In April 2019, I traveled from Delhi to Kashmir in an attempt to fulfill my 20 year old dream of staying in a houseboat on Dal Lake. I arrived at the Srinagar Airport and filled in the mandatory foreigners’ registration. It was a straight-forward process and took me just a few minutes. As I was leaving the airport, the first thing that I noticed was how grey everything was and felt an overwhelming feeling of aggression. Despite the stories of Kashmiri hospitality, sadly, this was a feeling that I never quite got rid of.
I had pre-booked a houseboat on Booking.com and after a short taxi ride there from the airport, I was disappointed to find that it was part of the “First Row” of boats that are about 50 meters across the water from the highway/main street that runs around Lake Srinagar. I was even more disappointed to find that my room wasn’t even on the boat but in a shed on dry land. I refused to stay and abruptly cancelled my booking. I found another place with a way better location and started the negotiation process of getting one of the small shikaras (little gondola-like taxi boats) to take me to my new houseboat.
I got to the new boat which was cute with three well-equipped rooms (including western toilets!), enough blankets to complete a voyage to Antarctica and hot water. I was a bit worried to find out that I was the only person staying there but at that point, there wasn’t much I could do. I booked day trips for the next few days with the houseboat owners and then headed back to land to explore more of downtown Srinagar. (Side note: I rarely book excursions or tours from my accommodation directly – that is how uncomfortable I was feeling at that time.)
Srinagar itself doesn’t have much to offer besides a scruffy looking market and aggressive touts. I wouldn’t really recommend exploring the area alone as a woman. After seeing the town and knowing that I was on the boat alone, I spent the first night tossing and turning and panicking about every sound that I heard.
Morning finally came and with the help of a guide, I set off to see the famous Mughal Gardens. A series of parks built in slightly differing styles, the gardens are one of the highlights of Srinagar. The gardens were peaceful and serene although I did see a plethora of hopeful male models who were trying to perfect their Instagram pout. On the same day, I also went up to see a temple on top of a mountain which offered fantastic views of the cities. I also visited some of Srinagar’s most famous mosques. It was a great day exploring the attractions on the outskirts of the city and it made me feel much more comfortable being there alone.
The next morning, I headed off with a different driver who took me to Naranag where I saw the ruins of an 8th century Shiva temple. I had seen pictures of the beautiful, broken temple hidden in a valley and I was not disappointed when we finally got there. The views were stunning and the snow gave me a rare picture-perfect opportunity. We attempted to hike a bit along a nearby trail but were soon up to our knees in snow and had to turn back. The driver’s English skills were limited but as always, you can find a way to communicate if you try hard enough and I felt comfortable with him.
I slept a bit better that night after a heavy meal on the houseboat and an evening spent listening to water lap along the edges of the boat.
The next morning, I finally got to do a boat ride of Dal Lake which should have been the highlight of my trip. Instead, the houseboat owner insisted on coming with me, sat at the front of the boat (and blocked my view) and yelled back and forth to the boat owner around me. It nearly ruined the experience that I was still able to get some amazing photos and got to see a glimpse of a completely different way of life. An entire community exists completely on the water with pharmacies, grocery stores, clothing shops, etc. The colors of the houseboats and floating markets were a sharp contract to the grey-dullness of the rest of the city and almost seemed to be a symbol of hope for the troubled region.
I flew back to Delhi from Srinagar an admittedly, I was very happy to be leaving. I had heard so much about Kashmiri hospitality but I mostly experienced a combination of aggression and desperation from the people there. For every beautiful site I saw, there were 100 people approaching me trying to sell me something or to hit on me. I was one of the only tourists that I saw and tourism is one of the lifelines for Kashmir. The lack of tourism and the desperation and anger of the people created an environment that was cold and a bit claustrophobic and I felt a bit anxious throughout most of my trip there.
My advice for anyone traveling to Kashmir is to go with a group of people and expect to be somewhere that is very unlike the rest of India.
