Kashmir trekking Reviews

We came to enjoy and explore Kashmir and the mountains – we achieved all of our goals. You showed us a fantastic insight into Srinagar, the mountains and the people who live there.

The company was wonderful, the food fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of our trip.

All four of us were challenged to a healthy level and look forward to returning in September 2012. David

Thankyou all for making our 12 days in Kashmir so memorable. After a few pleasant days lazing in the sun Ashraf and Ayub took us up into the mountains on a seven day trek, the highlight of which was camping below the magnificent Mount Honmuk. The food here on the houseboat was delicious and that on the trek much better that you have a right to expect on a camping trip. I would recommend it to anyone with a modicum of fitness and a few days acclimatization.

Thanks for taking such good care of us and our belongings whilst we were away. The houseboat was a welcome relief after all the hassles at the airport and tourist centre on our first day – and has been a very pleasant place to stay since. What can I say about the trekking – Ashraf was brilliant, so was the scenery – shame about the pony men!

Thanks again for a great stay!

We stayed on the houseboat at the same time as Steve and Sandra. The whole family welcomed us and were always very helpful. The food?… – delicious!!!

After arriving in Delhi Srinagar made for a brilliant bit of R+R before we went trekking.

The 7 days spent in the hills were amazing – great scenery and good food + company. Even the problems with altitude sickness and the pony men were quickly forgotten, thanks mainly to Ashraf, who was a great guide throughout.

Getting back to the comfort of the houseboat after a week slogging in the mountains was great. You are treated as part of the family here. We don’ want to leave and have to go back to the hassles of Delhi.

We had a wonderful time on the Lakes Trek with the brothers Riyaz and Safeen Paktoon. My very first impression upon meeting Riyaz was that he is straightforward and professional, not pushy at all, likeable and genuinely passionate about trekking. This proved to be absolutely correct for both him and his family as we came to know them better.

The trek was well organised; we felt well looked after; the food was abundant and of excellent quality (Safeen is a good chef as well as a photographer), The two pony men were also delightful people, funny and helpful, and Riyaz showed a great working relationship with them evidently based on mutual respect and experience.

The team worked hard setting up the camp etc. but they all clearly love walking in the mountains and we felt a great rapport with them.

We were given plenty of space to walk quietly alone with Riyaz way ahead of us and Safeen following behind us.

Riyaz proved capable to deal with the military when they without warning closed off a section of valley that we needed to pass; he walked about 20miles extra to meet with their commander to obtain permission specially for us; when we saw him later his legs were tired but he was full of excitement at the discovery of what sounded like a hidden civilisation isolated lower down the valley. This is an exciting area to explore.

The Lakes Trek is strongly reminiscent of the Austrian Tirolean alps. Abundance of wild flowers. Glacial lakes. High mountain passes taking you near the glaciers. Beautiful scenery. Good camping locations. Highly recommended.

I wholeheartedly recommend trekking with Riyaz and Safeen.

What a welcome relief after the hassles of Delhi, we were very fortunate to discover such hospitable honest and friendly people to introduce us to Kashmir.

We are both sad at the thought of having to leave this beautiful place, after our brief but very relaxing, enjoyable stay. Good fortunat ewas with us in many ways, first, because we met this good family right away, who made us feel right at home, and also because we had Ashraf to guide us to the beautiful sights. And the weather was good! No doubt we will return here on our next visit (hopefully soon!). Thank you.

I stayed at the ‘House Boat King Suleman’ for nine nights. I had an extremely pleasant time, enjoying all the comforts of home here as well as a very warm welcome. The food here is very good and the level of hospitality in general high and, above all, genuine.

This is the ideal place if you prefer to stay away from the hassle and touristic atmosphere of Dal Lake (which is only a few minutes autorichshaw ride away).

Similarly, if your focus is trekking as opposed to sight seeing, this would also be an ideal place to orientate yourself.

In short, I passed an extremely pleasant time here and would highly recommend this House Boat to anyone looking for a peaceful and comfortable stay here in Srinagar.

We arrived at Srinagar, coach weary and bum sore, and were greeted by a mob of houseboat touts pressing their services upon us. Luckily we were waving the BIT book around in the air so ended up here by a process of recognition. Here has been peaceful and reasonably priced – having heard rumours of rip offs on the Dal lake its nice to know that we’ve found ourselves with an honest trader in Habiboll. Everyone has been very kind and helpful – organizing us for trekking, advising us as to the honest of the various travelling salesmen who frequent the Jhelum and taking us round shops and even the cinema, all o f which has gone to make our stay in Srinagar very pleasant. Love…

P.S Food has been lovely – and is reasonably priced. P.P.S The trek was for 5 days and was with Habibullah’s Father, Juma, who acted as guide and cook (good solid and plain). Moh’d Asharfa (son) came too and was a good companion. We had 2 ponies and went from here to Pahalgam, Aru, Lidderwat and up to Kolahoi. The cost was RS1300/- and this was fully inclusive. Also we left all our valuables with Habibullah and there was absolutely ‘no problem’.

Juma has cooked for us during the past eight weeks first in houseboat then he went pahalgam with us,he is a very hardworking boy and know how to do things well,we have been well pleased and take pleasure by recommending him. Blanche m. hong