Stand Up Paddle Boarding in India: A Unique Adventure on Dal Lake, Kashmir
The boatmen of the Dal Lake are born paddlers, they have been paddling for centuries, generation after generation. They remind us how new we are. I salute their spirit” – Kumaran Mahalingam.
Specifications of Dal Lake for Stand Up Paddle Boarding
Max. length - 7.44 km (4.62 mi)
Max. depth - 6 m (20 ft)
Max. width - 3.5 km (2.2 mi)Shore length15.5 km (9.6 mi)
Surface area - 18–22 sq kms (6.9–8.5 sq mi) Surface elevation - 1,583 m (5,194 ft)
Average depth - 4 to 7 feet
Cost of Stand up Paddle board Trip to Dal Lake from Delhi
Overall trip cost for this three day tour was approximately 225 – 250 USD / 15000 – 16000 INR which included round flight trip from Delhi to Srinagar, Two nights stay, Food, Tips and Car rentals.
Arriving There
Nearest Airport: Sheikh ul Alam Airport Srinagar, J&K
Nearest Railway Station: Srinagar J&K
http://wikitravel.org/en/Srinagar
Reading about the National level Kayak competition recently held at Srinagar lead to my fifth SUP tour of this year. With my fellow geologists and ever adventurous Soumen Sarkar and Manoj Soni who will go on a trip with me at the drop of a hat, we were all set to go. To our luck, winter started in Jammu and Kashmir with a fresh spell of snowfall two days ahead of our trip.
Equipment and Additional Items
As water sports have been widely promoted in that region, I didn’t have to worry about permits for paddle boarding in Dal lake. The below was my packing list.
Naish – Inflatable – 10’ x 33” paddle board with SUP travel backpack, collapsible paddle Ankle Leash.
Sports HD wifi enabled 1080P action camera kit and monopod.
40L Tribord Waterproof bag.
Pedometer.
Samsung Note 3 smartphone with GPS tracking software and lot of waterproofing!
Canon 60D camera with 18-55 mm USM; 10-18 mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM; 75-300 mm f/4-5.6 Telephoto lens; 8 GB & 32 GB memory cards in Lowpro camera bag.
Magnetic compass.
Binocular Fix 6×25.
Basic First aid travel kit with medicine for water borne infections.
UV protection sun glass.
UV protection sun cap.
Board shorts.
Thermal wear and some serious layers of clothing.
Transportation of Stand Up Paddle Board in Aircraft
Carrying the inflatable SUP on a plane is something I’m familiar with by now. To ensure the board travels safe, I always wrap the board with bubble wrap and provide proper padding. I will ask the ground staff to stick the “handle with care – Fragile” stickers on it (the luggage handlers don’t really care) the stickers only work more like Feng Shui if you know what I mean.
According to the weather forecast, our trip was expected to be dry, with chilly days and nighttime temperatures reaching zero degrees Celsius.
Day 1 – Srinagar & Gulmarg – no SUP, only tourism
We caught the midday flight from Delhi and arrived at Srinagar International Airport by 3 pm, then we rented a prepaid taxi to the Gulmarg gondola for 1800 INR.
The city was clean and bright. At around 03:15 pm, we embarked on our road trip to Gulmarg Gondola through Tangmarg. Important buildings were still fortified with sandbags, and armed guards seemed to echo the memories of their past, making it chilling to imagine what this beautiful city has endured. However, life has returned to normal for the residents here for quite some time now. People are going about their daily routines, children are attending school, and in their faces, I saw a promise of peace and hope for a beautiful future.
We arrived at Gondola at 5:30 pm. The long journey and the cold had taken their toll on our sedentary bodies, so we spent the night there.
Day 2 – First Stand Up Paddle boarding in Dal Lake
Gulmarg read “meadow of flowers”, 56 kms from Srinagar this popular skiing spot was our first stop in our trip. A beautiful town nestled in the valley of the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas at 900 ft above msl. With snow clad mountains in the backdrop, twined with lakes and rivulets and landscaped with pine and fir trees, the view was breathtaking. After spending half a day here, we took the cable car from Gondala with the kind assistance of the government travel guide Mr. Azad. Gulmarg Gondala is the world’s second highest operating cable car, transporting about 600 people an hour between the mountains, the journey was a page from the fantasy books. Middle earth rediscovered. We reached Dal lake at around 1700 hrs.
