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Houseboats in Dal Lake
An Indian tourist sits on a plank jetty for small boats known as Shikaras in front of houseboats on the waters of Dal Lake in Srinagar. For nearly a century, hand-carved houseboats bobbing on a placid lake drew millions of visitors including George Harrison, businessman Nelson Rockefeller and actress Joan Fontaine to the stunningly beautiful Himalayan region of Kashmir. But the number of ornate boats is dwindling because of a 21-year-old ban on new construction of cedar wood houseboats and strict rules on renovation. Houseboats were first introduced in Dal and Nageen lakes by the British nearly a century ago.
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webGallery/photo/1343053658_Shikaras 1.jpeg
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Pollution from houseboats
Dead plants hang from wires in front of a line of houseboats on the waters of Dal Lake in Srinagar. Authorities say pollution from houseboats is one of the factors threatening the survival of Dal Lake. Local officials say that during the summer tourist season roughly 100,000 liters of sewage from houseboats spews into the lake, feeding weeds and choking the lake and its aquatic life of oxygen.
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webGallery/photo/1343054210_Shikaras 2.jpeg
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A room in a houseboat
A waiter adjusts the curtains in a room of a houseboat in Srinagar
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webGallery/photo/1343054308_Shikaras 3.jpeg
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Houseboats in Lake
A Kashmiri man rows a small boat known as a Shikara past a houseboat with a damaged roof on the waters of Nageen Lake in Srinagar.
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webGallery/photo/1343054671_Shikaras 4.jpeg
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Buckingham Palace
A Kashmiri man rows a Shikara in front of a houseboat named "Buckingham Palace" on the waters of Dal Lake in Srinagar
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webGallery/photo/1343056606_Shikaras 5.jpeg
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Derbyshire
Indian tourist children stand on the deck of a houseboat named "Derbyshire" in Srinagar
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webGallery/photo/1343056702_Shikaras 6.jpeg
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Enjoyment
Indian tourists enjoy an evening on the deck of a houseboat in Srinagar
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webGallery/photo/1343056806_Shikaras 7.jpeg
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Water skiing
An Indian tourist enjoys water skiing on the waters of Dal Lake in Srinagar
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webGallery/photo/1343056973_Water skiing.jpeg
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Currency garland
A Kashmiri woman walks under a garland made of Indian currency notes on display at a market in Srinagar on September 3. The garland is valued at 2000 Indian rupees ($36). The garlands which range from 500-5000 Indian rupees ($9-$90) are traditionally given as presents to bridegrooms during their weddings in the Himalayan region.
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webGallery/photo/1346677122_Currency mala.jpg
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