Crafting Your Journey

The Martand Sun Temple sits on a plateau called Mattan above the Anantnag district of South Kashmir at approximately 1,798 metres — a position that gives the ruins a view across the full breadth of the Kashmir Valley that no other heritage site in the region approaches. The temple was built in the 8th century by King Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty and dedicated to Surya, the sun god. What stands today is a large courtyard of carved stone colonnades, a central shrine base and the remains of 84 subsidiary shrines arranged around the main complex — a scale of construction that the Archaeological Survey of India, which manages the site, classifies as one of the most significant early medieval Hindu monuments in the Indian subcontinent. This martand temple kashmir package is the only tour in the Bon Voyagers Kashmir series built around this monument as its primary reason for travel.

Bon Voyagers handles the pickup from Jammu Railway Station or Airport and covers three nights with a private Innova, Xylo or Scorpio class vehicle throughout. Day 1 drives from Jammu through the Banihal Tunnel into the Kashmir Valley and south to Anantnag for the overnight base. Day 2 covers Martand — the ruins, the plateau view and the Mattan area — followed by Verinag Spring in the afternoon, the natural source of the Jhelum River enclosed in a Mughal garden built by Emperor Jahangir. Day 3 covers Achabal Garden before the drive to Srinagar for the final overnight. Day 4 returns to Jammu via the Banihal Tunnel. No Protected Area Permit is required for any destination on this route. Daily breakfast and dinner on MAP basis throughout.

Duration

4 Days, 3 Nights

Starting From

₹10,700/ person

₹15,700Save ₹5,000

Free Consultation⚡ Instant Reply

Plan Your Trip with Experts

Get best prices, custom itineraries & instant support.

Chat on WhatsApp

Package Itinerary

Detailed Itinerary for Martand Temple Kashmir Package

Day 1 • Jammu to Anantnag via Banihal Tunnel: martand temple kashmir package

The martand temple kashmir package begins at Jammu Railway Station or Airport where the Bon Voyagers vehicle is waiting. The drive north from Jammu to Anantnag covers approximately 200 kilometres and takes around 3.5 to 4 hours routing through Udhampur and the Banihal Tunnel — the 8.45-kilometre road tunnel through the Pir Panjal range that connects the Jammu plains to the Kashmir Valley without the old Banihal Pass climb. The tunnel exit puts the vehicle in Qazigund at approximately 1,690 metres and Anantnag is approximately 30 kilometres further north through the lower Jhelum valley. Anantnag sits at approximately 1,577 metres and is the district headquarters for South Kashmir — a town with functional hotel infrastructure that serves as the base for this martand temple kashmir package. Overnight at Anantnag.

Day 2 • Martand Temple and Verinag Spring: martand temple kashmir package

The Martand Sun Temple sits approximately 7 kilometres northeast of Anantnag on the Mattan plateau — a drive of around 20 minutes from the town centre. The plateau sits at approximately 1,798 metres above the valley floor and the view from the temple complex across the Kashmir Valley is open in all four directions without obstruction — the Zabarwan hills to the north, the Pir Panjal range to the south, the valley floor stretching to the west. The ruins themselves cover a large rectangular courtyard of carved stone columns with the central shrine base at the centre — 84 subsidiary shrine bases arranged around the inner courtyard wall, the column carving a mix of Aryan and Greco-Roman design elements that reflect both the Karkota dynasty's artistic programme and the trade connections of 8th century Kashmir. This martand temple kashmir package gives the site a full morning — early arrival before the day visitors come from Srinagar is when the plateau silence is at its fullest. The afternoon moves south to Verinag — approximately 30 kilometres from Anantnag, taking around 45 minutes. The Verinag Spring sits at the base of the Pir Panjal in a Mughal garden built by Emperor Jahangir in 1620 — an octagonal stone tank of spring water so clear and deep that the floor is visible from the stone parapet above. Overnight at Anantnag.

