Last week I took a much-needed vacation to see Kashmir. The last 6 months had been monumentally tiresome with added administrative responsibilities and prolonged screen time. Enough was enough, I told myself when I booked a ticket at extremely short notice. I wanted to go to a place full of strangers and that was colder and greener than Chennai. Kashmir now a Union territory formerly belonging to the state of Jammu and Kashmir is called the jewel of India. With its snow-clad peaks and green valleys, it is considered to be the most beautiful place on Earth. Unfortunately, the entire week I was there, it rained. Fog, smog, and even sleet making it hard to venture outside as much as I would have wanted to. Nevertheless, I roamed around, visiting the Dal Lake thrice. Here is a photo story for you on the many moods of Dal Lake.
Dal Lake
The Dal Lake in Srinagar has a shore line of about 15.5km and area of 18 km. The Dal lake is famous for shikaras – colourful small boats that you can ride and wooden houseboats where you can stay. While I did not stay in a houseboat, I took a 2 hour shikara (boat) ride (in the rain) through all the important points. I also drove along the lake twice and walked quite a bit exploring its banks on foot.
When to see Dal Lake
As the lake freezes during winter, it may be best to see it from March to November.
- Early morning – If you are able to visit the lake at 4:30 AM, you can see the floating vegetable market in the middle of Dal. This is the famous barter market of Srinagar. I was too tired and chose to skip this. Unlike what you see in films and promotional materials, Flowers are not sold on Shikaras.
- During the day – Since the shikaras offer shade/protection, you can see it during the day come rain or shine. You can indulge in water sports if the weather is clear.
- Evening – sunset – the lake is gorgeous at Sunset and you can choose to either stay on the Boulevard or take a shikara ride or go to Nishat gardens to see the sunset. You can people watch or observe those who are fishing in the lake.
- Late evening/Night – This is when the houseboats are all lit up with different coloured lights and the lake gets the name “Jewel lake.”
Five things to do at the Dal Lake
No trip to Srinagar is complete without doing five touristy things at the Dal Lake.
Take a Shikara ride
While compared to the gondola rides in Venice, these are more plush and fun. You can even lie down on the pull-out seat as the Shikarawala rows you around. The price depends upon who you know, which ghat you take your shikara from, and your bargaining skills. Since I took a shikara through my hotel, it cost me Rs.1200 only for an almost 2-hour trip. This is really cheap considering that they were charging others anywhere from Rs.1000-Rs.2500 per hour.
Photography
The Dal Lake Boulevard is full of tourists and locals taking pictures throughout the day. However, if you want to take photographs of a quiet lake with birds flying and lotus stems, go to Nigeen lake. At Dal, you can photograph colourful shikaras, ornate houseboats, the lake, the sky, vendors in other boats, and ofcourse yourself! If you are travelling solo like me, get yourself a good selfie stick cum stand. Recommended photo spots – Ghat no. 3&4 to photograph shops, local houseboats and parked shikaras, Ghat no. 6 & & for sunset during summers and Ghats 16-17 if you want to take a ride to the middle of the lake to photograph the sunset.
Dress up in Kashmiri attire
“Kashmiri girl/boy” was a popular dress up idea for fancy dress and costume parties in late 80s-early 90s when I was a child. I am not sure if I dressed up or saw a friend dressing up in such an outfit as a child. However, it was something that I really wanted to do as an adult. Infact, it was the first thing I did as soon as I started my Shikara ride just before the rain. You can rent a Pheran (tunic), the cap, scarf and jewellery in most tourist spots in Srinagar. The rates range from Rs.100 if you want to take your own pictures (approx 10 minutes time) to Rs.1500 if you want a professional shoot done with 2 pictures. Its more, if you want to dress up and ride in the Shikara. I picked out the jewellery set I liked, styling everything else around them and took my own pictures in a garden as well a on the boat.
Shop at the floating market/Meena Bazaar
You can buy everything for spices to wooden crafts to jewellery as you go boating. There is also a floating market on the Dal and a another area known as the “Meena Bazaar” where you can shop as well. You can find both textiles and handicrafts, and winter clothes that are both traditional land modern here. As is the case in most tourist location, prices will be steeper in some stores compared to the others and some places might rip you off completely if you do not know what you are buying. Haggling prices was fun as I seldom get to do it where I live and it was a great rainy day activity. Rowing through waters enclosed by storefronts on both sides was a unique experience.
I bought a couple of shawls in Meena Bazaar and the jewellery seen below. You can buy a Kashmiri Woolen Pheran for Rs.1500-2500 depending on the embroidery if it is machine made. Hand embroider pherans and kurtas easily go up to Rs.25,000 for a piece. However, Dal might not be the best place to buy them. Try Muniwara or old Srinagar instead. Do not buy saffron or spices here.
Eat Maggi and drink tea while lounging in the Shikara
Finally food! You can row up to refreshments stalls (converted boats) where you can order tea, Pakoda (crips), Kashmiri tea (Kahwa), Maggi noodles and other packaged snacks.
As I write about these many moods at Dal Lake, I feel that there are many more things one could do here.
- See – fountains near Shalimar gardens.
- Do – a drive along the Dal Lake
- Ride – a Jet Ski
- People watch
- Walk along the boulevard and window shop or lounge at cafes
I hope you enjoyed this little snippet of Kashmir. There are so many more stories to tell and I hope I get to write/tell them soon.
I hope you find it interesting
Cheers
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