Best places to take a boat trip in India

The oceans, numerous lakes and rivers offer plenty of opportunities to take a boat ride in India. Just watch life go by as you lazily float along or take a raft to enjoy wildlife spotting, snorkelling or even to discover submerged temples. Here are our top five interesting boat trips you can do in India.


1. Shikara on the ‘Dal’ Lake – The Bollywood endorsed ‘Dal’ Lake in Kashmir has been a legendary spot for travellers. The thin Shikaras (boats) traverse through the water carrying tourists, vegetables, supplies and locals. The whole life system on the lake is supported by these unassuming boats, whether it’s supporting full-fledged markets or serving as a school bus for children. The rides on shikaras are extremely fascinating and help understand the local life better.

Boat-Trips-in-Kashmir

2. From the Himalayan foothills, it’s down to the tropical weather of Kerala. Alleppey, also known as the ‘Venice of the East’ is by far one of the best destinations to experience the tranquil backwaters of Kerala. Well equipped houseboats add to the charm of getting to know the vast network of backwater in and around the town. Recently, the house boats had come under the scanner for lack of a proper system to dispose waste from the boats. Now there are mandatory treatment methods without which these boats do not get permissions. Watch the local life pass on the banks of the waters, while you glide past in luxury. Off season rates for fully furnished house boats are quite affordable. Between October and March, it can cost anywhere between Rs 7500 to Rs 20,000/- depending on the number of hours on the boat.

Boat-Trips-in-Alleppey-Kerala

3. There are some very unique experiences with respect to boats in India. The famous rock temples of Mahabalipuram near Chennai have always garnered the interest of travellers. Two of the seven temples are said to be submerged in the sea. Few know that some fishermen take eager visitors out to sea, where one you have a look at the submerged temples. An experience which comes with serious caution, as there are no life jackets on these boats, it’s not for the faint hearted. A mere Rs. 100-200 for an adventure of a life time – try it!

Boat-trips-in-Mahabalipuram-Chennai

4. The Periyar Wildlife sanctuary in the Idduki District of Kerala is one of the most unassuming wildlife destinations of India. Without fanfare but with plenty of exciting experiences in store, there are a number of ways to see the jungle. One unique way, is wildlife watching on a huge bamboo raft, with a forest guide and copious amount of sunscreen. The Periyar Lake is flanked by thick forests and animals often come for a drink of water. The raft ride starts early in the morning and goes on till about 4.00 p.m with breakfast and lunch by the edge of the jungle. This trip needs to be booked in advance. You can also take a more conventional wildlife spotting boat trip here

Boat-Trips-in-Periyar-Lake

5. While Goa has always been on top of the list for many, its Southern neighbour Karwar in Karnataka is fairly unknown. Serene and relatively untouched by tourism, Karwar has several water based activities. One of them includes snorkelling off the quiet coastline. Trips go out on speed boats with trained instructors to help novices.

Boat-Trips-in-Karwar-Karnataka

Jammu & Kashmir Tourism: Things to do in Srinagar

Srinagar, the capital of the northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir is famous for its lakes and houseboats. There are plenty of sights to take in and things to do and it is also a great place to shop for Kashmiri handicrafts. Our Srinagar tourism guide lists the highlights.

1. Bird watching at Hokersar

This wetland attracts thousands of migratory birds during winters from Siberia and Central Asia. This is an important natural refuge for rare breeds that use it for wintering and breeding. It is located 14 kilometres from Srinagar. Birds that are most prominent here are geese, Brahminy Duck, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Garganey, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Common Merganser, Northern Pintail, Common Pochard, Ferruginous Pochard, Ruddy Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Common Teal, and Eurasian Wigeon.

Ducks at Dal Lake, Srinagar

2. Houseboat and shikara ride

These are the most famous symbols of the city and tourists come from far and wide to spend a few hours cruising on the lake. Those who have time for a longer stay can rent houseboats. The Dal lake is the ideal place to enjoy this activity. In the off season a shikara ride costs about Rs. 150 but in the peak season the price can go up to Rs. 500.

House Boat on Dal Lake

3. Gardens

Mughal emperors created many gardens in the city. Prime amongst them are the Mughal Gardens, Chasm-e-Shahi, and the Nishat and Shalimar Bagh. The Tulip Gardens is a recent addition to the city and is dedicated to tulips of various colours.

