Peak-season prices and brochure photos rarely line up with the best months on the ground — this is the version our guides would tell you.
Spring brings the tulip gardens and clear valley views; autumn brings the chinar trees turning and thinner crowds than summer.
Khardungla and the Pangong road only open once snow clears, usually early June. July-August adds the Hemis festival.
Skip the May-June heat entirely — desert daytime temperatures make sightseeing miserable outside winter.
Right after monsoon, the backwaters are full and green; book houseboats early for the December-January rush.