Safety in Srinagar

bewis

How safe is Srinigar? I read in the good old Lonely Planet that in the past, and probably still it, the centre of Kashmir's problems. What about Dal Lake, is this a safe place to get a houseboat for a few days?

shahronakm

Ocassional terrorist attackes do take place at Srinagar but most of them are in the market area & not in tourist area. Also the frequence of the attacks have come down very much. Loads of Indian tourists visited Srinagar & surrounding areas this season & the last season. My aunt visited Srinagar, Gulmarg & Pahalgam just 20 days back & said there is nothing to worry about.
Yes Dal Lake is very much a safe place to enjoy your stay in the houseboats.

Ronak.

shashank.aggarwal

Things seem to quite and peacefull for couple of seasons now..

Overall we have been getting very strong positive vibes about the place..earlier among Indians as well..no one wanted to go there and people advised against it..but now everyone is excited about the Idea of exploring the resurrected Heaven..

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spyros

Hi all. My friends and me are going to be in Srinagar for 3 or 4 days in August. Having spent hours searching on the web for the safety issues, I have become convinced for one thing: nothing is going to happen to any tourist as long as he doesn't go to places he shouldn't be, so don't worry about it. You will be safer than in London !!

Kristine

It's true that the number of fatalities in Kashmir has dropped precipitously since the 2004 peace process started, especially in 2006 and 2007. But the optimism generated by the peace process doesn't mean that Kashmir is safe. In August there were at least two attacks on buses (one of which a tourist bus) that were blamed on militants. There is also a heightened state of antagonism towards the security forces (I know, I know, there is always antagonism towards the security forces) due to recent revelations (and for once, solid evidence) of extrajudicial killings by the security forces. This has led to a number of protests, several of which have turned violent and led to fatalities.

Militants don't target tourists, but they do target security forces, if you go, stay as far away as possible from any police checkpoint or passing convoy--there are still a smattering of grenade attacks on them.

My intention is not to scare you, but sometimes I have to challenge the current discourse that Kashmir is a safe-ish place to go. This is still a conflict zone, even if the level of conflict intensity has decreased and even if violence doesn't directly target civilians.

azizdhamani

anyone female single appreciated travelling alone in kashmir region looking for company do buzz me, will be in srinagar and surrounding area so far no idea where just to explore from 12th till 17th oct, looking forward to make some new friends while i discover new land-cheers

julesa

i didn't visit srinagar when i was in india earlier this year, though i'd have loved to.

my punjab family friends advised against it. although the risk can fairly be described as low, militants do lob the odd grenade at tourist buses.

mind you we went to assam where the ULFA were conducting a violent campaign.

DozGert

hi, i've been trawling around this site for my next trip & thought i'd put my 2 bobs worth in. I was in Srinagar for a month in June some of the time with a friend & some by myself. Yes there is a huge military presence and sometimes i felt a little uncomfortable but no worse than anywhere else in india. Of course there is always a chance something might happen, a bomb went off while i was there, but I made the decision to go and am glad I did. It was one of the highlights of my trip. I stayed on Nigeen Lake with a lovely family and will definately go back.

azizdhamani

hi dozgert can u give me contact of the person in Nigeen Lake and how much was it per nite
i am going there first week october looking for a decent place to stay at a budget cost
cheers

anar

i was in kashmir in june last year for ten days. i stayed on dal lake in a houseboat for a couple of days - felt totally safe. also went to pahalgam (3 hours away from srinagar) in the mountains - loads of security along the way, a couple of check points as well - but it was all fine. loved my time there - urge anyone who has half a mind to visit the valley to put their reservations aside and do it.

vistet

An european perspective : the "troubles" in Northern Ireland meant less than 4000 dead under 15 years , the last 15 years in Kashmir has cost more than ten times that number - and as Kristine mentions there has been some recent attacks. The August bombings also coincided with grenades thrown at taxi drivers in Srinagar , and then you have the bombings of tourist buses and taxis in ... 2006 , if I remember it right : it would be more accurate I think to say that militants concentrate on security forces , but also occasionally tourists.

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vmehra24

The soldiers are there for your safety.
Perhaps they remind you of underlying danger and this reminder makes you "uncomfortable"?.

maypacheco

hi, i'm jsut back from a trip to ladakh whcih i made by road from srinagar.. although it was a little upsetting to see so much of a police and army presence initiallhy, it seems a totally safe place... do not go around much after dark and go to lonely places... the city seems safe.. we spent the night on a house boat on nageen lake.. although dal lake has many more houseboats, all the house boats are concentrated in one corner of the lake... it's all cramped together.. nageen lake is less crowded and more peaceful and the house boats are more spread out...(i've enclosed a snap of how it is on dal lake..)

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