Sharief. Both pages are old (copyright 2017), so ask locally.
• By train: for trains into the valley, including the Badgam–Katra service, see the Vande Bharat guide.
• From another base: the Go Kashmir app estimates road times between its places, so you can time a day out from wherever you are staying.

When to go, and what winter brings

• May to September is the best time to visit Doodhpathri, according to JKTDC.
• Heavy rain can close it: the July–August 2026 closure and the 6 August cloudburst both followed spells of heavy rain.
• Snow can return in spring: fresh snow covered the meadows on 15 March 2026, Kashmir Life reported.
• Winter: the district site says heavy snow leaves Doodhpathri “inaccessible for several months”. Yet the tourism department held the Doodhpathri Snow Carnival at Parihas Maidan on 18 February 2026, with snowshoe races, skiing demonstrations and snow cricket, Brighter Kashmir reported. In June the DDA said its drag lift would become operational “in the coming winter season”; we found no announcement that it is running.
• Yusmarg in winter: the district says its road “sometimes gets closed due to snowfall and remains cut off from the Kashmir Valley for weeks”. JKTDC says the road from Charar-i-Sharief “remains closed during the winters”.

No weather station at Doodhpathri publishes 30-year averages. For a sense of the cold at this height, Gulmarg, about 2,650 m up, averages 0.7°C by day and −7.7°C at night in January, and 21.1°C and 12.0°C in July, in the WMO 1991–2020 normals. That is Gulmarg, not a forecast for Doodhpathri; see Gulmarg weather for every month.

Driving to Doodhpathri after snow

On 5 January 2025, citing the weather department’s advisory and “challenging road conditions”, Budgam Police issued rules for visitors to Doodhpathri and Yusmarg, Greater Kashmir reported:

• Only 4x4 vehicles and those with anti-skid chains were allowed from Khansahib towards Doodhpathri.
• Check brakes, lights and defrosters before you set off.
• Drive slowly, don’t overtake, and don’t park along the roadside.
• Carry warm clothes, food, blankets, a torch and a phone charger, and share your travel plans.
• Don’t drive in a snowstorm.
• In an emergency dial 112. The advisory also listed PCR Budgam on 6006751939 and 8082567612.

These were the January 2025 rules; look for a fresh advisory after any snowfall. Sudden snow can trap cars: in December 2022 police rescued 52 tourists stuck in their vehicles at Parihas, Doodhpathri, ANI reported.

Is it safe to visit Doodhpathri?

We don’t give safety verdicts. The UK government “advises against all travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (including Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, the city of Srinagar and the Jammu-Srinagar national highway)”, except air travel to and from Jammu city and travel within it, on its India regional risks page (updated 7 October 2026). The local events that affect access, the encounter near Palmaidan and the Yusmarg shutdown, are dated above. For other governments’ advice, see is Kashmir safe to visit?.

Before you go

• Check the status the day before: the DDA’s July 2026 closure was announced through local news.
• We found no official entry fee or opening hours for Doodhpathri. There is a toll plaza at the meadow, so ask about charges there.
• For medical care, a primary health centre at Raiyar, close to the meadow, serves the destination, the DDA said in June 2026.
• At Yusmarg, stakeholders told Greater Kashmir in July 2026 that a single BSNL tower serves the resort, private networks are largely unavailable and there is no functional health facility.
• After snow, check the police road advisory and whether your car needs 4x4 or chains.

Doodhpathri and Yusmarg questions