Dal Lake houseboats: how to choose one

A night on a houseboat is the thing most visitors remember about Srinagar — the carved cedar ceilings, kahwa on the deck at dusk, the shikaras sliding past at first light. It can also be the low point of a trip. No kind of stay in Kashmir varies more in quality, and the photographs rarely tell you which kind you are booking. This is the guide we would give a friend.

A little history

The houseboats exist because of a rule. In the nineteenth century the Dogra rulers did not allow outsiders to own land in the valley, so British visitors who wanted to stay for the summer built homes on the water instead. Kashmiri carpenters took up the idea, and by the early twentieth century hundreds of boats lined Dal and Nigeen. New houseboats have not been permitted for many years, so every boat on the lakes is old. The question is never how new but how well kept.

Dal or Nigeen?

The first decision, and the one that shapes the whole stay.

• Dal Lake is the famous one: central, close to the Boulevard and the Mughal gardens, and alive with shikara traffic from dawn — flower sellers, fruit, saffron, and a steady stream of salesmen. Lively and convenient, but busier and noisier, and the water near the Boulevard is not at its best.
• Nigeen Lake, a short drive north and joined to Dal by a channel, is calmer, greener and cleaner. Fewer vendors, fewer passing boats, and views to Hari Parbat and the mountains. It is a little further from the sights, which most guests consider a fair price.

We usually suggest Nigeen for honeymoons and for anyone who values sleep, and Dal for a first visit when being in the middle of things is part of the point.

What actually matters

The row you are in

Many houseboats are moored several deep. A front-row boat looks over open water; a back-row boat may look at the side of another houseboat. Always ask which row, and what the view from the sitting room actually is.

Who else is on board

Most boats have two to four bedrooms around a shared sitting and dining room. If you are a couple, find out whether the other rooms will be let to strangers. Taking the whole boat is often less expensive than people expect.

The family

The best houseboats are family-run, and the family is the experience: the person who brings your tea, cooks your dinner and knows the lake. Ask who lives on or beside the boat and who will be looking after you.

Heat, water and power

Between October and March this decides everything. Ask how the bedrooms are heated — a bukhari stove or proper heaters, electric blankets — and whether hot water is available at any hour. Power cuts are common in winter, so ask about back-up power, and whether the generator sits next to your room.

The woodwork, and the bathroom

The craft is the reason to come: walnut panelling, carved screens and khatamband ceilings of interlocking wooden pieces. A well-kept boat smells of cedar, not of damp. Check that every bedroom has its own bathroom and ask when they were last renovated — the answer tells you a lot.

Getting on and off

Most boats are reached by shikara from a ghat, a minute or two across the water. It is part of the charm, but it can be awkward with heavy luggage or limited mobility, and some boats have narrow decks without much of a railing. If either matters to you, tell us; some boats on Nigeen can be reached on foot.

Houseboat categories

The tourism department grades houseboats from Deluxe down through A, B, C and D. The grade reflects the facilities a boat had when it was assessed, not how it has been maintained since — a carefully kept A-class boat can be a better stay than a tired Deluxe one. Treat the grade as a starting point.

Red flags

• Someone at the airport or on the Boulevard offering a houseboat package on the spot.
• Photographs that look twenty years old, or that show only the sitting room.
• A last-minute switch to a 'sister boat' on arrival.
• A visit to a relative's carpet or shawl shop presented as part of the stay.

How long to stay

For most travellers one or two nights is right — enough to have an evening on the deck, a sunset shikara and an early morning at the floating market, without the novelty wearing thin. Many of our journeys pair a houseboat night with a hotel in Srinagar, so you have both the lake and a reliable hot shower.

We know the families and the boats, and we choose them for our guests on the things above rather than the photographs. You can see the houseboats we work with on our Srinagar page, or tell us what you are looking for.