A Lazy Shikara Cruise on Dal Lake, Srinagar
- toursandjourneys
- Jan 13, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 5, 2020
Discover offbeat trails of Kashmir with our travel expert Reetwika Banerjee
Whatever you talk about Kashmir falls short until Dal Lake Srinagar is not canvassed. Often referred as the ‘Shaan-e-Kashmir’ (glamour or jewel of Kashmir), Dal lake Srinagar stamps a permanent mark in every visitor’s heart. We were not spared from its enchanting aura too.
A glimpse of the Glamour of Kashmir - Dal Lake, Srinagar
Dal in Kashmiri language means ‘lake’; so in a way Dal Lake Srinagar is a misnomer. It is not a single waterbody either; rather comprises of three interconnected lakes (Nishat, Brari and Hazratbal), four water basins (Gagribal, Lokut Dal, Bod Dal and Nigeen), several islands (popular ones are Rup Lank or Char Chinar, Kabutar Khana, Sona Lank and Nehru Park), floating gardens (called ‘Raad’ in Kashmiri) and numerous causeways along the boulevard. The perimeter of the Dal lake srinagar miles through 16 square kilometers; which earlier during the Mughal era used to be nearly 22 square kilometers.
Bird's Eye View of Dal Lake in Srinagar from Shankaracharya Temple
The urban Dal lake Srinagar is famous for two types of wooden boats – luxury houseboats (immobile) and cozy shikaras (canoes with comfy Mughal style sofas used for daily commute on the lake water). When we first landed at the 2nd Ghat of Dal Lake Srinagar, the series of shikaras in Dal Lake Srinagar gave an immediate feel of a high hill natural harbour. Each shikara in Dal Lake Srinagar was uniquely named, colourfully painted and well decorated to offer every bit of leisure to its boarders. It’s said, Mughals used to enjoy romantic hours with their consorts on such boats in Dal Lake Srinagar. However over the centuries, shikaras in Dal Lake Srinagar have become one of the commercial sources of livelihood for the locales, especially during tourist seasons. Apart from tourists, they also help in transport of local produces, flowers, fishing, water plant harvests etc.
Floating hawkers on Shikara in Dal Lake, Srinagar
Dal Lock Gate
The western side of the Dal lake Srinagar has a lock gate constructed during British Rule and is often referred as Dal Gate. Most of the houseboats in Dal Lake are anchored along the western shoreline. The monarchs did not allow any housing constructions around Dal Lake Srinagar, but later when the British took over the hill station, they permitted lavish resting corners on the water itself. The wooden structures resembled British cottages, flamboyantly lighted with chandeliers, erected in the form of a barge or lavish boat, but were essentially immobile; which with the passage of time came to be known as ‘houseboats’, ‘a little piece of England afloat’, ‘floating palaces’ and so on. However, ‘houseboat’ is the most common name of such luxury accommodation.
Lavish Houseboats on Dal Lake, Srinagar
Complimentary shikara rides by every houseboat in Dal Lake
Majority of them continue to offer lodging facilities even today, graded alike hotels as per levels of comfort. Many have interconnected passages through sundecks allowing boarders to take a stroll from one boat to the other. However, all the boats are fastened independently. Irrespective of the class, each houseboat has an exclusive shikara offering complimentary service of ferrying guests to the mainland, like Maqbool’s in our case. In some of them, the common kitchen is annexed to the main houseboats, which also serves as caretaker’s family room. The adjacent floating gardens blossom with water flowers like lotus and lilies during monsoons, creating a mystic canvas against the backdrop of Pir Panjal and Zaskar snow peaks. The bird’s eye view of Dal Lake srinagar from top of Shankaracharya temple is simply great.
Heaven Canal - our hotel on Dal Island, Srinagar
Situated at an altitude of 5200 feet above sea level, Dal Lake Srinagar offers stunning reflections of the Himalayas on its clear water. Eutrophication has not been able to blemish its mirroring capacity even today. Our hotel ‘Heaven Canal’ was probably the best from location standpoint. It’s on a small island disconnected from the mainland by lake water.
A shikarawala named Maqbool was sent from our hotel for free pickup. Though it was only a short five minute shikara ride, yet was an awesome experience in wholesome. We landed directly at the hotel reception.
