Dal Lake - A city on lake

You may have heard of a market at your street corner or a market in a polished mall but have you even thought of the idea of a market on a lake. Even I hadn't until I visited Dal Lake in Kashmir. Located in Srinagar this lake is accessible from almost all parts of the city.


Floating market on Dal Lake

Visitng Dal lake & having a ride in a Shikara is an experience of a lifetime. Shikaras are hand driven boat like structures. People have actually build their homes, shops & even industries on this lake. You get everything from daily necessities to luxurious items.
I still remember peeping in one of the locals houses & I could see a television, refrigerator & a well made kitchen also.

Shikara's at Dal Lake

I mean I couldn't imagine a house just as mine on a lake. The lake also has a mosque build on it. While I was exploring all this with the shikara moving at the minimal speed possible, I found life to be stand still & felt this was a thing I was always looking for. Once I finish exploring the city on Dal Lake, the shikara guy took us to the exteriors of the lake, where there was no civilistaion, but simply open lake with mountains & a beautiful sun set in the background, a perfect place to be relaxed & strengthen your beautiful memories...
Even the crushes that you have had in the past keep moving in your mind, with a feeling "I wishhhhhh". The lake makes you calm & even gives you a feeling that life is not completely to conquer but also to get conquered by the hands of nature.


Scenic view of the lake

The lake has this capacity to surprise you every moment with the more you keep exploring this place. In one of the industries that I visited, I even saw a carpet worth 5lacs being made. The place made everything from Kashmiri shawls, leather jackets & more. By this moment the sun had finally set & we were moving back to shore getting ourselves prepared for a stay in one of the boat houses on this beautiful lake.

If you are a die hard nature lover & you have not visited the Dal lake in Kashmir then I guess you have not still found the true definiton of nature yet.
Hence I would like to say though I was the one who explore Dal Lake but was still happy being conquered by it simplicity, love & most important it's uniqueness...

Between all this beauty & simplicity lies an area on this lake where no Indian is allowed to go & only tourist from outside India are. I mean this hurted our feelings a lot, how can an Indian be denied entry in his own land.