Srinagar Tours & Experiences

Things to do in Srinagar

Go out on the lake at sunset or dawn

Our shikara ride and houseboat stay times its shikara ride for the light, out past the floating gardens to the island the Srinagar district calls Rup Lank, better known as Char Chinari. Go at dawn and the ride can take in the floating vegetable market, where growers trade from boat to boat. The six-day and ten-day tours both begin with a shikara ride on the afternoon you arrive.

Sleep on Dal or Nigeen

A Srinagar houseboat stays at its mooring: a shikara takes you out to it, and the lake is what you see when you wake. Boats moor on Nigeen as well as on Dal. Our houseboat stay is at least a night on a heritage houseboat; the six-day tour puts you on a houseboat or in a hotel, whichever is agreed when you enquire.

Climb the terraces of the Mughal gardens

Nishat Bagh rises from the edge of Dal Lake in twelve terraces, the work of Asif Khan in 1633. Jahangir made Shalimar Bagh for Nur Jahan in 1619, and it remains the biggest of the three Mughal gardens; Chashma Shahi, laid out around a spring, is the smallest, and Pari Mahal's seven terraces sit higher up the Zabarwan range. The six-day tour gives Nishat and Shalimar a morning with a local guide, and paid gardens sell e-tickets through the Floriculture Department.

See the spring flowers

For a few weeks each spring, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden on the Zabarwan slopes above the lake opens its terraces while the tulips are out, with hyacinths, daffodils and ranunculus in flower too. In the old city, the Badamwari garden is known for the early blossom of its almond trees. Neither is part of a set trip of ours, so tell us if you want your dates around them.

Walk the old city

With a local guide, our houseboat stay takes you through the old city to the wooden Jamia Masjid, the shrine at Hazratbal and, on its hill, the Shankaracharya Temple; the six-day and ten-day tours give the old city an afternoon. Hari Parbat, an ASI-protected fort on the hill west of the lake, overlooks the Makhdoom Sahib shrine, and the J&K Cable Car Corporation runs the Makhdoom Sahib ropeway there.

Share a wazwan

Our Kashmiri wazwan feast is a shared meal, often on a houseboat, with the courses arriving one at a time, pulao and sheermal alongside and saffron kahwa at the end. Give it an evening to itself; a vegetarian version can be arranged if you say so beforehand.

Take a day trip to Gulmarg or Sonmarg

The Baramulla district puts Gulmarg 54 to 60 km away, a 90-minute drive, and our gondola day there starts and ends in the city; see things to do in Gulmarg. Sonmarg is 87 km away, under three hours, and the six-day tour visits it for the Thajiwas glacier view.

Choosing between our tours and experiences

Our two Srinagar experiences work alone or inside a longer trip. The houseboat stay suits first-time visitors and honeymooners who want a slow couple of days on the water; the wazwan suits anyone curious about Kashmiri cooking. The Kashmir Tour — 6 days spends three of its five nights in Srinagar, two before Pahalgam and Gulmarg and one after Sonmarg. 10 Days Ladakh with Srinagar spends two nights here and then heads for Leh. Compare them on our Srinagar tour packages page; the Srinagar travel guide covers the city itself.

When to go for these

Each activity has its months. The tulips and Badamwari's almond trees flower in spring, and March, by IMD's 1991–2020 averages, is the rainiest month. For Chashma Shahi in full bloom, go in May and June; it is open to visitors from March to November. Lotus covers the floating gardens in July and August, when days average about 30°C, and autumn colours the chinars while October stays the driest month. A January houseboat night means about minus 2°C outside, with heating on board.

Planning tips for Srinagar

The UK's travel advice names the city of Srinagar among the places it advises against visiting, and insurers may not cover trips made against such advice, so check your own government's position and your policy first. Houseboats vary a great deal in comfort, so say what standard you want when you enquire, and if the floating market matters to you, be on the water at dawn.