View from our hotel balcony in Dal Lake, Srinagar
Let me clearly call it out here that our hotel was not a traditional houseboat. It was a duplex building constructed on one of the four Dal islands in Srinagar. Decorated by somewhat old fashioned furniture, it had more to offer. However later we discovered a weak footbridge connecting the island with the shore at the rear side of the hotel. Not sure how safe it was, but I could not resist walking on it for once.
Shabby footbridge at backside of hotel
After a fortnight’s stay at numerous popular and offbeat corners of Kashmir, it was our last spell at the valley. Next morning we had our flight back to Kolkata, so the previous day was purposely left for leisure and last minute shopping. What could have been a better opportunity to enjoy a shikara ride on the rippling waters of Dal Lake?
Lazy cruise on Maqbool's Shikara in Dal Lake
Lazing an idle morning, we embarked on Maqbool’s shikara ‘Shakeel Palace Deluxe’ for a pleasure Dal Lake srinagar trip. This time he surprised us with an authentic Bengali connotation – ‘Namoskar Dada’ and pointless to mention his warm greeting really touched us at such a far off land. Maqbool being our hotel’s touted Shikarawala, we did not bargain with him; otherwise it is very essential before boarding any random boatman.
He first ferried us to a floating restaurant near Char Chinar Island where we had pure veg but tasty lunch. Our actual Dal Lake srinagar voyage started around 1.30pm. Couple of lazy hours on the floating couch outdid as the finest topping of ice-cream.
Daily life of natives on Dal Lake
The regular life here walks on water in Dal Lake– be it vegetables, grocery, florist, photo studio, handmade jewellery and stones, apparels, tailors, ice-cream parlours, stationery, wooden works, tea stalls and what not! Kids go to school rowing their own boats. Many of them lovingly name their vessels ‘Suzuki’.
Kabutar Khana Island in Srinagar
View of Srinagar mainland from Shikara
Floating restaurant of Nehru Park
We visited three of four islands – Char Chinar, Kabutar Khana and Nehru Park in Dal Lake srinagar. There were a few more floating tea stalls and ice-cream parlours, where shikaras port for quick refreshments. But if you are in a mood to relax, then those numerous hawkers who will encircle their boats around you as soon as you embark on Dal Lake srinagar cruise, will spoil the spirit completely.
Nagging hawkers on Dal Lake in Srinagar
At the beginning you might find the floating hawking concept innovative, but their nagging approach will disgust you in minutes. Two-three boats get them attached to your shikara and keep chasing you till the end, madly pushing for sale at skyrocketing prices. Luckily, with help of Maqbool, we got rid of them quicker than other fellow tourists, but the experience was truly bad to remember.
Floating market of Dal Lake
Whatsoever, keeping aside the hawking trail, the overall tour was splendid. Towards the end, Maqbool ported us at a Kashmiri crafts shop named – Syed Art Palace, a popular wholesaler of the floating market. They deal in traditional Kashmiri silk apparels, Pashmina shawls, leather garments and yak fur blankets. They categorize their silk items based on pure silk weight like 40g, 60g, 80g etc just like carats in gold. Higher the weight of silk, higher is the price of the item.
While billing, the man at the counter asked about our address. As we mentioned Kolkata he started inquiring more details. At first we did not express much but after getting to know about them, we gave our complete address. Every year when the Dal floating market gets closed during winter, all of their employees travel to Kolkata vending Kashmiri products on foot door-to-door and in the due course, they have learnt about the city more than us.
Babaji's woodcraft shop in Dal Lake
Our last stopover in dal lake srinagar was at Dijoo Craft Shop, run by an old Muslim who introduced himself as Babaji. He sells handcrafted items made of walnut wood. Just like the Hazratbal market crafts shop, this man too was a true wonder. Apart from the sales pitch, the kind of topics he talked about coupled with his gestures reflected a completely different persona – like that of a Hindu angel card reader! Through various idioms and provocative statements he tried to judge our reactions and responses too. Happy with our tolerance, he gifted me a handmade wooden rose which he carved in front of our eyes in hardly five minutes.
It was already six in the evening. Setting sun’s dissolving rays could still be seen at the horizon. Temperature too had started dropping sharply. The reflection of vibrant houseboat lights on the Dal Lake added a supernatural ambiance.
Sunset and nightfall on Dal Lake in Srinagar
Time had come to wrap up our Kashmir trip. We came back to hotel in Maqbool’s shikara in another thirty minutes, zipping such a unique boating experience with lifetime photographs and memorabilia.
While being in Kashmir, do not forget to carry warm clothes, caps, and moisturizers to keep yourself hydrated.
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