Even if you are not a lover of poetry, a houseboat will induce you to try your hand in it. House Boats are boats that have been designed for private residence. Unlike their cousins in Kerela, the Houseboats in Srinagar are stationary. They are usually secured along the margins of the lakes of Dal and Nagin.

The interiors of a Houseboat

These houseboats are made of elaborate wooden panels and usually can accommodate 2-3 adults with two or three bedrooms inside along with a living room, a balcony, a kitchen, and a shikara to carry the inmates from the houseboat to the nearest ghat. Almost all houseboats have Minucipal water supply, a highly personalized service along with an extremely courteous personal attendant.

Food inside the Houseboat

The houseboats are accompanied with cooks who can whip up a delicious local dish in a jiffy. These are mostly operated by the families and hence home pepared food is also offered to the guests as well. “Wazwan”, an array of splendid dishes should be definitely tried out while living in a houseboat.

Categories of houseboats

Corresponding to the thre subdivisions of the Dal lake, there are three categories of houseboats.
Luxury Houseboats: These houseboats provide all the facilities of a five star hotel with a cook a caretaker, all day power backup, clean water supply and doctor on call. The rates of such houseboats are around 2000-3000 per night.
Deluxe houseboats: These houseboats provide the amenities of a standard three star hotel, with laundry and a “houseboy”. They charge 1000-2000 per night
Standard houseboats: These are inexpensively priced houseboats with partly finished interiors. The rates of such houseboats are less than 1200 per night.
The cost per day of a houseboat is inclusive of all meals and free rides from the houseboat to the nearest jetty and back.
A few extra Kashmiri outfits are also kept in the houseboats for women to indulge in. Clicking photos in the native clothes and jewelry is some of the most common mementos from Kashmir. Tourists from all over the world come to Srinagar just to indulge in the pleasure of living in a floating home while enjoying the contentment of living in a cedar paneled luxury hotel.