Terms of Service

These terms govern your use of yarbal.me and kashmir.pi and any booking you make with YarBal Private Limited, trading as Yarbal (registration , GSTIN , J&K tourism registration ), of Qamarwari, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India.

By booking, you accept these terms on behalf of everyone in your party.

1. What we are

We are a tour operator. We arrange accommodation, guiding, transport and experiences in the Kashmir Valley, some delivered by us and some by independent local suppliers — houseboat families, homestays, drivers, guides, camp operators and permit-holders. Where we act as agent for such a supplier, their own terms also apply and we will tell you so.

2. Making a booking

A booking becomes binding only when we confirm it to you in writing and the deposit has cleared. Until then, prices and availability may change — a request made through this site is an offer, not a contract.

You must be 18 or over to book. You are responsible for the accuracy of the names, dates and requirements you give us.

3. Prices and payment

Prices are quoted per person on twin-share occupancy unless stated otherwise, and exclude international and domestic flights unless listed as included. Taxes and fees of 5% are shown separately at checkout.

A deposit of 25% is payable to confirm. The balance is due 14 days before departure. We may hold a booking without payment for up to 48 hours.

Paying in Pi. Where you pay in Pi, the amount is calculated at the Pi rate displayed at the moment of checkout and shown to you before you approve anything. That rate is fixed for that transaction. Because Pi's value moves, you accept that the fiat value of what you paid may differ from the fiat value of the same amount of Pi later — including at the point of any refund. Pi payments are authorised in your own wallet; we cannot initiate one without your approval. Payments are settled on a public blockchain and are irreversible once complete.

We may also accept bank transfer or card. Prices in INR are the operative figures; USD and Pi displays are conversions for convenience.

4. Changes by you

Ask us. We will make a change where suppliers allow it and pass on any difference in cost plus any charge the supplier imposes. Changing the lead name or the departure date substantially may be treated as a cancellation and rebooking.

5. Changes and cancellation by us

We may substitute a service of equivalent standard where weather, road closure, permit refusal, supplier failure or force majeure makes the published one impossible, and will refund the difference where the substitute costs less. If we cancel your journey for any reason other than force majeure or your own non-payment, you may choose a full refund or a transfer to another date.

Cancellation and refund terms are set out in full in our Cancellation & Refund Policy, which forms part of these terms.

6. Weather, altitude and things nobody controls

You are booking travel in a Himalayan region. The Gulmarg gondola closes on wind and avalanche advisory. The Razdan Pass to Gurez is shut by snow for around half the year and can close at short notice. Flights and roads are disrupted in winter. Permits for restricted areas are granted at the discretion of the authorities and can be withdrawn.

None of this is within our control and none of it entitles you to compensation beyond the refund of any unused component, as set out in the cancellation policy. Build slack into your dates, and insure.

7. Insurance — a condition, not a suggestion

You must hold travel insurance valid for the region and for the activities on your itinerary. For trekking above 3,500 m and for off-piste skiing at Gulmarg, your policy must explicitly cover those activities and include emergency evacuation. Standard winter-sports cover frequently excludes off-piste. Read your exclusions. We may ask to see your policy and may refuse participation without it.

8. Your safety and our discretion

You must give us accurate medical, dietary and fitness information, follow reasonable instructions from guides, and not endanger yourself or others. Our guides may turn a party back, shorten an itinerary or refuse an activity on safety grounds. That is a safety decision, not a commercial one, and it does not create a right to a refund of services already delivered.

9. Behaviour

You are a guest in people's homes, villages and places of worship. We may end a person's participation without refund for behaviour that is abusive, unlawful, or seriously disrespectful to local communities, staff or other travellers.

10. Liability

We accept liability for death or personal injury caused by our own negligence, and for our failure to exercise reasonable skill and care in arranging your journey. Nothing in these terms limits any liability that cannot lawfully be limited.

Otherwise, and to the extent the law permits, our total liability for any booking is limited to the amount you paid us for it. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, for the independent acts of third-party suppliers beyond our reasonable control, or for loss arising from your own failure to insure, to disclose a relevant medical condition, or to follow safety instructions.

11. The website

Content on this site — including the written field notes and the generated artwork — belongs to us. You may link to it and quote it with attribution; you may not republish it wholesale. Illustrations are stylised interpretations, not photographs of specific properties, and the valley map is not to scale. Prices and availability shown are indicative until confirmed in writing.

Do not attempt to interfere with the booking system, submit fraudulent bookings, or extract data in bulk.

12. Complaints

Tell us while you are still here. Almost everything can be fixed on the ground and almost nothing can be fixed six weeks later. If it is not resolved, write to salaam@yarbal.me within 28 days of your return.

13. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of India. The courts of Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India have exclusive jurisdiction, save that if you are a consumer resident elsewhere you retain any right you have to bring proceedings in your own country of residence.

If any provision is held unenforceable, the rest stands.