Iram Houseboats

“I chose this boathouse because it had good rating and reviews, and it did not disappoint. Ahmed and his family made me feel really at home. The houseboat has 2 bedrooms, but the 2nd one was unoccupied so I had the whole boat for myself. The dining room and living room both have beautiful carved furniture. The bedroom I stayed in has a bed so big that a couple with a child could comfortably sleep in it. The verandah was my favorite place to sit, and watch life on the lake go by. The boathouse has a great location, not too far from the jetty but not too near from the road, so no noise from cars. It's impeccably clean. Ahmed's wife has a great hand for cooking, her meals were delicious and very abundant. Ahmed will organize trips for you if you like, with his friend Ali who owns a car and is a very nice man in his early 60´s, very polite and respectful. With him I did a whole day sightseeing trip of Srinagar (it pays off to have a car with driver for the full day, as the interesting sights are very far apart (gardens, hindu temple, mosques) and impossible to cover on foot if you do not have a lot of time, and a day trip tp Sonamarg which is a beautiful place in the mountains, 80 km from Srinagar. I also did 2 shikara (small beautifully decorated boat) trips on the lake and the adjoining backwaters. This region was a great surprise for me, it´s really gorgeous, and I am longing to go back and spend more time, and also trek. If I ever come back to Srinagar I will stay here again. I felt very comfortable, also because the owners do not put pressure on you buying anything from any local shops, and even asked the boat vendors (there are quite many on the lake) to not bother me.”

“Kashmiri hospitality is so amazing people never just experience it once. You always return. People were amazingly hospitable. One of the safest if not the safest places to travel in all of India. The lake community means you can watch the world go by which it does once the sun starts to shine it warms up and shikara criss-cross the lake. If you want anything a boat will come to you and a trader bring you things. Or they will take you to their home to view goods. In which case they start with tea end with lunch and then take you for a tour of the town whether you buy something or not.”

“Very good facilities, good food and excellent place to stay with in reasonable price....very happy to stay here :)”