Srinagar 3 - Magnificent Mughal Gardens!

What is Srinagar without its majestic Mughal Gardens of Shalimar Bagh, Nishat bagh and 

Chashm-e-Shahi! If Dal lake is the life line of Srinagar, these gardens epitomises the grandeur of the city.  The great Moghuls have left for us a legacy of these gardens. Srinagar being their summer capital, they built these wonderful gardens modelled on great gardens of Persia.

After finishing lunch and resting for a while, we were at the mercy of Muzaffar. He is fond of Srinagar. Rightfully so and wanted us to see all that was on the offer in the city. This afternoon we were to be treated like royals in the Mughal gardens!

It continued to rain though not heavily. Keeping umbrellas handy, our first stop was at Chashm - e -Shahi garden. The setting of this garden fantastic. With a lovely backdrop of mountains, this is possibly the smallest of the three we were to see today. The natural spring in the garden gives the garden its name. Stepped garden modelled possibly on the lines of Hanging gardens of Babylonia, the design is typically Persian with focus clearly on the natural spring. The water from the spring flows down in terraces and creates waterfalls, aqueducts and fountains. The red brick structures provide a lovely contrast. The garden is tended immaculately. Thanks to rain, there weren't many tourists which was good for us.

The royal pavillion in Chasm - e - shahi garden with a backdrop of Himalayas

Well maintained garden. Notice the waterfall.

Lovely flowers!

Nishat Bagh, close to dal lake was our next stop. This is a large garden and typically Mughal in design. The large area provides for a well planned terraced garden. The garden is a broad cascade of terraces lined with avenues of Chinar and Cypress trees, which starts from the lakeshore and reaches up to an artificial façade at the hill end. There are 12 terraces. Nishat Bagh unlike Chashme Shahi is well spread out with a aqueduct in the middle. The aqueduct is built as per the topography which creates small water falls at many places. Rows of flowers flank on either side of the canal. The highlight of Nishat is the spectacular view of Dal lake from here. Normally all the gardens are crowded by locals as well as tourists. Thanks to rains, there were very few tourists today.

The terraced garden of Nishat bagh!

The pavillion which also acts a vantage point to view the lake

View of Dal Lake from the garden

We were now eager to see the largest of the Mughal gardens in India - Shalimar Bagh. Possibly the one in Lahore may be bigger than this. It is large. It is beautiful. It is a charming place. It possibly belongs to the league of beautiful gardens in the world. Big Chinar trees, beautiful flower beds, fountains, buildings with intricate art work all add to the beauty of this place. The Shalimar Bagh is well known for chini khanas, or arched niches, behind garden waterfalls. They are a unique feature in the Bagh. These niches were lighted at night with oil lamps, which gave a fairy tale appearance to the water falls. However, now the niches hold pots of flower pots that reflect their colours behind the cascading water. The walls and ceiling of pavilions in the garden has beautiful intricate work of Kashmiri motifs. Sadly they are not well maintained. Thankfully the weather had cleared a bit though cloudy. The garden was looking nice in the dispersed sunlight.

Dewan -e-khas or royal Pavillion

Fountains 

Intricate art work on the walls and ceilings

It was an afternoon well spent. It started drizzling even as we got out of Shalimar bagh. Driving along Dal lake was a pleasant experience. The sun was setting behind the hills even as we could see a lone boatman on the lake........possibly returning home.                                                                                   

  

Travel Tips

a) You need at least half a day to explore these gardens. There is a nominal entry fees for the gardens.
b) During season, the gardens get crowded with tourists. On weekends, by locals as well.
c) Explore the gardens leisurely. Appreciate the way they have been planned some five hundred years ago!
d) You don't need any guide to explore these gardens.  

You may click on the links below to read more on Kashmir in this blog.

Yusmarg - Hidden wonder of Kashmir!

Spectacular Srinagar 1 - A Floating market on Dal Lake!