Day 3 • Achabal Garden and Srinagar: martand temple kashmir package

The drive from Anantnag to Achabal covers approximately 12 kilometres in around 20 minutes. Achabal Garden is a Mughal terraced garden built in the 17th century — a series of water channels, cascading fountains and plane tree shade that Empress Nur Jahan is credited with commissioning on the basis of a natural spring that feeds the garden's water system from the Pir Panjal above. The garden is smaller and quieter than the Nishat and Shalimar gardens of Srinagar and receives a fraction of the visitor footfall that the Dal Lake gardens carry. This martand temple kashmir package includes Achabal as the Day 3 morning anchor — the water channels and the chinar tree cover in spring and autumn give the garden a character that the more photographed Srinagar gardens, with their lakeside positions, do not produce. The drive from Achabal north to Srinagar covers approximately 58 kilometres in around 1.5 hours. The Srinagar afternoon is for the old city — Lal Chowk, the craft lanes and the Jhelum riverfront. Overnight in Srinagar.

View Remaining Itinerary

Day 4 • Srinagar to Jammu via Banihal Tunnel: martand temple kashmir package

The final day of the martand temple kashmir package drives from Srinagar south to Jammu via the Banihal Tunnel — the reverse of the Day 1 route covering approximately 250 kilometres in around 4 to 4.5 hours. The Srinagar morning before departure is for a final stop at Lal Chowk for saffron, Kashmiri dry fruit or papier-mache work before the tunnel approach. The Banihal Tunnel on the return carries a specific quality that the outward journey does not — the Kashmir Valley behind, the Jammu plains ahead, the tunnel as the boundary being recrossed. Groups with afternoon or evening train or flight departures from Jammu are well within reach of a Srinagar morning start. The Bon Voyagers vehicle drops at Jammu Railway Station or Airport on arrival.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About Grave 4 Days Martand Temple Kashmir Package | Laden

Everything you need to know before booking your trip — permits, transport, hotels, weather, safety, customization and travel planning.

The Martand Sun Temple was built by King Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty in the 8th century — the same king who extended the Kashmir kingdom's political and military reach across a significant portion of North India during his reign from approximately 724 to 761 CE. Lalitaditya is regarded by historians as the most powerful ruler of Kashmir's pre-Islamic period and the Martand complex was his most ambitious architectural statement — a sun temple on a high plateau with a courtyard of 84 subsidiary shrines surrounding the central Surya shrine, built in a style that combined the indigenous Kashmir architectural tradition with Gandharan and Greco-Roman decorative elements reflecting the trade and cultural connections of the period. The ASI has documented and partially conserved the site. The ruins are extensive enough that a full morning is needed to walk the courtyard properly — the scale of the original construction is only fully apparent on site rather than from photographs.

Verinag Spring is the primary source of the Jhelum River — the spring water that rises in the octagonal stone tank at the base of the Pir Panjal feeds the stream that becomes the river that runs through Srinagar, defines the geography of the Kashmir Valley and eventually joins the Indus system in Punjab. Emperor Jahangir built the Mughal garden around the spring in 1620 and the enclosure has been maintained since — stone parapet walls around the tank, the Mughal garden channels feeding a formal garden beyond the spring chamber. The water in the tank is clear enough to see the floor at several metres depth and the spring discharge is consistent through the seasons — a constancy that the Mughal emperor noted in his memoirs when he first visited the site. This martand temple kashmir package includes Verinag specifically because the spring's role as the Jhelum source gives the Day 2 afternoon a geographic depth that a garden visit alone does not carry.

