Srinagar accommodation

geo96

Hello there,
we are going to arrive in Srinagar on the 11th aug... on the way to Kargil/Leh.
Since is the first time for us in Kashmir, any suggestion is really appreciated.
Which houseboat do you recommend us to test (budget is 600-800 Rps. max) for 1 night or 2?
Is better to hire a taxi from the airport to Dal Lake? How long and how much is it?
Is the state-bus to Leh bookable one day in advance?
What's the best to do in half a day? Just roaming around the lake or take a shikara-ride? Places to avoid?
What about moquitos?

Thanks in adv.

__________________
2007: Kinnaur and Spiti - 2008: Ladakh and Lahaul - 2009: Ladakh, Zanskar and Srinagar

Indizen

First go up to the Shankracharya Hill temple for the wonderful views of the city.
Try to visit at least one Mughal garden - Shalimar or Nishat.
You can reach the gardens on a shikara from Nehru Park.
Yes, the shikara ride is a must as well, but if you stay in a house-boat, several short rides on the shikara are ensured.
Don't go to downtown Srinagar areas around Lal chowk.
Do go to the Residency road area, and sample some restaurants along the Jhelum river-front.

rohanv

Hi,

You could rather opt for a Budget Hotel , at the North End of Srinagar ,Areas like Hazrat Bal wherein you could get it at Rs.500 or so.I dont think Houseboats will come that cheap and even if they come , not too sure when they would sink..

Is the state-bus to Leh bookable one day in advance? Yes. you can go to Lal Chowk where advance booking is done. Approx the Ticket is Rs, 700 for Leh or so.

What's the best to do in half a day? Just roaming around the lake or take a shikara-ride? Places to avoid? Take a 2 hour Shikara Ride, then take a stroll on the Dal Gate. Go to any one of the Mughal Gardens.All gardens are beautiful but they are somewhat similar.and make your way to Shankaracharya Temple..You could see the entire City from above..

What about moquitos? Mosquito Repellent..

Ms Princess W

I'm not aware of houseboats going that cheap especially if you want a nice one, especially if you want meals included. I agree that on that budget to go with an out of the way budget hotel or something.

There's plenty to do around the lake as Rohanv said, but plan on a full day to go to Sonmarg/Gulmarg/Pahalgam for sure.

vivek.onyx

Hi MS Princess W,

I am coming srinagar with my wife on 29th Sep. I have found that Hotel Ishpan is very Good & budget hotel but I want to stay atleast one night at HouseBoat. so could you suggest us any bugdet(600-800) Houseboat with food and good interiour as well as nice location & view???

regards

Ms Princess W

As I said, I'm not aware of any in that price range, though maybe others here might know of some.

mdshah24

Hey, Pl check out old posts. M sure u ll find lots of details for the same..

geo96

I have just come back from Srinagar 2 days ago and I experienced a very pleasant stay at the Garden of Eden Houseboat on Dal Lake in a quiet position far from the Boulevar (opp. Park Hotel). It's a deluxe A HouseBoat, it charged to us (2 people) 700 Rps, offseason fare (many HB are empty). 24h hotwater, service perfect, very nice wood carvings and large room with att. bath, absolutely clean.
I would honestly suggest you to check this accomodation, in case send me a private email, I will provide the contact number/email...

PS - just one thing: 700 Rps is ABSOLUTELY NOT the official rate, that is much higher than this (cat. super deluxe A), so check the rate by the owner first, it depends on the season and bid/ask ratio of course...

samya033

And what about your Leh/Kargil visit? Did you go to Leh by bus? What is the advance booking procedure? When the buses reach Leh normally?

geo96

First we reached Leh from Delhi by air, stayed there 1 week, then moved to Zanskar by share-jeep, stayed there 10 days, then come back to Kargil by bus and reached Srinagar by share jeep.
I can provide the needed infos for this kind of selfmade tour, simply ask.

ashwinnaagar

Were share jeeps comfortable?

geo96

I'd say yes, pretty comfortable...

TimMakins

I'd be interested to hear the details of your transport, and also thoughts about Zanskar, and accomodation in Zanskar, for future reference. I might get there next year...

__________________
Travelling Tim - http://www.mapability.com/blogs/ My images at Lonely Planet - http://tinyurl.com/yk43ams

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

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geo96

Just one remark: in the time we moved from Leh to Zanskar, the Dalai Lama was performing his teaching in Padum, so things may be very different in ordinary period.
I mean, there was no way to find any bus going to Zanskar... We moved all the way from Leh to Padam by share jeep, and was even not easy to find one.
First step from Leh to Kargil (500 Rps each), spent the night in the Greenland Hotel's new building (it charged 800 Rps/double room after bargain, but was absolutely clean and very comfortable). We left Kargil at 5 am by share jeep (1500 Rps each!) and reached Padam nearly at 5 pm
Heading out of Zanskar we got the bus to Leh from Padam, leaving at 3.30 am. We paied 500 Rps, that is the entire fare to Leh although we got off in Kargil.
This is a very irregular service (and not properly a service at all!), for many days we haven't seen any bus coming in Padam. Once arrived, even the driver doesn't know when to start, whether the day after or 2/3 days later.
There is no local bus plying only the route Kargil - Padam, as the 2006 edition of the lonely planet says! As much as I know, there are only private coaches coming from and going to Leh, but noone knows when.
Accomodation in Padam: we stayed at the Mont Blanc GH at 400 Rps/double room with attached bath, clean and comfortable. We checked the Himalya GH as well, which had basic rooms with common bath at 300 Rps. The best accomodation is the Marq Hotel which had deluxe rooms with bath and running hot water (the only hotel with hot water!) for 1000 Rps. Popular accom. are the Kailash, the Gakji and the Ibex Hotel but we didn't like the overpriced rooms (700-800 Rps).