Srinagar surroundings, Kashmir

From Delhi, we caught a flight direct to Srinagar, where we were met by our driver, Zulfi. We had arranged to have a car and driver/guide from Mir Manzoor who we had connected with via the internet based on good reviews. We had chosen to stay in a houseboat (which is the thing to do here), and we had decided to stay in a houseboat on Nigeen Lake vs the more popular Dal lake because we had read that Dal lake was overly commercialized. I remember seeing pictures of my parents visiting Kashmir many years before, and staying in such a wooden houseboat; nostalgic.

A little about Kashmir: it is the northern most region of the Indian subcontinent that encompass a larger area that formerly comprised the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, and includes the Indian-administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the Pakistani-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Chinese-administered territories of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract. In the first half of the first millennium, the Kashmir region became an important center of Hinduism and later of Buddhism. During the 7th–14th centuries, the region was ruled by a series of Hindu dynasties, and Kashmir Shaivism arose. In 1320, Rinchan Shah became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir, inaugurating the Kashmir Sultanate. The region was part of the Mughal Empire from 1586 to 1751, and thereafter, until 1819, of the Afghan Durrani Empire.

In 1819, the Kashmir Valley passed from the control of the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan to the conquering armies of the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh of the Punjab, thus ending four centuries of Muslim rule under the Mughals and the Afghan regime. As the Kashmiris had suffered under the Afghans, they initially welcomed the new Sikh rulers. However, the Sikh governors turned out to be hard taskmasters, and Sikh rule was generally considered oppressive. The Sikhs enacted a number of anti-Muslim laws, which included handing out death sentences for cow slaughter, closing down the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, and banning the adhan, the public Muslim call to prayer.

In 1846, after the Sikh defeat in the First Anglo-Sikh War, and upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, became the new ruler of Jammu and Kashmir. The rule of his descendants, under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown, lasted until the Partition of India in 1947, when the former princely state of the British Indian Empire became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: China, India, and Pakistan. The majority of the people in the Kashmir Valley are Muslims, and speak Kashmiri.

Since it was raining & overcast, Zulfi took us straight to the Ghat 1 (a ghat is a series of concrete steps leading to a lake or river) on Nigeen Lake, where he hired a shikara, a traditional wooden boat used as a water-taxi to get to places around the lakes and backwaters or for sightseeing. The shikra’s are quite comfortable and well decorated, human powered, usually 1 person paddling at the back. Motorized boats are not allowed here. The Shikara took us straight to the Inshallah houseboat we had picked from reviews; but this turned out to be quite basic, so we called up Mir, who quickly upgraded us to the Nigeen Paradise houseboat nearby, for a higher daily rate.

These wooden houseboats are on the lake (floating), but don’t move around; staying tethered to the shore, and typically have 3-4 rooms each with private bathroom, and a shared “lounge” area and a shared “deck” area; all of which were nicely/intricately decorated and comfortable. It was evening by this time, so we settled in and since it was raining, we stayed on the houseboat, and requested Bilal (the houseboat attendant) to get us a veg dinner which was cooked by the local chef nearby; we were served rice, potato curry and a green veg curry; all quite tasty. We slept well on the houseboat, which is well equipped with electricity, running water, internet etc.; since they are all tethered to the shore, so services are readily available for comfort.

The next day, we had breakfast on the houseboat (included in the rate) in the lounge area, and since it was raining and cloudy, we decided to stay on the houseboat. So called Zulfi and let him know our plan for the day; at least until the weather cleared up. Some scenes below on Nigeen Lake.

View from our houseboat, Nigeen Paradise; at sundown with the Adhan call for prayers coming from across Nigeen Lake. Note the intricate carvings on the houseboats

There were a number of floating businesses on the lake, from flowers, fruits, and photographers that carried local traditional Kashmiri clothing for tourists to wear and take pictures in.

Late afternoon, it cleared up so we called up Zulfi and asked him to pick us up at the ghats to take us to dinner. Bilal arranged a shikara from the boat to the ghat, cost was Rs100 flat.

Zulfi arrived and we asked him to take us to a typical local restaurant for Kashmiri food. He drove us to Salaam-e-Wazwan restaurant which serves the typical wazwan Kashmiri cuisine. More on wazwan food later on. We had the wazwan thali which came with 8 items ; including rice, mixed meatballs in 2 different curries, rogan josh meat dish, pickles and a kebab. The food was very good & filling.

