Kashmir in June: weather, roads, crowds and pilgrimages

Is June a good time to visit Kashmir?

It is if you want warm weather and green valleys and can live with mountain storms:

• For: Srinagar’s driest summer month, days in the high 20s, and nights cool enough in Gulmarg and Pahalgam to need a warm layer. In 2026 a Tourism Department official quoted by the news agency KNO said “The response during the first week of June has been very good”, Kashmir Despatch reported.
• Against: thunder and sudden heavy rain in the mountains. Pahalgam averages 11.1 days with thunder in June, more than in any other month, and in 2026, 22 of Jammu and Kashmir’s 35 cloudbursts up to early August came between 1 June and mid-July, IANS reported.
• Not certain: the heat. A wet spell kept Srinagar 4.2°C below normal on 13 June 2026, and on 29 June it reached 35.3°C, 5.3°C above normal.

How June compares with the rest of the year is in the best time to visit Kashmir.

June weather by place

*Average day high and night low. Wet days have at least 2.5 mm of rain; thunder days are the average number of days with thunder. WMO Climate Normals 1991–2020 for the IMD stations at Srinagar (42027), Qazigund (42044), Pahalgam (42028) and Gulmarg (42026), published by NOAA NCEI.

June is the driest of Srinagar’s three summer months, with 46.4 mm against 64.0 mm in July and 64.5 mm in August, and it has fewer wet days, 4.1, than any month from January to August. Pahalgam is also at its summer driest in June, though its nights are the coldest of the four stations, 8.9°C on average. Every month is in Kashmir weather month by month.

Real Junes swing far from those averages:

• Cool and wet: on 13 June 2026 Srinagar reached only 23.8°C, 4.2°C below normal, and Pahalgam 17°C, nearly seven degrees below, after rain on the plains and light snow on the heights, according to Meteorological Centre Srinagar data reported by Kashmir Reader.
• Hot: on 29 June 2026 Srinagar recorded 35.3°C, its highest of the season so far and 5.3°C above normal, UNI reported. On 19 June 2025 it reached 35.2°C, “the hottest in June in 20 years”, according to IMD figures reported by Kashmir Reader. The hottest June day in the station’s WMO record is 37.8°C, on 29 June 1978.

Is there snow in Kashmir in June?

In the reports we found, only in the higher reaches, such as Gulmarg, Affarwat and the passes. The averages count rain and snow together, so they can’t say how often it snows. These are the June falls we found reported:

• 18 June 2022: fresh snow on higher reaches including Gulmarg, the Amarnath cave and the hills of Sonamarg, and Gulmarg reached only 8.5°C, Kashmir Despatch reported. The Met office’s deputy director said it was “not for the first time that snowfall has occurred in the month of June”.
• 7 June 2024: fresh snow on Affarwat in Gulmarg, Razdan Top, the Zoji La, Sadhna Top and Sinthan Top, while it rained on the plains, Kashmir Life reported. Gulmarg reached only 11.2°C that day.
• 13 June 2026: “light snowfall in the higher reaches” alongside rain on the plains, Kashmir Reader reported.

Snow needs a cold spell: Gulmarg’s June averages are 19.3°C by day and 9.4°C at night, and its coldest June night on record is 1.0°C, on 6 June 2010. For snow, see snowfall in Kashmir and Gulmarg weather.

June 2026, week by week

What the last June looked like for travellers:

1. 6 Jun 2026
   Authorities reported weekend footfall of around 2,500 tourists at Doodhpathri, with numbers “continuing to rise”, Rising Kashmir reported. See the Doodhpathri guide.
2. 8 Jun 2026
   More than six lakh tourists had visited Jammu and Kashmir so far that year, according to official data accessed by KNO, Kashmir Despatch reported.
3. 9 Jun 2026
   The Zojila tunnel broke through, with about 85% of the work done; officials said it is likely to open to the public in February 2028, The Hitavada reported.
4. 13 Jun 2026
   Rain on the plains and light snow on the heights; the Met office forecast thunderstorms, hail at isolated places and gusts up to 60 km/h for the following days, Kashmir Reader reported.
5. 17 Jun 2026
   A cloudburst at Tartei Kilo in the Tulail area of Gurez damaged dozens of houses; no loss of life was reported, India TV reported.
6. 20 Jun 2026
   The Mata Kheer Bhawani Yatra left Jammu: 214 buses carrying about 8,500 pilgrims, Kashmir Reader reported.
7. 22 Jun 2026
   The Kheer Bhawani mela at Tulmulla, on Jyeshtha Ashtami.
8. 25 Jun 2026
   The Gulmarg Gondola reopened after a month’s suspension, Kashmir Life reported.
9. 26 Jun 2026
   Ashura, the 10th of Muharram, with traffic diversions announced in Srinagar for the procession, Kashmir Life reported.
10. 29 Jun 2026
    Srinagar’s hottest day of the season so far, 35.3°C. The Amarnath Yatra’s Pratham Puja was scheduled for this day, Jyeshtha Purnima.
11. 30 Jun 2026
    Token distribution for on-the-spot Amarnath registration began in Jammu, Telangana Today reported.

Kheer Bhawani mela in June

The annual mela is “one of the most important festivals for the Kashmiri Pandit community”, in the words of News On Air, when devotees offer kheer, milk, flowers and aromatic leaves to Mata Ragnya Devi. The largest gathering is at her shrine at Tulmulla in Ganderbal district, and the mela is also observed at Tikker in Kupwara, Logripora in Anantnag, and Manzgam and Devsar in Kulgam.

