Dal Lake

Dal Lake is the image every Kashmir trip is sold on, and it is genuinely worth it — provided you go at the right hour and understand what you are booking. It sits inside Srinagar at about 1,583 m, roughly 18 square kilometres of water, floating gardens and houseboat rows below the Zabarwan hills.

Six in the morning, not five in the afternoon

The single most useful thing on this page. Almost every itinerary schedules the shikara for late afternoon, when the water is choppy with traffic and the light is behind you. At 6 am the lake is still, the light is on the Zabarwan range, and the floating vegetable market near Gagribal is actually trading — farmers selling from boat to boat, which is the one thing on the Dal that is not staged for visitors.

Houseboats, honestly

A houseboat night is worth doing once. The carved cedar interiors are real craft and waking up on the water is a different experience from any hotel. Two caveats, though.

• The gap between a deluxe and a budget houseboat is far wider than the equivalent gap between hotels. Photographs are not a reliable guide — check what is actually being booked.
• They are colder than hotels in winter and the plumbing is more variable. One night early in the trip works better than the last night, especially in November onwards.
• Nigeen Lake, next door, is quieter than the Dal and its boats are generally better value if you actually intend to sleep on the water rather than photograph it.
• Be sceptical of shopping pressure aboard — the "special price today" shawl sale is the part of the Dal experience that most reliably disappoints people.

What it costs

A shikara hour is included in most of our itineraries rather than charged on top — the Kashmir 4N/5D circuit includes it, and the 5N/6D itinerary adds a deluxe houseboat night. Booked independently, agree the rate and the duration before you step into the boat, not after.

One last thing: the Dal is under real ecological pressure from silt, weed and sewage. Take your plastic off the boat with you.