Sunset over the terraces of the Nishat Bagh Mughal gardens

4. Hazratbal Mosque

This pure white mosque is very serene and beautiful. It is one of the most important mosques in Srinagar and is highly revered. Much like other mosques, only the outer area is open for women to enter. The nearby market is a good place to enjoy local food.

Hazratbal Shrine from the West Gate

5. Roza Bal

In Khanyar is the Dastgir Saheb mosque and shrine. It also known as Roza Bal and is said to be the tomb of Jesus Christ. The belief is that Jesus survived crucifixion, came to Kashmir and lived here till he was at least 100 years old. The belief isn’t backed by many scholars but it was the foundation of books such as ‘Jesus Lived in India’ by Holger Kersten.

Colourful festival decorations

6. Festivals

Srinagar’s major festivals are the three Eids, Navroz, Urs and Ramzan. Eid is celebrated thrice a year. One is meethi Eid, which is a family fare, the other is Muharram where people flog themselves in the street and the last is Bakra Eid where a goat is sacrificed in every Muslim home. Navroz is a 9-day festival which is celebrated in March or April with feasts, new clothes and prayers. Urs is typical to Kashmir. It is held at the shrines of Muslim saints on their death anniversaries. It is also celebrated by some Hindus and Sikhs. Ramzan is a month of hard fasting and during Ramzan Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn to dusk.

7. Shankaracharya Mandir

This Hindu temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is perched on a hilltop. It’s not usually crowded as Srinagar no longer has a significant Hindu population but is a popular site with visitors. Cameras and cellphones should be left behind as they aren’t allowed inside.

Practical information:

•     The climatic conditions in Srinagar are mostly alpine. Srinagar is best visited during summers between the months of April and June.
•     The domestic airport in Srinagar is located at a distance of 14 kms from the city and operates regular flights to major Indian cities like Delhi and Mumbai.
•     The nearest railway station from Srinagar is at Jammu Tawi, about 293 kms from the city. Jammu station has excellent rail connections with almost all major cities of India. Once you reach Jammu station, board a bus or hire a car / taxi to proceed on a 12-hr journey to Srinagar

10 beautiful Lakes in India

India has a large number of beautiful lakes and great rivers spread all over the country from Kashmir to Kerala and from Rajasthan to Assam. Lakes in India can be divide as man made as well as natural, further natural lake again divided as freshwater lake and brackish water lakes. Indira Sagar reservoir the big lake is the biggest reservoir in India and The Sambhar Salt Lake is India’s largest inland salt lake. Most of the lakes in India are fresh water lakes, Dal Lake in Kashmir and Sasthamkotta Lake in Kerala are the example of freshwater lakes. These water bodies on the land surface are one of the most beautiful tourist attraction in India. The Cholamu Lake is counted as one of most beautiful lake in the world. The Lonar Crater the world’s oldest and largest crater in India is located in state of Maharashtra’s District Buldhana. There are so may beautiful lakes which are famous for bird watching such as Kolleru Lake, Pulicat Lake and Nal Sarovar Lake. The Kanwar Taal or Kabar Taal Lake at Bihar is Asia largest Fresh Water lake, Oxbow lake an oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water.

Wular Lake: 

Wular Lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes in Asia and the largest in India, is located in Jammu and Kashmir. It is measures 24 kms across and surrounded by towering mountains, The green water of the Wular Lake is an important natural habitat for fish, a rich population of birds and wildlife. Thousands of people living on its shores and elsewhere in the Kashmir valley depend on Wular Lake for fishing to earn their livelihood. The Kashmir valley has few more beautiful lakes like Nagin Lake and most popular Dal Lake.

Wular Lake, Jammu & Kashmir

Loktak Lake: 

Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in northeastern India, located in Manipur. It is also called the only floating lake in the world due to the floating phumdis. This ancient lake plays an important role in the economy of Manipur. It serves as a source of water for hydro power generation, irrigation drinking water supply and wildlife. The Keibul Lamjao National Park, which is the last natural refuge of the endangered sangai now found only in Manipur.

