Srinagar

North India · Jammu & Kashmir

Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir

Houseboats and saffron gardens on Dal Lake · Kashmir's main gateway city, well connected by air to Delhi, Mumbai and other major cities

Plan this trip

Getting there

By road

Kashmir's main gateway city, well connected by air to Delhi, Mumbai and other major cities

By rail

Srinagar railway station, on the Kashmir Valley line to Baramulla and, via the Banihal tunnel, towards Jammu

By air

Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport, in the city

Best time to visit

April to October; autumn chinar gold in November

Don't miss

Dal Lake

Nishat and Shalimar Bagh

Hazratbal

Shankaracharya Temple

Things to do

Shikara rides

Houseboat stays

Mughal garden circuit

Old-city crafts

Where to eat

Ahdoos for wazwan

Mughal Darbar

Chai Jaai overlooking the Jhelum

Sources: open-meteo, wikimedia, Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 3.0

What to pack

Layers, modest wear, warm bedding is provided on houseboats

A quieter corner

The floating vegetable market at dawn on Dal Lake

About Srinagar

Lakeside
Riverside

Where it is

Srinagar is the summer capital of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in the heart of the Kashmir Valley on the Jhelum river and the shores of Dal Lake, at about 1,600 m and ringed by the Himalaya and the Pir Panjal range.

History

Tradition credits the Mauryan emperor Ashoka with building a capital called Srinagari in the valley, and the present city was founded in the 6th century. Kashmir was ruled by Hindu and Buddhist kings and then, from the 14th century, by sultans; the Mughals laid out terraced gardens such as Shalimar and Nishat, and the city later passed to Afghan, Sikh and Dogra rulers.

People

Srinagar's people speak Kashmiri, with Urdu, Hindi and English widely used, and the city is known for its crafts, from pashmina and papier-mâché to walnut-wood carving and hand-knotted carpets. The wazwan, a many-course feast prepared by master cooks called wazas, is central to celebrations, and kahwa tea is drunk through the day.

Known for

Shikara rides on Dal Lake
Houseboat stays
The Mughal gardens of Shalimar and Nishat
Pashmina shawls, papier-mâché and carpets
The wazwan feast

Did you know?

Srinagar's houseboats date from the era of the Dogra maharajas, who restricted the building of houses in the valley, so the British had houseboats built on Dal Lake instead.