Dal Lake & the shikaras
Go at sunrise for the floating vegetable market, not at four in the afternoon with everyone else. An hour on the water is enough; two is better.
Srinagar
The lake, the houseboats, and the city everything else is measured from.
- Elevation
- 1,585 m
- From the airport
- 12 km
- Drive time
- 30 min
Kashmir · The short version
Srinagar is where a Kashmir trip starts and usually where it ends. The airport is here, the houseboats are here, and every road in this guide is measured from here.
It is also a city people underrate. Most itineraries give it a rushed afternoon between Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Give it a full day and you get the floating vegetable market at first light, the Mughal gardens without a coach party, and an old city of carved wooden houses that most visitors never see.
What to see
The places worth the drive.
The Mughal gardens
Nishat, Shalimar and Chashme Shahi step down the hillside towards the lake. Best in April for the blossom or late October for the chinars.
Indira Gandhi Tulip Garden
Asia's largest tulip garden, open for roughly three weeks from late March. Dates move every year with the winter — ask us before you book flights around it.
The old city & the Jhelum
Seven bridges, papier-mâché workshops, and the wooden Khanqah-e-Moula. The part of Srinagar that isn't about the lake at all.
When to go
Twelve months, honestly labelled.
Open all year. April for the tulips, October for the chinars, and December to February if you want the city under snow.
- Jan
Open
- Feb
Open
- Mar
Almond blossom
- Apr
Tulips
- May
Peak
- Jun
Peak
- Jul
Warm, some rain
- Aug
Open
- Sep
Peak
- Oct
Chinar gold
- Nov
Open
- Dec
Cold, occasional snow
- Peak
- Open
- Patchy
- Usually shut
Houseboat night
Sleeping on the water is the thing people remember. One night is plenty — they are beautiful but not always warm.
Wazwan dinner
The Kashmiri feast. We'll book somewhere that cooks it properly rather than the hotel buffet version.
Shankaracharya at dusk
A short climb for the whole valley laid out below. Best half an hour before sunset.
Trips that include Srinagar
Starting points, not fixed menus.
Things people ask us
about Srinagar.
- How long do I need?
- Two nights minimum if you want the lake and the old city. Most of our Kashmir itineraries use Srinagar as the base for three or four nights and run day trips out.
- Is one night on a houseboat enough?
- Usually yes. They are stunning, but heating and plumbing are old-fashioned. Most people prefer one houseboat night and the rest in a hotel.
Keep going
Most trips combine two or three.
Zoji La · 3,528 m
The journey of a thousand miles begins here.
Or, more precisely, 434 kilometres of it — Srinagar to Leh, over the pass that decides whether the road is open at all.