I thought I would give a brief on what you should know if you are travelling around Srinagar City.
Food - Most of the big restaurants are quite expensive. Try road side ones. The food will be clean and hygenic here.Donot forget to try Kashmiri Kawa ( A spicy black tea) wherever you go.
The Kashmiri Waazwan is a must try for meat lovers. The multiple course menu starts with Mith maans followed by kebabs,goshtaba,rista,korma and tabak mach. Try Rista & Goshtaba(If you are a yakhni food lover). Rista is specially very good with rice.
Places to try authentic wazwaan is Mughal Darbar and Adhoo's near Lal Chowk.Both can be quite expensive but are the best ones around in terms of brand.
We tried at Broadview Hotel also at secretariat road. Trust me its the best taste in whole Srinagar. The rista was succulent here and tabak mach(crispy fired lamb chops) was well done.The price is reasonable here. Ensure you visit this place if you are a food lover.Dont forget to try Firnee(dessert) after your meal.
If you want to double check what the meat is, ask whether its chota ghost(Small = Lamb/Goat) or bada gosht(Big = Cow).
Dry Fruits -You can buy dry fruits in Kashmir. The badam (almonds) are around 400-500/- kg. But the kashmiri almonds are not very good. Generally they are small and rak and wet inside which makes thm vulnerable to spoilage. You should buy pakistani almonds which are big in size and crunchy.
Original Kesar is available while going to Pahalgam on the way. Donot pay more than 350/- per gm for original.You may be cheated on the originality as inside Srinagar they add other dried weeds in kesar and sell it for fortune. Take help from a local.
Akhrot(Walnuts) are around 400/- per kg. The open ones(without shell,also called giri) is around 700/-. The shop on the way to Pahalgam can give you a good bargain on original stuff.They are villagers who have have their own produce and sell in these roadside shops at Pampore village on way to Pahalgam.
Shopping
We shopped around Lal Chowk. You can also go near Jehangir Chowk. Take a local help to go around the daily market. There is a huge weekend market in Lal chowk where you get cheap stuff.
We bought Kashmiri handicrafts from a shop near Hazratbal.There are many shops in front of Hazratbal and all of them can give you a very cheap deal depending on how you bargain. We even managed 50% on quoted price in some shops. The crafts are very beautiful to be honest.
Buy shawls from Lal Chowk. Donot buy from Nishaat Bagh area as they can charge heavily.The small shopping lane in Lal Chowk has around 5-6 Shawl and handicrafts shop. Ask for a straight discount if you like and are going to buy. We managed 35-40% on our purchases of shawl. Beyond it they were very clear that they cannot afford.
Donot shop or spend near DAL/Nishaat Bagh and other tourist spot areas. They are unnecessarily expensive.
Pashmina Shawls
Original Pashmina shawls are actually beyond 20K. The ones which are sold for less are called "Semi Pashmina". The concept is that a percentage of Pashmina is mixed with wool to make it semi pashmina and sell it for ranges between 2K till 6K depending on the kashmiri threadwork on it.
But trust me, one of the shopkeeper genuinely told me that there is not a single bit of pashmina in "Semi Pashmina". Why would somebody waste pashmina wool to make it Semi.We infact saw a real Pashmina for 1.5 lakhs. It was really really elegant and gorgeous.
But the normal ones with Kashmiri design. They start with 1900/-(The cheapest we got) till 3000/- depending on the design work with threads on the shawl.Make sure the back of the shawl has thread endings to ensure its not printed but woven.
Acknowledgements - We are very greatful to our Uncle & Aunty who made this trip possible for us and for being with us for 11 days. The support and fun they provided is unmatched.
Acknowledge all people of Kashmir who amidst of endless decades of political and communal turmoil havent forgotten yet to smile at the tourists and make them feel good in Kashmir.
Many Thanks to Bilal Ahmed who took us around everywhere for 11 days in Kashmir. A very sweet local guy who is very clean at heart. He knows a lots of things about tourism and is well mannered. He arranged everything best possible for us be it be transport,food,places to visit and shopping. I infact owe this informational blog to him.
He is very reasonable in his charges and hence saved us from being take for a ride by bigger fishes in the pond.If you ever need any help in Kashmir be it be tour or anything else, you can contact him.
Disclaimers - All my views mentioned in the blog is purely personal. All related views on Kashmir and its people are very much personal.
All the prices mentioned are as on April last week 2011. There may be upward revisions as we grow over the years.