Achabal Garden sits approximately 12 kilometres south of Anantnag at the foot of the Pir Panjal range — a 17th century Mughal terraced garden built around a natural spring. Empress Nur Jahan is credited with the garden's development. The design follows the same charbagh terracing principle as Nishat and Shalimar but on a smaller and more intimate scale — water channels from the spring divide the garden into sections of plane tree shade and formal planting, the cascading fountains running through stone channels rather than the wide water stages of the Srinagar lakeside gardens. The visitor footfall at Achabal is a fraction of the Srinagar garden crowds and the garden's position away from the Dal Lake tourist circuit means it functions more as a local park than a major attraction. This martand temple kashmir package uses that quality deliberately — Achabal after two days of stone ruins and spring water gives the circuit a different register before the return to Srinagar.

The Banihal Tunnel is an 8.45-kilometre road tunnel through the Pir Panjal range connecting the Jammu region to the Kashmir Valley — opened in stages from 2011 with the full tunnel operational by 2017. Before the tunnel the route between Jammu and the valley required crossing the Banihal Pass at approximately 2,832 metres — a mountain road subject to snow closure in winter and long convoys in peak season. The tunnel eliminates that crossing entirely, putting the drive from Jammu to Anantnag at approximately 3.5 to 4 hours regardless of season. For this martand temple kashmir package the tunnel is the practical reason a Jammu pickup is sensible — the group flies or takes the train to Jammu, the vehicle drives north through the tunnel and is in South Kashmir in under four hours without the pass logistics that the older Srinagar-only packages require.

The Martand Sun Temple, Verinag Spring and Achabal Garden are all in South Kashmir in the Anantnag district — the southern end of the valley closest to the Jammu approach. A Srinagar-based package covering these sites would drive south from Srinagar to Anantnag, cover the heritage circuit and then return north to Srinagar — adding unnecessary backtracking on both ends. The Jammu pickup drives directly north into South Kashmir through the Banihal Tunnel, covers the heritage circuit in a logical south-to-north sequence and closes the circuit in Srinagar before the return to Jammu on Day 4. The Jammu-origin structure also opens this martand temple kashmir package to a completely different traveller profile — the visitor arriving by the Rajdhani or the Jammu Tawi express from Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata who can begin and end the trip without a Srinagar flight and use the train connection as the primary gateway instead.

Still have questions?

Connect with our travel experts for personalized planning.

Chat on WhatsApp

Crafting Your Journey

Bon Voyagers

Grave 4 Days Martand Temple Kashmir Package | Laden

Overview for Martand Temple Kashmir Package

Plan Your Trip with Experts

Grave 4 Days Martand Temple Kashmir Package | Laden

Plan Your Trip with Experts

Overview for Martand Temple Kashmir Package

Journey Route Map for Martand Temple Kashmir Package

Jammu

Anantnag

Martand Temple

Verinag

Achabal

Srinagar

Jammu

Detailed Itinerary for Martand Temple Kashmir Package

Day 1 • Jammu to Anantnag via Banihal Tunnel: martand temple kashmir package

Day 2 • Martand Temple and Verinag Spring: martand temple kashmir package

Day 3 • Achabal Garden and Srinagar: martand temple kashmir package

Day 4 • Srinagar to Jammu via Banihal Tunnel: martand temple kashmir package

What’s Included & Excluded for Martand Temple Kashmir Package

Inclusions

Exclusions

Best Time to Visit Martand Temple Kashmir Package

Frequently Asked Questions About Grave 4 Days Martand Temple Kashmir Package | Laden

Who built the Martand Sun Temple and when in this martand temple kashmir package?

What is Verinag Spring and what is its significance beyond being a garden in this martand temple kashmir package?

What is Achabal Garden and how does it differ from the Mughal Gardens at Nishat and Shalimar in Srinagar in this martand temple kashmir package?

What is the Banihal Tunnel and how does it change the Jammu to Kashmir drive in this martand temple kashmir package?

Why is this martand temple kashmir package starting from Jammu rather than Srinagar when most Kashmir packages start from Srinagar?

Still have questions?

Traveller Reviews for martand temple kashmir package

Recommended For You

Why Travellers Trust Bon Voyagers