Srinagar Travel Guide — History & Tourist Information

Srinagar's roots as a settlement in the Kashmir valley stretch back over two thousand years, with tradition crediting its founding to the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE and later expansion under 6th-century king Pravarasena II. Over the centuries it passed through Hindu, Buddhist and, from the 14th century, Muslim Sultanate rule, developing a distinct Kashmiri culture that blended all three influences.

Kashmir came under Mughal control in 1586 when Emperor Akbar annexed the valley, and it was his successors — particularly Jahangir, who reportedly called Kashmir "a paradise on earth" — who transformed Srinagar with the famous terraced Mughal gardens (Shalimar Bagh, Nishat Bagh) built along Dal Lake in the early 1600s as royal summer retreats.

Srinagar's iconic houseboats have a more recent, distinctly colonial origin: under 19th-century Dogra rule, the British were barred from owning land in the princely state, so British residents began building elaborate houseboats on Dal and Nagin lakes instead — a workaround that became one of Srinagar's defining images. Since 1948, following Partition, Jammu & Kashmir's status has been the subject of ongoing political dispute, and Srinagar today serves as the region's summer capital.