By December the winter season starts to fall and covers the valley to hibernate. But at the same time skiing at Gulmarg and the Himalayan chakore & Wild duck shooting season starts which tourists have been enjoying since the British Raj. Also if by any chance the Dal-lake freezes then one can enjoy the ice skating too. From 1987 heli-skiing has also started in certain new areas.

Winter in Jammu and Kashmir starts in the month of December and it is extremely cold then. Even though the trees have a bare look and the beauty of the hued gardens no longer catches the eye, there is an altogether different charm in the surroundings. The snow covered landscape is a visual treat as well.

Through December, to the beginning of March is winter time, which presents Srinagar in yet another mood. Bare, snow-covered landscapes being watched from beside the warmth of a fire is a joy that cannot be described to anyone who has not experienced it. Some houseboats and hotels remain open in winter-these are either centrally heated or heated with 'bukharis', a typically Kashmiri stove kept alight with embers of wood, quite effective in the winter.