Pampore Kashmir Travel Guide

Pampore is a town in Pulwama district, Kashmir Valley. Kashmir Travel Guide is an independent travel guide to Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh, published at kashmirtravelguide.co.in, and this is its entry for Pampore.

This Pampore travel guide covers the saffron town on the Jhelum just south of Srinagar, in Pulwama district: the fortnight when the fields turn purple, how to buy saffron that is what it claims to be, and the ninth-century temple ruins at Awantipora a few kilometres down the highway.

Published 20 September 2026Last reviewed 20 September 2026How this entry is checked

Things to do in Pampore

Pampore is an ordinary highway town about 11 km from the centre of Srinagar that happens to sit on the karewa, the flat, dry plateau of old lake-bed that grows most of India's saffron. For fifty weeks of the year the fields are bare brown terraces; for a fortnight in autumn they are purple with crocus, and the town fills with pickers, buyers and visitors. The rest of the year the reasons to stop are the shops, the spring mustard, and the temple ruins at Awantipora.

The saffron fields in bloom

The crocus flowers in the last week of October and the first week of November in most years, for about two weeks, and the bloom is picked by hand each morning before the sun opens the flowers fully. Walk the field edges at dawn or in the late afternoon, ask before stepping into a field, and expect to be offered a flower to look at: three red stigmas in each, which is why a kilogram of saffron takes so many. The villages around Pampore and Lethpora, south of the town along the highway, are where the fields are widest.

Buying saffron without being cheated

Kashmir saffron has carried a geographical indication tag since 2020, and the real thing is sold as mongra, the dark red stigmas alone, or lachha, the stigmas with their yellow styles attached. Buy from growers' shops in Pampore or from the government-approved outlets rather than from touts at viewpoints. Good saffron is deep red, dry and brittle, smells of hay and honey, and colours water slowly to gold; dyed threads colour it instantly and red. Expect to pay a serious price per gram; anything cheap is not saffron.

The Awantipora temple ruins

About 10 km further along the highway, the town of Awantipora keeps the remains of two temples built by King Avantivarman, the ninth-century founder of the Utpala dynasty who made this his capital: the Avantiswami temple to Vishnu, which he built before he took the throne, and the Avantishvara temple to Shiva, from his reign. Both were destroyed in the medieval period and lay buried until the archaeologist Daya Ram Sahni excavated them in the early twentieth century; the Archaeological Survey of India protects them now. What survives is a paved courtyard, the plinth of the shrine and carved stone of real quality. Half an hour at each is enough, and they lie directly on the road to Pahalgam.

Spring mustard

In March and April the same karewa fields flower yellow with mustard, the winter crop, and the flat plateau under the mountains photographs well. It is a smaller draw than the saffron, and a pleasant stop rather than a destination.

Best time to visit Pampore

• Late October to early November: the saffron bloom, for about two weeks. The exact dates shift with the weather; ask in Srinagar the week before, and go early in the day.
• March and April: mustard in flower, blossom on the fruit trees, mild weather for the temple ruins.
• Any other time: the shops are open and the ruins are worth the stop on the way south, but the fields are bare.

An afternoon from Srinagar

Pampore is close enough to Srinagar to be an afternoon, or a stop on the way to Pahalgam, Verinag or Jammu. The bloom is a morning outing: leave the city at first light, walk the fields, buy saffron, and be back for lunch. There is no reason to stay overnight; the town's hotels are highway stops rather than places to linger.

How do you get to Pampore?

Planning how to reach Pampore is the easiest task in the valley: it is the first town on the Srinagar–Jammu national highway south of the city, about 11 km from the centre.

By road the drive is 20 to 30 minutes from Srinagar depending on traffic through the southern suburbs. The saffron villages lie along and just off the highway south of the town; Awantipora is about 10 km further on, about 28 km from Srinagar.

By air: Srinagar Airport, about 15 km. By rail: both Pampore and Awantipora have halts on the Kashmir Valley line; check current services, since not every train stops.

Buses and shared taxis between Srinagar and Anantnag pass through Pampore continuously; ask to be set down at the town or at Lethpora for the fields. A hired car for half a day from Srinagar is the easiest way to combine the fields, a saffron shop and Awantipora. If you have not chosen a base, our Srinagar guide covers the options. Travellers heading on to Verinag or Jammu pass both the fields and the ruins on the way.

What should you know before visiting Pampore?

These Pampore travel tips are for a short visit that turns on a fortnight of flowers and a purchase worth getting right.

• Check the bloom before you go. It lasts about two weeks and its dates move; a farmer, hotel or the tourism office in Srinagar will know.
• Ask before entering a field, keep to the terrace edges and do not pick flowers. The crop is the family's income for the year.
• Buy saffron from growers' shops or approved outlets, ask for the GI mark, and test a few threads in warm water before buying more.
• Carry cash; small growers do not take cards.
• Wear shoes for dry, dusty ground and a hat; the karewa has no shade.
• Take your litter away. No entry charge or opening hours have been verified for the fields or the ruins.