It was night-time and still heavily overcast, so we asked Zulfi to take us back to the houseboat. The shikara’s from Ghat 1 stop running about 8PM, so Zulfi drove us to our side of Nigeen Lake via a longer route and dropped us off near the houseboats, and we walked the rest of the way. At the houseboat, we asked Bilal if they had desert and we were served phirni. This is a typical Indian desert, rich and creamy, made with ground rice, saffron, cardamon, nuts, and sugar. In Kashmir, they use semolina instead of ground rice for the base. Very nice and tasty.

The next day, we checked out of our houseboat, and Bilal got us a shikara to take us back to Ghat 1, where Zulfi picked us up and drove us to Pahalgam, about 95kms away. Pahalgam is a hill station and supposed to have very scenic valleys and meadows, a popular tourist spot. We were given the option to also cover Gulmarg, another tourist spot which is in the high mountains and has snow and skiing; we decided to skip Gulmarg and stick to Pahalgam. Pahalgam is also the starting point for the annual pilgrimage (yatra) to the Amarnath Temple, which takes place in July–August every year; it was due to start in ~2 week’s time.

The road from Srinigar to Pahalgam was a good paved highway for the first 45kms, and then smaller roads going through multiple towns; and the total time for the drive of 95kms was 3hrs. The small towns and the frequent stops to let senior military and govt officials go by at speed on the roads caused slowdowns. The local police and Indian military stopped all traffic on the roads to let these officials drive by, without having to slow down; otherwise they could be prone to ambushes and get attacked by militants. We did notice a lot of military presence in Srinigar and along the roads; Zulfi informed us that there were 1.2M Indian army soldiers in Kashmir; an immense show of force. They were there keep the peace in Kashmir, deter Pakistan, and to protect the yatri’s, the Hindu pilgrims who were starting to arrive for the annual Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage. During the Yatra time, Zulfi informed us that everything shuts down (like tourism) to cater for the yatri’s coming in. Some scenes along the way and in Pahalgam below.

This area was very busy with tons of tourists and very busy parking lots; so we decided to call it quits and asked Zulfi to pick us up. Zulfi then took us into the town of Pahalgam, and got us an auto-rickshaw that drove us to Mir Manzoor’s place; our tour operator had invited us to have lunch with him and his family.

Lunch was followed with kahwa (coffee) and noon chai (milk tea with salt). The noon chai was something we had come across in Hunza during our visit there; typical tea served everywhere in highland areas of Kashmir, whether in India or Pakistan. What a warm, hospitable and amazing experience, delicious food, and to get to know Mir and his family; thanks to Mir, our tour operator.

After this great lunch, Zulfi came and picked us up and drove us nearby to the Chinar hotel, where we stayed the night. Dinner was included in the fare so we ate dinner at the hotel and had a restful night. Some scenes below of Pahalgam & surrounding area, and the Chinar hotel that evening

We had dinner at the Chinar hotel that evening as it was included. Most of the other guests staying at the hotel were from all over India; showing that Kashmir is a popular tourist spot and a great place to get away from the heat in the rest of India. We overheard a family speaking Kutchi; so I went and talked to them and they said they were speaking Mummni (Memoni most likely); not Kutchi. But it sounded very much like Kutchi; they explained there are slight differences when Kutchi’s speak to Mummni’s and when neither side can then understand the other, they all switch to Gujarati 🙂 Interesting.

The next morning, Zulfi picked us up after breakfast, and we drove back to Srinigar. On the way near Anantnag, we saw children going to school, and asked Zulfi if we could visit one school along the way; and we ended up visiting a government school and were warmly welcomed into a grade 1 and an 8th grade class. In the grade 1 class, we observed that one young boy came in quite late to school, but was not questioned or admonished by the teachers; they were just glad he came. They respect all the kids that way, as some kids may have difficult circumstances at home. All the children are given a hot lunch (also an incentive to come to attend school for some children), and all go for noon prayers to the nearby mosque.

This is how fresh apple juice is made

Zulfi then drove us to Hotel Kabo in the heart of Srinagar, near Lal Chowk, where we were staying while we checked out Srinagar city proper

Srinagar proper next

Our trip so far

This entry was posted in Asia, Delhi-Kashmir June 2022, India, Kashmir India June 2022

• 2022
• Amarnath Temple
• Anantnag
• Beetab Valley
• Durrani Empire
• Gulab Singh
• Houseboat
• India
• Jammu & Kashmir
• Jammu and Kashmir
• June 2022
• Kashmir
• Kashmir Sultanate
• Kashmiri Pheran
• Kashmiri Saag
• Kashmiri saffron
• Kashmiri saffron kahwa
• Kong Phirni
• maki ki roti
• Mughal Empire
• Pahalgam
• Phirni
• Ranjit Singh
• Rinchan Shah
• Treaty of Amritsar
• wazwan
• Yatra