Spectacular Srinagar 2 - Lullaby on Dal lake!

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Srinagar 2 - Lullaby on Dal and Nagin Lakes!

Dal lake epitomises Srinagar and it is it's lifeline. The life in Srinagar revolves around Dal. Whenever we think of Kashmir and Srinagar the first thing that comes to mind are its lovely lakes and gardens.To say Dal is a beautiful lake is an understatement. It is spectacular and massive water body. You will not be able to see the opposite bank unless you are using a binocular. Next to Dal is Nagin. While Dal gets crowded by tourists during the season, Nagin is a quiet paradise. 

After coming back from our early morning visit to floating market we were ready to make a visit to two lakes. Being the lean season and the fact it was raining in the previous week, we didn't see many tourists at the jetty. It was cloudy which meant that we would not get to savour the view of mighty Himalayas. That didn't deter us in hiring a Shikara for a ride. Muzaffar spoke to the boatman in Kashmiri and we fixed a price for one hour ride on the lake.

The Jetty

The boat ride on dal lake is a very relaxing experience. The Shikaras are essentially small row boats. They are colourfully painted and very comfortable for two persons. A ride in a Shikara is like a lullaby. Slow and soothing. When you lie down on the soft cushions, you get a feeling of floating on the water. No one is in a hurry here. Put your feet up and unwind!

The boat man - Ali - started slowly. We moved through lovely stretches of lilies and lotuses which we could touch and feel. The floating gardens on the lake known as "Rad" in Kashmiri blossom with lotus flowers during July and August. Drops of rain from light drizzle were floating on the leaves like pearls. As we rowed away from the shore, peaks behind Nishat bagh gardens became visible whenever clouds cleared. With Clouds playing hide and seek, we had to keep our eyes open to grab the view of any vistas.

Let us now take you through the vistas of the lake.....

A shikara moored in the lake

Houseboats moored on the other bank of the lake

We found this big houseboat moored in quiet corner of the lake.

A broken fortified wall in the middle of the lake.

We saw this small boat moored in the lake. The blue colour of the boat was a nice contrast to the green all around.

The enormity of the lake ......

The lake is full of lovely lilies, lotuses

A panoramic view of the lake 

We were now far away from the banks. The enormity of the lake could be experienced now. Fortunately, ours was the only shikara in the lake as Ali rowed quietly. Ali started talking about how the booming tourism always gets derailed by some minor incidents in the city which gets blown up on mainland India. We could realise ourselves later during our stay. The ride in Dal lake is different because of the surroundings. The Lake gets water from surrounding hills which also acts as lovely backdrop. We were not fortunate to see the snow covered peaks which are visible in summers. Nevertheless, this is one ride you should enjoy relaxedly. 

Ali started rowing us back. We found another boat coming closer to us. It was a floating store! The guy in the boat was selling Kashmiri jewellery. Brinda was interested to take a closer look at it. The silver jewellery looked interesting. Brinda liked few, bargained hard and bought them. Being lean season, we were able to get good price. The seller was also happy that he got some business in this season. Another twenty minutes of ride on the lake, we were back. 

It was a de-stressing and nice ride. Muzaffar was ready and we drove to Nagin lake which is closeby. Nagin is smaller in size and in fact is a part of Dal. The two lakes are separated by a small causeway which help locals to move around for their day-to-day activities. The first impression you get when you reach Nagin is its quietude. Not many tourists come here and being lean season there was none in the morning except us.

It started drizzling and we opened our umbrellas even as we negotiated and got into a shikara. This was to be a short ride. But nevertheless it was pleasant. We could go closer to the houseboats moored on the banks. The activities by locals was more on this lake than Dal which is generally filled with tourists. You don't see many houseboats on Dal but on Nagin, you can see them berthed on the banks. Mohammed, our boat man was an elderly person and hospitable. He made sure we were taken around the lake and enjoyed the ride.

