Skip to Content

The Water Trek, Srinagar, Kashmir

After an amazing seven days trekking in the Himalayas, we were back at the houseboat and eager to explore more of what Srinagar had to offer.

After struggling with my churidar kameez (a long tunic with tight tapered bottoms) that I had tailored on my first trip to India, we (yes, this was a two person battle) were finally able to get the bottoms of the pants over my ankles and head out into town.

We spent the day wandering the streets and visiting local sites. Salim, our guide, took us to the obligatory carpet shop where, of course, the tea came out along with the “just take a look” spiel. We politely commended their work, which was commendable (as was their sales pitch), as the man rolled out different designs in quick succession before suddenly flipping them around to face us from the opposite direction appearing a different color. “You see?! You see?!” he exclaimed.

Knowing where this whole thing was headed, we tried to beat him to the punch and explained that while their products were beautiful, a carpet unfortunately was not backpacking cargo. This was followed by a demonstration on how “small” a rug becomes when you roll it up in their well-practiced way. Sorry, mate. Not even Aladdin could make that thing turn into a magic carpet.

On the second day, we explored the area by small boat. Removed from yet close to the banks, we caught glimpses of locals going about their daily lives as we floated past their dwellings or by the lake’s edge that, like so many places in this part of the world, had become a public bath/laundry.

As we gently pushed past the water lilies, we took these quiet, relatively solitary moments just to be, studying this perfect image that nature had masterminded before us, carefully storing it away in our minds for safekeeping.

Mosque, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

Mosque, Srinagar.

Cemetery, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

Cemetery, Srinagar.

Street, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

Spices at the local market.

Carpet weaving, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

Learning how the carpets are made.

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The water trek…

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

Dwellings by the water’s edge…

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

Fishing nets.

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The lake’s banks also act as a communal laundry…

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The steps to town.

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

The water trek, Srinagar, Kashmir, India

Tea time…

Want to read more about our adventures in the Himalayas/Kashmir? See also:

Part One: The Houseboat

Part Two: The Practice Hike

Part Three: The Gypsy Family

Part Four: The Himalayan Trek

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Our Top #10 Travel Experiences - Notes of Nomads

Monday 4th of March 2013

[...] The Water Trek [...]

panayiotisd

Tuesday 2nd of October 2012

i am so jelous! from the photos the experience looks amazing! and your photos are very creative! Arw you using a dslr ? thanks for sharing this with us! :)

Jessica Korteman

Wednesday 3rd of October 2012

Thank you, Panayiotisd! It’s funny you say that because that was our first digital camera on our first stop of a round the world trip many, many years ago hahaha Unfortunately not knowing much about photography at the time, we accidentally had it on the wrong setting all throughout India, hence why the photos during this series have been so tiny. However, that camera (it was a point and shoot Canon Powershot A610) was really great to us and captured some great memories. The more recent photos on the blog were either taken by my Canon G12 or Hai’s Canon 7D.

Les Petits Pas de Juls

Thursday 27th of September 2012

awesome pics... again! definitely looks like such a wonderful adventure! thanks for sharing!

Jessica Korteman

Sunday 30th of September 2012

Thanks so much, Jul'!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.