NORTH INDIA TOURISM

Kashmir Tours

Houseboats of Kashmir

Kashmir is a kind of beauty that bowls one over, however much one may have expected from it. There are a wilderness of lakes, torrential mountain streams and placid valleys, gigantic sun-tinted, snow-capped mountain ranges glistening in pink and gold and rust, idyllic fun spots where the world is all too far away, and magical bubbling springs, majectic waterfalls, streams of trout.

Kashmir roads are eminently motorable the year through. Even when it snows a snow clearance task force has the road clear before you can say 'Santa Claus'! There are plenty of hotels, tourst huts, and so on, to suit every budget, every taste. So come, take to the road in magnificient Kashmir. All you need is an indomitable spirit of adventure. And, ofcourse, enough gas in your tank!

Kashmir's magic has attracted tourists for endless years. Hill slopes of pine, chenars, poplars and willow clothe the land in varying shades of soothing green, with coniferous trees partly covering several ranges as well. The Jehlum river washes the capital of Kashmir, but the focal point of attention for most tourists are the broad lakes north of the town. The most famous, the Dal Lake, is connected by a system of channels with the Nagin and Anchar lakes and here on the placid waters are moored hundreds of houseboats that so typify the Kashmiri scenario.

Chashma Shahi lies at the foot of a hill 8.8 Km from Srinagar.The smallest of Mughal Gardens chashma Shahi (Royal Spring) was laid out by Shahjahan, the site of a spring of ice-cold water, famous for its medicinal properties. Nishat Bagh (Pleasure garden):this garden 12 kms from Srinagar is laid out on the high land between the Dal Lake and the slope of a hill which forms its background.A canal runs down the centre, dropping from terrace to terrace in a series of cascades. The topmost terrace commands a magnificient view of the Dal Lake below. The Pleasure garden was laid out by Asif Khan, brother of Noorjahan.

If there is paradise on Earth - it is in Kashmir, India. To get round the paradise one of the best ways to enjoy your holiday is Kashmir would be houseboat holiday. The city of Srinagar boasts of a variety of lakes like the Dal, Nagin and Anchor, though the River Jhelum too flows through it. There is ample opportunity for the houseboats to cruise and offer you the picture perfect holidays.

Most houseboats on the Nagin and the Jhelum are situated on the banks of the lake, and can be accessed directly from land without the help of a shikara, while all those on the Dal require a shikara to get to and from them. Most houseboats on the Dal are situated in long straggling rows; some face the Boulevard, Srinagar's most exciting address, while others are situated singly or in groups of two and three.

For the honeymooners the houseboats deep in the lake are ideal. The romantic setting of the lake in Kashmir together with the royal setting of the houseboats create magic. The best activity while on the houseboat in Kashmir would be to sit in the balcony and enjoy the multi hues of natural and human life pass by. The view from the houseboat keeps changing with the season too. There are the awe aspiring mountains of the Pir Panjal (also spelt as Panchal) and the majestic mountains of Himalayas. In winter the fun doubles when the snow covered surrounding take over. The waters of the lake are mesmerizing as it is.

Each houseboat in Kashmir has anything between two and four bedrooms in it with attached bathrooms and a common sitting and dining room. The charges of a houseboat include all meals and a certain number of crossings by shikara to and from the houseboat. Houseboats offer far more personalized service than hotels because of the far higher host guest ratio. On the other hand, fellow guests at the same houseboat tend to interact much more than if they were staying at the same hotel. Which is why houseboats are ideal for a large group of eight or more adults.

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