Houseboats moored on the banks of the lake 

Lilies and water drops on the leaves 

A lone boatman on the lake

It started pouring as we got down from the boat. We rushed to the car and Muzaffar brought us back to our home stay for a lovely lunch of Kashmiri Alu Dum!

Travel Tips

a) Boat ride early in the morning is soothing and relaxed. For this, make sure you book Shikara on the previous day. During season, it is good to go for the ride in the morning when it is quiet.

b) A sunrise ride on the lake is a welcome experience if you can get up early. One can witness spectacular sunrise on the lakes.

c) While on the boat, you may be approached by hawkers on the boat selling various items.

d) You may talk to your boatman who is generally friendly. Ask him to sing a Kashmiri folk song and he will oblige.

e) During the peak season, the rates for shikara will increase. Make sure you bargain and get good rates.

f) There are small shikaras which accommodate two people and bigger ones which can accommodate 8-10 people. If you are a couple choose the smaller one.

g) Nobody wears life jacket on the boat. Please do not move around without asking the boatman lest the boat may topple over.

h) Carry a binocular with you. If you are going for an early morning ride, then you will be able to spot many birds - Kingfisher, Barn Swallows, Common starling, night herons......

For other posts on Kashmir in this blog, please click on the links below

Yusmarg - Hidden wonder of Kashmir!

Spectacular Srinagar 1 - Floating market on Dal lake!

Skywatch Friday - Srinagar from Taj!

Monday Images - Great lakes of Kashmir

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Srinagar 1 - Floating Market on Dal Lake!

As scorching summer beckons us to cooler places, we thought of focusing next few posts on that lovely paradise called Kashmir. Here we go with the first one on Srinagar.

For Indians who are brought up on the staple diet of Bollywood movies, Srinagar and Kashmir is not new to us. Whether it is Shammi gyrating to Rafi's song in Kashmir Ki Kali or Rajesh Khanna courting Sharmila in Aradhana, we always knew that this is a lovely place.

It was in August last year that we planned to visit Kashmir. The visit was more for the "Great lakes trek" in Kashmir. Our initial plan was to go for the trek and then spend few days in Srinagar to explore nearby places. As luck would have it, we could not go for trekking due to heavy rain in the hills which gave us full four days to explore Kashmir.

To say, Kashmir is beautiful is an understatement. As Kashmiris say, it is "Zannat" or "Paradise". We could realise it even as the plane was making circles over Srinagar before landing. The mist filled valley with houses made of colourful roof looked like as if we were landing in an European country. The first impression as we left Srinagar airport and moved towards our home stay in Raj Bagh was that everything seemed to be calm and peaceful. The roads were clean and was lined up with Poplar trees. There was a nip in the air and the previous day's rains had ensured that the city was cleansed of dust.

What do we do in Srinagar? We asked Yasmin, our host. We knew and read about Srinagar - Dal lake, its houseboats, the gardens, the lakes and then of course the cuisine. We wanted to explore beyond that. On her advice, we started with something exciting - Floating Market on Dal lake.You must have read about floating markets in some of the south east asian countries. But this is unique. Let us tell you why.

Thus, our first day in Kashmir started with a an early morning visit to the floating markets on Dal lake. We are not sure why this market start so early, almost at dawn. Yasmin had warned us to reach there in time lest we would see nothing. We woke up early and were ready to hop into the Innova. Muzaffar drove us down in the misty morning to the jetty in darkness. The flickering lights of the buildings on the banks were the bright spots in a dark surrounding. We had negotiated a shikara on the previous day who would take us around the market and bring back.

We started cruising on the lake early in the morning in darkness as dawn was breaking out. The stillness of water, the tranquility of surroundings broken only by the calls for prayers from distant mosques in the city provided for a thrilling experience. Fortunately it wasn't raining though the sky was overcast. The cruise on Dal lake is slow and manual. Thank heavens for that. The manual rowing of the boat ensure that tranquility of the lake is not disturbed.