Loktak lake , Manipur 

Damdama Lake: 

Damdama Lake is one of the biggest natural lakes in Haryana. It is a weekend getaway destination around Delhi. Located near the Aravalli Hills and the best place for Boating, Rock Climbing, Bungee jumping and trekking. Sohna Hills a short drive from Damdama Lake, at top the Aravalli hills. There is another famous lake in Haryana called Sohna Lake. Sohna Lake is situated amidst the Aravalli hills in green city Chandigarh. It is one of the most renowned tourist attractions in Gurgaon.

Damdama Lake, Haryana

Dal Lake: 

The Kashmir valley is blessed with exotic natural beauty of landscape and water bodies, out of them one of the best is Dal Lake. Dal Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes of India and is the second largest in the J&K valley. This is one of the most famous lakes in India and an icon of the Kashmir tourism industry. Apart from the natural beauty, Dal Lake attractions are The floating gardens, colorful shikaras and houseboats. The east of Dal Lake was the residence of goddess Maa Durga. The Dal lake is situated in the beautiful city of Srinaga,Some of the most famous mosques are also located in Srinagar city to visit.

Shikara in Dal lake - Jammu & Kashmir

Pichola Lake: 

Lake Pichola is an artificial fresh water lake situated in Udaipur city in Rajasthan. Udaipur is a beautiful city, set amidst the Aravalli Ranges of Rajasthan, India. Known for its picturesque lakes, Udaipur also called ‘the city of lakes. The Lake Pichola, Udai Sagar Lake, Fateh Sagar Lake, Rajsamand Lake and Jaisamand Lake are the five prominent lakes of Udaipur. One of the most famous lake is Pushkar Lake, which is one of the major tourist attractions in the Royal State Rajasthan.

Pichola Lake

Gurudongmar Lake: 

Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world. This fresh-water lake is located northeast of the Kangchenjunga range in Sikkim. Sikkim is considered to have the most beautiful natural lakes in the world some of them are sacred by locals and therefore are places of worship as well as tourism. There are a series of beautiful lakes in Sikkim,the Gurudongmar Lake is the biggest and most beautiful lake among them. Other lakes are Tsomgo Lake also known as the frozen lake of India and Khecheopalri Lake also known as the wishing lake.

Gurudongmar Lake

Chilka Lake: 

Chilka Lake is the brackish water lake and is the largest coastal lake in India. The Chilka Lake in situated in Orissa and is Asia’s largest inland salt-water lagoon. Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. Chilika Lake, popularly known as Chilka, is the queen of natural scenery in the tribal state Orissa, also known as the Swiss-lake in the continent. Attraction of chilika lake are fishing boats, migratory birds and an entertaining baba. The beautiful chilka lake is paradise for the migratory birds.

Chilka lake

Vembanad Lake: 

Vembanad Lake is India’s longest lake and is the largest lakes in the beautiful state land of God, Kerala. The Vembanad Lake is the largest brackish lagoon in Kerala.The houseboats and snake race are the major attraction on Vembanad Lake. Vallam Kali,The Snake Boat Race held every year in august is a major attraction of Vembanad Lake. There are so many lakes in the state one of them is Sasthamkotta lake, Sasthamkotta known as the ‘queen of lakes’ is the largest and biggest freshwater lake in Kerala. The lake also host the longest railway bridge of India, named as Vembanad Rail Bridge.

Vembanad Lake

Bhimtal Lake: 

The pride of Bhimtal is a beautiful lake which offers magnificent vistas for tourists. The lake is larger than Nainital lake,The island at the center of the lake. Uttaranchal is famous for its valley of flowers, green meadows and spectacular lakes. One of the best natural freshwater bodies is Nainital Lake, situated amidst the township surrounded by the mountains. Naini Lake is one of the most famous lakes of Uttarakhand and most visited attraction in India, the Lakes of Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand are world famous for its beauty.

Bhimtal Lake

Upper lake: 

Upper lake is the largest artificial lake in Asia, situated in “City of Lakes” called Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Upper lake locally known as Bada Talab is the oldest man-made lake in India and one of the major sources of drinkable water for the city. City of lakes, Bhopal has 17 lakes another lake is known as chota talab. These lake are an important destination for canoeing and other water activities. The Takia island in Upper Lake and marine drive are the major attraction of lakes. Bhopal is also considered as one of the green city in India.

Upper lake