Dal Lake
The urban lake, the second largest in the state, is integral to tourism and recreation in Kashmir and is named the “Jewel in the crown of Kashmir” or “Srinagar’s Jewel” for good reasons. The lake is also an important source for commercial operation in fishing and water plant harvesting. The lake is noted in particular for its Nelumbo nucifera (lotus flowers) which bloom in July and August. Houseboats and the Dal Lake are widely associated with Srinagar and are nicknamed “floating palaces”, built according to British customs. The houseboats are generally made from local cedar-wood are graded in a similar fashion to hotels according to level of comfort. Each houseboat has an exclusive shikara for ferrying guests to the shore. A shikara is small paddled taxi boat with a canopy. It is the cultural symbol of Kashmir and is used not only for ferrying visitors but is also used for the vending of fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Once we settled in our boat house, I unpacked, inflated the board and fixed the fins, paddle and the Sports HD camera. After enquiring around regarding the depth, local shikaras intervention, how safe is it to paddle around, I found out that to my relief, the locals have no issues with outsiders paddling in the lake! a stark contrast to the ‘locals only’ surf culture of some cities, paddle boarding is more inclusive i guess. No offence surfers!
After all the go’s I leashed up and paddled on. The water was moderately cold, super glassy and clear. Winter just commenced, so water was not too cold as I expected. For safety please use a life jacket or PFD. In waters this cold you may run into hypothermia if not drowning. As I lost my life jacket during travel, I made sure I was always paddling near shikaras.
The water was so clear that I could see the green weeds way below the surface. Lots of fish ensured the water was not polluted. Soumen, was capturing the moments from the comfort of our boat house. The evening mist made it harder for me to see my starting point after a few hundred meters. I paddled north where the water fountains spraying water in harmony.
I recorded my paddling in a GPS tracking software on my smartphone. After 25 mins, due to poor visibility, I turned back to my boat house where my friends were relieved seeing me return unfrozen. At the end of my first paddle session I had tracked a total of 2.5 kms. This gave me confidence for my day long sup session, the next morning. The day ended beautifully with a blissful Kashimiri dinner, if not the paddling the aromatic sumptuous food definitely knocked me out.
Observations
Water is clear, glassy making perfect water for SUP beginners and not so deep with average depth of 5 feet.
Part of lake with lot of floating weeds and lotus will be a minor challenge for paddling.
Good Local paddlers (shikaras) support.
Lot of fauna population ( fishes, water birds) confirms water is not polluted to great extent.
Day 3 – “LOCALS TOO”
Unable to conceal my excitement for the following day, I tossed and turned in my sleep and like a rooster I woke up at 4 am. It was a cold morning and the air was thin. Without disturbing my friends, I got out of the room with my board and the gear and into the lake.
It was still an eerie darkness has taken over the lake when I was asleep, the hustle of the day and voices of the fruit vendors now replaced with deathly silence. The colors had vanished, and now what remained was an expanse of grays and blacks. I could barely see the street lights. I decided to wait for the light and do some yoga for warm up. It was 4:45, the misty lake appeared as the darkness vaporized, I clicked pictures of the lake’s resident birds and shikaras. The beat me to it. Early morning is best time for photographing nature’s aerial creatures as one can see them actively feeding, singing, sunning. At 7 am, Soumen and Manoj joined me in taking pictures. Around 7.15 am, I whistled to a shikara boatmen nearby. He approached us happily and I requested him to accompany me along while I paddled. I launched my SUP and started paddling towards south of the lake, to a very important place, here is where you find tea, Welcome to the floating tea shop of pandora, sorry the Dal lake!
Manoj and Soumen settled in shikara and shikara followed me. Both of my friends started capturing my paddling session. After 400 m of paddling we reached tea shop, we had quick tea break, I grabbed biscuit packet, Juice pack. Then our uninterrupted two hours of paddling session continued. After 15mins of paddling, we reached the center of the dal lake, waters become busy with dozens of shikaras, floating markets. My paddle board was an eye catch for local and tourist population. Lot of people clicked pics in their mobile camera. After one hour of paddling, we reached north west of dal lake, where we narrowed to 4-10 ft width free water route due to overgrowth of weeds and lotus plant cover (referred as Narrow waterway in below map).
It was challenge for me to paddle initially and I am little worried about my board whether any sharp garbage remains will puncture my ISUP or My fin may caught in weeds or my leash may tangled with weeds. To avoid getting punctured, tangled or caught in this clotted waterway I never reverse paddled, I kept paddling forward slowly and following the trail of my shikara. After 15 mins of paddling, we reached boat house area around 8.50 hrs, that time Dal lake waters become busy with shikaras.
I paddled towards the starting point with contentment and wonderful reminiscence. Boat house owner, his kids and few other local old shikara men delighted to see my return to the starting point. Each one of them requested to do stand up paddling with my board. I obliged their request. Each one of them paddled for a while. To by my surprise shikara men stood on board easily like Pro paddlers. Yes they proved me again they are my super seniors in paddling. I felt their happiness after their SUP experience.
“It may be five year kid or older, Stand up paddling is great sport for all and activity which makes one to bond closely with mother nature without hurting her. End of my second day SUPing, I recommend Dal lake is an ideal location for Stand up paddling”
I thank the my friends soumen and manoj soni, Bay of life Surf and SUP school, chennai who supported this Stand up Paddleboard tour.
Experience by
Kumaran Mahalingam
PaddleforFuture Initiative
