Srinagar
Over 15km around, Dal Lake is Srinagar's jewel, a vast sheet of water reflecting the carved wooden balconies of the houseboats and the misty peaks of the…
Must-see attractions in Srinagar & the Kashmir Valley
Srinagar
This distinctively spired 1730s Muslim pilgrim hall is Srinagar’s most beautiful mosque. It was constructed without any nails, and both frontage and…
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Srinagar
Of all Srinagar's Mughal gardens, Nishat Bagh is arguably the most appealing, with beautiful water features that frame a lovely lake panorama. It's on…
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Srinagar & the Kashmir Valley
Five fingers of glacier descend from a fine array of Alpine peaks in the parallel valley behind Sonamarg. The scene is best appreciated from a small…
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Srinagar
On the strategically and spiritually significant Koh-e-Maran hill, north of the city centre, is this powerful qila (fort), which dates to the 6th century…
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Srinagar
On top of thickly forested Shankaracharya Hill, this small Shiva temple is built from hefty blocks of ancient grey stone. Previously known as Takht-i…
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Srinagar & the Kashmir Valley
Naranag has two enigmatic 8th-century Shiva temple ruins in a beautiful valley setting that gives one the impression of having stumbled across a great…
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Srinagar & the Kashmir Valley
The impressive ruins of this 8th-century Sun Temple built by King Lalitaditya sit in peaceful, well-tended gardens on a hill above Mattan. The site feels…
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Srinagar
Looking like the movie set for an imagined Central Asian castle, this mighty 1672 mosque (built on an earlier 1394 construction) forms a quadrangle around…
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Srinagar
Backing onto Dal Lake north of the Old City, this large, white-domed 20th-century mosque enshrines Kashmir’s holiest Islamic relic, the Moi-e-Muqqadas,…
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Srinagar
Looking more Byzantine than Kashmiri, the multidomed 15th-century brick tomb of King Zeinalabdin’s mother was built on the plinth of a much older former…
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Srinagar & the Kashmir Valley
Beside the Srinagar–Jammu highway in Awantipora, 30km south of Srinagar, lies the chunky ruins of the 9th-century Avantiswamin Temple. The stone blocks…
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Srinagar & the Kashmir Valley
This sprawling hilltop pilgrimage town celebrates Kashmir’s ‘patron saint’ Sheikh Nuraddin-Wali (1377–1438). His shrine is covered by a vast new mosque…
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Srinagar
At the north end of the triangular patch of grass near the Sufi shrine of Pir Dastgir Sahib is a small, green shrine known as Rozabal. A highly…
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Srinagar
On the southern flank of Hari Parbat, the large and ornately carved Makhdoom Sahib Shrine is dedicated to the Qadri-order Sufi saint who helped the spread…
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Srinagar
A few colonial-era half-timbered buildings remain along the northern towpath of the Jhelum River. The most splendid example is the former British…
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Srinagar
Unlike most typical Kashmiri wooden spired mosques, Pather Masjid is a heavy Mughal stone structure, built by Nur Jahan in 1623. The road-facing side is…
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Srinagar
In the maze of channels at the edge of Dal Lake, the dawn vegetable market is a photogenic sight, even if vendors flogging souvenirs and saffron can…
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Srinagar
Created in the 16th century, then planted with almond (badam) trees in 1876, this quiet orchard garden fell apart during Kashmir's 1990s troubles but has…
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Srinagar & the Kashmir Valley
Amarnath's natural stone lingam becomes opalescently encrusted with ice and is believed to wax and wane with the phases of the moon. Seen as symbolising…
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Srinagar
It's worth visiting this richly endowed historical museum for its fine 7th-century Buddhist statues, Mughal paper mache work, 4th-century tiles from the…
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Srinagar
For guests, the first-row houseboats can prove noisy and lacking in privacy. However, as an attraction they collectively form Srinagar's signature image.
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Srinagar
This stone gateway, directly north of the white-domed Chetipacha Gurdwara, is part of one of the last remnant sections of Srinagar's late 16th-century…
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Srinagar
Crowds throng Asia’s biggest Tulip Garden, just behind the Botanical Garden, during March and April. Its long, straight rows of blooming tulips (60…
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Srinagar
Built in 1649 by Shah Jahan's son Dara Shikoh for his spiritual mentor, the mosque of Akhund Mullah Shah is only a chunky stone shell set amid plane trees…
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Srinagar
Pari Mahal (literally 'Palace of the Fairies') is a 17th-century former Sufi centre built by the eldest son of Shah Jahan. The terraced lawns and arched…
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Srinagar
Built for Nur Jahan by her husband, Jehangir, Shalimar Bagh is the most famous of Srinagar's Mughal gardens, but it can get very busy. It's 10km beyond…
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Srinagar & the Kashmir Valley
This partly tree-shaded garden with its series of central fountain pools was said to be the favourite of Mughal Queen Nur Jahan, who commissioned it…
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Srinagar
En route to Pari Mahal you'll pass the small Cheshmashahi Garden, folded amid the wooded mountain foothills. Its central feature is a square fountain pool…
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Srinagar & the Kashmir Valley
This vast, hillside shrine complex is devoted to 15th-century sufi holy man, Zainalabddin Wali. The humid main shrine, accessed by 272 steps, is inside a…
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Srinagar
This large, popular Sufi shrine was ravaged by fire in 2012 but the colourful paper mache interior work for which it was renowned has been restored. The…
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Srinagar
This beautifully proportioned if uncoloured 17th-century shrine was built in Himachal Pradesh style, with alternating layers of wood and brick to…
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Srinagar
Less formal and not quite as busy as many of the older Mughal gardens, the Botanical Gardens have some well-maintained lawns and a wide variety of tree…
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Naagar-Nagar Interpretation Centre
Srinagar
Beside the Makhdoom Ropeway, this empty hall has a few boards explaining the Mughal history of the Hari Parbat ('Naagar-Nagar') walled city.
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Srinagar
Much of Srinagar's fresh produce is brought in from 'floating gardens' and landed at this tiny dock, making for photogenic scenes.
