The capital city of Kashmir is the soul and pulse of the state. Life in the city revolves around the river Jhelum and the Dal Lake. It’s a very special corner of India. The top middle corner of the country- above the mountains, past the plains, away from the crowd. This was the summer capital of the British in 1793. The ruler of Kashmir let the British come into their territory but did not allow them to build-and so the British took to water. They lived in houseboats which have since then become a legend. There is no better combination of wood, water and mountain anywhere in the world.

The Shri Pratap Singh Museum is in Lal Mandi, just south of the Jhelum River between Zero Bridge and Amira Kadal, the first 'old' bridge. It has interesting collections of exhibits relevant to Kashmir, including illustrated tiles from Harwan. Shankaracharya Hill rising behind The Boulevard besides the Dal Lake, was once known as Takht-i-Sulaiman, which means 'The Throne of Solomon'. A temple is said to have first been built here by Ashoka's son, around 200 BC, but the present Hindu temple dates from Jehangir's time. It's a pleasant stroll to the top, from where you have a fine view over Dal lake.

Chasma Shahi, 9km from Srinagar is the smallest of the Mugal gardens at Srinagar, the Chasma Shahi are well up the hillside, above the Nehru Memorial Park. The gardens were laid out in the year 1632 but have been recently extended. Nishat Bagh 11 km is sandwiched between the lake and the mountains, the Nishat gardens have a superb view across the lake to the Pir Panjal mountains. Designed in 1633 by Nur Jahan's brother Asaf Khan, these are the largest of the Mugal gardens and follow the traditional pattern of a central channel running down a series of terraces. Shalimar Bagh 15 km from Srinagar is set some distance back from the lake but reached by a small canal, The Shalimar gardens were built for Nur Jahan,'light of the world', by her husband Jehangir in 1616.

Hazratbal Mosque: This shiny, modern mosque is on the north-west shore of Dal lake. The mosque enshrines a hair of the prophet, but to non-believers it is most interesting for its stunningly beautiful setting on the shores of the lake with snow capped peaks as a back drop.

Visitors come to this unique city sometimes only to enjoy a holiday of solitude on a houseboat. It is so delightlful to wake up in the morning to the murmur of water, spend your day floating on a Shikara & tee off on 18 hole golf course.

Kashmir is famous for its many handicrafts.Popular buys include carpets, papier-mache articles, leather and furs, woodcarving, shawls and embroidery, tailor-made clothing, pleasantly coarse-knitted sweaters and cardigans, expensive spice, saffron and many more items.