After 45 minutes, we reached the floating market. It was already buzzing with Kashmiris with their wares. Having noticed that we are outsiders and tourists, few hawkers came closer to us asking us to buy the flowers. The flowers were fresh and lovely. Yusuf, our boatman was very enterprising and we had told him to take us to all corners of the market. At the same time he was also giving us a running commentary of how important this market is to Kashmiris. This market is a more of a vegetable and flower market. The fresh produce by farmers living on the banks of the lake is loaded onto the boat and brought here every morning. Yusuf manouvered well through the boats selling fresh vegetables and flowers.

Here are few vistas of the floating market......

The buyers had come in their own boats and we could see them bargaining with the wholesalers for the best price. Soon after an hour, we could see all the vegetables/flowers transferred from wholesalers to retailers and boats moving away slowly. The market is active only for an hour. This is the uniqueness of the floating market of Srinagar. It is not a permanent market like you find in some of the South East Asian countries. This is also a man's market. We did not see a single woman in the market!

As boats melted away into the horizon, Yusuf asked us whether we liked the experience. We said yes, we loved every minute of it.

Getting there

Air - Srinagar is well connected by flights to all major cities in India.

Train - The train services are available only upto Udhampur which is connected to rest of the country. From here, either you have to catch a bus or hire a taxi to Srinagar.

Road - Srinagar is well connected to mainland India through one of picturesque roads. Regular buses operate from Jammu and other places.

Best time to visit

Srinagar is good to go in any season. Winters will be extremely cold. If you are looking for best season to be there it is May -June and September - October. The summer months of May - June will be crowded with tourists and prices will be higher.

Stay Options

There are plenty of options to stay in Srinagar including houseboats. We somehow did not like houseboats which are stationary in the lake unlike the ones you find in Kerala which move in backwaters. For a superb view of Dal lake and Srinagar city, go to Taj Vivanta.

We stayed in a lovely home stay in Raj Bagh area. We highly recommend it.

Yasmin & Zulfi's Home stay in Srinagar

Travel Tips

Let us restrict these tips only for exploring the floating markets.

a) Make sure you are there at sun rise. The market closes very quickly after sunrise. Transactions are quick here!

b) Make sure you book a shikara on previous day. Else, you may not find one when you arrive at jetty early in the morning.

c) You may be surrounded by hawkers selling flowers. Buy a bunch. That way you will be helping these folks. Of Course, the flowers are lovely.

d) Take drinking water and small eats along. 

e) enjoy the atmosphere. talk to people. Kashmiris are very friendly.

For other posts on Kashmir on this blog, please click here

Yusmarg - Hidden wonder of Kashmir

http://journeys2remember.blogspot.in/search?q=kashmir

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Skywatch Friday - Srinagar (Kashmir) from Taj

Everyone knows that Srinagar is a beautiful place. No doubt about it. But we are not sure whether many visitors have had an chance to see the panoramic view of the city. One such place where you can get a fantastic view of the city is from Taj Vivanta hotel which is perched on a hill. We clicked this picture on a morning in August. Sky was overcast, else we would have seen the lovely Himalayas as backdrop. The best month to get a view of the city with snow bound mountains as backdrop should be early summer. The colourful roof of Kashmir houses add beauty to this picture. 

It reminds me what Muzaffar, our chauffeur in Srinagar said about Kashmir "Jannat hai saab" (It is heaven sir!). He is not wrong.

If you are interested to read on othere posts on Kashmir in this blog, please click on this link below.

Kashmir

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Skywatch Friday - Dal lake, Srinagar

Dal lake in Srinagar is truly beautiful. It is so huge that it looks almost like an ocean. Bound by hills, it must rank as one of most prettiest lakes in the country. The house boats anchored at different places, shikaras moving slowly on the lake adds to the beauty of the lake,

We took this picture from Nishat gardens. It was evening and sky was overcast. There was a lone shikara anchored in the lake and it was a lovely complement to the arch in the foreground.

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