Kashmir is land of many splendors and surprises but one of the most delightful and fruitful of experiences here is to stay on a houseboat. Many tourists visiting the valley succumb to the temptation of these floating palaces. On the placid, jade-hued waters and the Dal Lake, fringed with willows and chinar trees, and moored amidst lotus fields and floating gardens against the backdrop of magnificent mountains, houseboats offer a lifestyle of luxury and elegance. The Kashmir Houseboats are unique in the world due to its design, beautiful interiors, location and hospitallity of the host. Kashmiri Houseboats give you the comforts of home with luxury of 5 five star.

Houseboats in Kashmir normally range from 24 to 38 meters in length and 3 to 6 meters in width. They normally feature a living room, a dining room, 2 to 3 bedrooms with attached baths and provision for both hot and cold running water. These boats are classed into various categories: the Deluxe, A, B, C and D, and rated accordingly. The construction of a houseboat entails innovative, imaginative as well as luxurious decor to make the stay of guest's as comfortable as possible.

Built of cedar-wood, houseboats exude a pleasant aroma. The terrace is one of its best features and serves as a sun-deck, a place for morning work-outs if one is given to that practice, and for evening cocktails. Shaded by willows, yet offering an unhindered view of the surroundings, ne can spend whole evening watching the sun set behind the magnificent circle of mountains and the lake waters shimmering under the golden rays.

Generally individual houseboats have their fixed anchorages around the lake's circumference beaded along terrace of flowers. The venue is fixed and at times four-five houseboats are moored together with inter-connecting bridges to enable people to move from one boat to the other.

The standard houseboat are well-appointed and owners take pride in their decor. A verandah or balcony on one of these fancily named houseboats is an ideal place to relax. The drawing-room of the houseboat opulent yet tastefully decorated, seems like a leaf out of 'Better Homes and Gardens'. The Kashmir carpets cover the floor, the exquisite woodwork paneling on the wall and the rich upholstery all make it seem like a room in a royal palace. Guests more academically inclined would be delighted to find well-kept library furnished with the latest books and magazines. Other could keep themselves entertained with the television or video. The dining-room and adjoining pantry are equipped with refrigerator and all other facilities to ensure your gastronomic satisfaction. Bedrooms are generally in a row along the passage.

The kitchen-boat is attached to the main houseboat and this is where the boat-keeper resides with his family. He is ever-obliging host, and hospitality and warmth is his hallmark.

A day on the houseboat commences on a very pleasant note. You are woken at dawn to the lyrical call of the early birds: the bulbul, and the nightingale, kingfishers dart about as the first rays of sun set aglow the pink-white and blue-tinged lotus flowers. Gentle water breeze sends soft ripples over the water-surface and mountains emerge from the morning mist, fresh and majestic. The Dal, lightens slowly in the early sunshine, and soon is witness to dappled reflections of gaily decorated houseboats, and the flowers above the shore-line gardens in their entire splendor.

 Foreign tourist first choice are Nagin Lake houseboats as atmosphere is quite and peaceful as compared to Dal Lake Houseboats.