The mela falls on Jyeshtha Ashtami, so its date moves from year to year: 3 June in 2025, 22 June in 2026. Tulmulla is an estimated 40–55 minutes by road from Srinagar, according to the Go Kashmir app as of 24 October 2026. On the mela day in 2026 the Ganderbal administration set up transport, help desks and facilitation centres, and police were deployed along the route, ETV Bharat reported. The shrine itself is in Kheer Bhawani temple. For the temple, its offerings and how the mela date is set, see the Kheer Bhawani guide.

The Amarnath Yatra and June

In 2026 the Yatra itself ran from 3 July to 28 August, on two routes: “the longer traditional Pahalgam base camp route or the shorter Baltal route”, in Telangana Today’s words. These steps came before it:

The 2027 dates and rules had not been announced as of 24 October 2026. Registration, the health certificate and the two routes are in Amarnath Yatra 2027, and the Yatra months themselves in Kashmir in July.

Muharram in Srinagar

In 2026 the 8th and 10th days of Muharram fell on 24 and 26 June. Thousands of Shia Muslims joined the 8th Muharram procession in Srinagar on 24 June, and the senior superintendent of police asked the public to follow traffic advisories, the news agency ANI reported via NewKerala. For Ashura on 26 June, the Traffic Police announced diversions at Firdous Cinema, Mill Stop, Lal Bazar and Bota Kadal for the procession from Bota Kadal to Imambara Zadibal, Kashmir Life reported. Muharram is a month of the lunar Islamic calendar, so it comes earlier each year; the 2027 dates had not been announced as of 24 October 2026.

Roads and passes in June

• Zoji La, towards Ladakh: in winter 2025–26 the Border Roads Organisation kept the pass “open throughout winters for the first time ever”, The Tribune reported in May 2026. The tunnel beneath it broke through on 9 June 2026, but the road still goes over the top until it opens. See Srinagar to Leh by road.
• Gurez: snow closed the road over Razdan Pass on 17 April 2026, Kashmir Life reported, but by the first week of June offbeat places including Gurez were reporting “a significant increase in tourist arrivals”, Kashmir Despatch said. It is an estimated 5½–7¾ hours by road from Srinagar, according to the Go Kashmir app as of 24 October 2026. Plan for weather too: the Tulail cloudburst of 17 June 2026 was in the Gurez valley. See the Gurez guide.
• Mughal Road: snow at Pir Ki Gali closed it on 4 May 2026, a Poonch traffic official said, Kashmir Life reported, and Sinthan Top had fresh snow on 7 June 2024. Sinthan Top and Margan Top are closed to tourists under orders that run to 31 December 2026.
• Rain and debris: over summer 2026 the Jammu–Srinagar highway and local roads in Kangan and Pahalgam “faced temporary closures due to accumulated debris and overflowing nallahs”, IANS reported.

Before a long drive such as Gurez, the Go Kashmir app’s place card gives the estimated road time from Srinagar and a 4-day forecast for the area.

How busy is Kashmir in June?

Reports from the last three Junes describe strong demand, except in 2025. These are reported figures and quotes, not a full count:

• 2026: “We are witnessing encouraging tourist arrivals across destinations in Kashmir,” a Tourism Department official said, and stakeholders said advance bookings for the coming weeks “remain strong”, Kashmir Despatch reported on 8 June. On 25 June Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that even while the Gondola was shut, “people still came here”, Kashmir Reader reported.
• 2025: after the attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025, a Pahalgam hotelier, Waseem Burza, said occupancy in his hotel was “nearly 20 per cent for several weeks in the month of June”. Burza, a member of the Pahalgam Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, put June occupancy across an inventory of over 12,000 rooms at over 25 per cent, Outlook reported on 2 July 2025.
• 2024: hotels in Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg were “fully booked until mid-June”, Kashmir Life reported on 1 June 2024. It added that “Usually, tourist arrivals start decreasing with the beginning of the annual Amarnath Yatra”.

First half or second half of June?

The 2027 Gondola dates are the 2nd and 4th Mondays under the JKCCC notice below. The 2027 dates of the mela, the Yatra and Muharram are not announced yet.

Gulmarg Gondola in June

The Gondola was shut for most of June 2026. On 25 May heavy rain and a technical fault in Phase 1 left more than 300 tourists stranded in 65 cabins for several hours, and the service was suspended until Thursday 25 June, Kashmir Life reported. Before it reopened, the cable car corporation replaced a gearbox and waited for the original manufacturer to certify the repairs, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, Kashmir Reader reported.

The Jammu & Kashmir Cable Car Corporation’s notice, in force since 13 July 2026, says: “Gulmarg Gondola shall remain closed on the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month for preventive maintenance.” In June 2027, if the notice still applies, those are 14 and 28 June. Tickets and fares are in Gulmarg Gondola tickets.

Gulmarg or Pahalgam in June?

Climate: WMO 1991–2020 normals. Road times: estimates from the Go Kashmir app, 24 October 2026. Closures: the official list as on 7 July 2026, under orders that run to 31 December 2026.

Gulmarg is cooler by day, Pahalgam a little colder at night and stormier. Both are in Gulmarg, Pahalgam or Sonamarg.

What’s open in June 2027

What to wear in June

Dress for warm days in Srinagar and cool, often wet evenings in the mountains:

• Light clothes for Srinagar days that average 28.5°C and can pass 35°C
• A warm layer for nights in Gulmarg (9.4°C) and Pahalgam (8.9°C)
• A rain jacket: Gulmarg and Pahalgam average more than 8 wet days in June, and Pahalgam 11.1 days with thunder

June questions