November 13, 2012

Kashmir is back on the tourist map – in pictures

After advising tourists against travel to the cities of Jammu and Srinagar for nearly 20 years, the Foreign Office has lifted its guidelines after a fall in violence. So, Dal Lake and part of the Valley of Kashmir, one of India's most beautiful regions, are once again open to visitors

Kasmir: Gathering weeds to make a floating garden on Dal Lake, Kasmir — Gathering weeds to make a floating garden on Dal Lake
Photograph: Courtesy of Wild Frontiers Photograph: Jonny Bealby, courtesy of Wild Frontiers

Kasmir: Floating market, Dal Lake — The boat is the only form of transport for the Dal Lake community. The famous floating market is where locals meet on their shikaras to buy and sell vegetables …
Photograph: Jonny Bealby, courtesy of Wild Frontiers Photograph: Courtesy of Wild Frontiers

Kasmir: Dal Lake vegetable market — And flowers, too
Photograph: Jonny Bealby, courtesy of Wild Frontiers Photograph: Courtesy of Wild Frontiers

Kasmir: Kashmiri boys jump in water of Dal Lake — Local boys jump into of Dal Lake to beat Srinagar's summer heat Photograph: Farooq Khan/EPA

Kasmir: bakery on Dal Lake, Kashmir — Fresh from the tandoor – a bakery on Dal Lake
Photograph: Jonny Bealby, courtesy of Wild Frontiers Photograph: Courtesy of Wild Frontiers

Kasmir: Houseboats on Dal Lake — With tourists staying away from Kashmir, most of the houseboats on Dal Lake have remained empty for years Photograph: Jeremy Horner/Corbis

Kasmir: houseboats on Dal Lake — Many of the intricately carved houseboats were built in the early 1900s for the Raj as summer retreats from the heat of the Indian plains Photograph: Frank Bienewald/Corbis

Kasmir: Dal Lake, Kashmir — A man returns from the market on his shikara …
Photograph: Jonny Bealby, courtesy of Wild Frontiers Photograph: Courtesy of Wild Frontiers

Kasmir: Hazratbal Shrine, Srinagar — And paddles past the Hazratbal Shrine, Srinagar, which Muslims believe contains a hair of the prophet Muhammad
Photograph: Courtesy of Wild Frontiers Photograph: Jonny Bealby, courtesy of Wild Frontiers

Kasmir: Chowkidars at Shah Hamdan Mosque in Srinagar, Kashmir — Chowkidars at Shah Hamdan Mosque in Srinagar
Photograph: Courtesy of Wild Frontiers Photograph: Jonny Bealby, courtesy of Wild Frontiers

Kasmir: Old houses overlooking the Jhelum river in Srinagar — Old houses overlooking the Jhelum river in Srinagar
Photograph: Courtesy of Wild Frontiers Photograph: Jonny Bealby, courtesy of Wild Frontiers

Kasmir: Srinigar old town — Rickshaws in Srinagar's medieval old town
Photograph: Courtesy of Wild Frontiers Photograph: Jonny Bealby, courtesy of Wild Frontiers

Leave a Comment Cancel comment