Pampore, about 15 km south of Srinagar on the road toward Awantipora, is the centre of Kashmir's saffron cultivation — one of the finest saffrons in the world, grown on the same volcanic soil for at least two millennia. The saffron crocus blooms for a brief window in October, typically mid-month, when the entire plain around Pampore turns vivid purple-violet. The smell of the flowers carries across the fields, and at sunrise the light on the blooms is remarkable.
Saffron harvesting is done entirely by hand — the flowers are picked in the early morning before they fully open, then the three red stigmas are extracted by hand and dried. A single kilogram of finished saffron requires roughly 150,000 flowers and extensive labour, which explains why it remains the world's most expensive spice by weight. The harvesting period is short (about three weeks) and weather-dependent. Visiting Pampore in mid-October — ideally in the first two weeks — gives the best chance of seeing the fields in full bloom. The roadside stalls in Pampore sell saffron directly; buying here, from established vendors, is more reliable than buying in the city markets.