The Lakes and waterways of Kashmir One of the sources of the Jhelum river is the enchanting springat Vernag in the southeast of the Valley. The Mughal emperorJahangir built a garden around it. At the upper end, beyond theavenues of chinar lies a deep pool of water and from this origin,the river cuts a winding course from the southeast to northwest.Jhelum is navigable for almost 160 km (100 miles), from Anantnagin the east, past the saffron fields of Pampore, flowing throughthe heart of Srinagar, draining into the Wular Lake and fromthere onto Baramula in the west.

One of many bridges over the Jhelum in Srinagar Credit: KOA

Local water-craft include the"bahatch", a high powered barge capable of transporting heavyfreight, and the "doonga", a sort of rush matted home on watersmaller than the bahatch. The famous "shikara" with its slimgondola shape is well-known to visitors who use it as a watertaxi across Dal Lake. Then there is the well-known houseboat, afloating hotel to many of Srinagar's visitors.

The houseboat was the British answer to the edict of a Dograruler that no alien could buy immovable property in Kashmir.Built of seasoned cedar, the early houseboats were small andhighly mobile. They would escape the heat of mid-summer Srinagarby being towed down river to the Wular Lake. Here, under theshade of chinars, fishing for the 'mahseer', 'choose' and 'chos'started in mid-June.

Houseboats on the Dal lake Credit: KOA

 The marksman's season came in the brilliantautumn days and ran through winter, when duck-shooting in the"jheels" by the Wular and Manasbal lakes opened. Today'shouseboats, however, are too large to permit such ease ofmovement. Moored in a long ragged line along the fringes of Daland Nagin lakes, they range from palatial to small, even thoughthe basic design remains the same. The truly grand houseboats areusually adorned with formidable amounts of crewel-work upholsteryand highly carved walnut wood.