Food - Most of the big restaurants are quite expensive. Try road side ones. The food will be clean and hygenic here.Donot forget to try Kashmiri Kawa ( A spicy black tea) wherever you go.
The Kashmiri Waazwan is a must try for meat lovers. The multiple course menu starts with Mith maans followed by kebabs,goshtaba,rista,korma and tabak mach. Try Rista & Goshtaba(If you are a yakhni food lover). Rista is specially very good with rice.
Places to try authentic wazwaan is Mughal Darbar and Adhoo's near Lal Chowk.Both can be quite expensive but are the best ones around in terms of brand.
We tried at Broadview Hotel also at secretariat road. Trust me its the best taste in whole Srinagar. The rista was succulent here and tabak mach(crispy fired lamb chops) was well done.The price is reasonable here. Ensure you visit this place if you are a food lover.Dont forget to try Firnee(dessert) after your meal.
If you want to double check what the meat is, ask whether its chota ghost(Small = Lamb/Goat) or bada gosht(Big = Cow).
 |
| Seekh Kebabs |
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| Tabak Mach |
Dry Fruits -You can buy dry fruits in Kashmir. The badam (almonds) are around 400-500/- kg. But the kashmiri almonds are not very good. Generally they are small and rak and wet inside which makes thm vulnerable to spoilage. You should buy pakistani almonds which are big in size and crunchy.
Original Kesar is available while going to Pahalgam on the way. Donot pay more than 350/- per gm for original.You may be cheated on the originality as inside Srinagar they add other dried weeds in kesar and sell it for fortune. Take help from a local.
Akhrot(Walnuts) are around 400/- per kg. The open ones(without shell,also called giri) is around 700/-. The shop on the way to Pahalgam can give you a good bargain on original stuff.They are villagers who have have their own produce and sell in these roadside shops at Pampore village on way to Pahalgam.
Shopping
We shopped around Lal Chowk. You can also go near Jehangir Chowk. Take a local help to go around the daily market. There is a huge weekend market in Lal chowk where you get cheap stuff.
We bought Kashmiri handicrafts from a shop near Hazratbal.There are many shops in front of Hazratbal and all of them can give you a very cheap deal depending on how you bargain. We even managed 50% on quoted price in some shops. The crafts are very beautiful to be honest.
Buy shawls from Lal Chowk. Donot buy from Nishaat Bagh area as they can charge heavily.The small shopping lane in Lal Chowk has around 5-6 Shawl and handicrafts shop. Ask for a straight discount if you like and are going to buy. We managed 35-40% on our purchases of shawl. Beyond it they were very clear that they cannot afford.
Donot shop or spend near DAL/Nishaat Bagh and other tourist spot areas. They are unnecessarily expensive.
Pashmina Shawls
Original Pashmina shawls are actually beyond 20K. The ones which are sold for less are called "Semi Pashmina". The concept is that a percentage of Pashmina is mixed with wool to make it semi pashmina and sell it for ranges between 2K till 6K depending on the kashmiri threadwork on it.
But trust me, one of the shopkeeper genuinely told me that there is not a single bit of pashmina in "Semi Pashmina". Why would somebody waste pashmina wool to make it Semi.We infact saw a real Pashmina for 1.5 lakhs. It was really really elegant and gorgeous.
But the normal ones with Kashmiri design. They start with 1900/-(The cheapest we got) till 3000/- depending on the design work with threads on the shawl.Make sure the back of the shawl has thread endings to ensure its not printed but woven.
Acknowledgements - We are very greatful to our Uncle & Aunty who made this trip possible for us and for being with us for 11 days. The support and fun they provided is unmatched.
Acknowledge all people of Kashmir who amidst of endless decades of political and communal turmoil havent forgotten yet to smile at the tourists and make them feel good in Kashmir.
Many Thanks to Bilal Ahmed who took us around everywhere for 11 days in Kashmir. A very sweet local guy who is very clean at heart. He knows a lots of things about tourism and is well mannered. He arranged everything best possible for us be it be transport,food,places to visit and shopping. I infact owe this informational blog to him.
He is very reasonable in his charges and hence saved us from being take for a ride by bigger fishes in the pond.If you ever need any help in Kashmir be it be tour or anything else, you can contact him.
Disclaimers - All my views mentioned in the blog is purely personal. All related views on Kashmir and its people are very much personal.
All the prices mentioned are as on April last week 2011. There may be upward revisions as we grow over the years.
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