Cover your head if asked, take shoes off where the shoes are already off, and do not walk in front of people who are praying in order to centre a photograph. Women travellers are welcome in the visiting areas; follow the local women’s lead on the inner rooms rather than a stranger’s insistence.
Hazratbal’s white dome is the easy visit: a wide courtyard and the lake. The old-city khanqah is the one that asks you to be in a dense neighbourhood. Do them on different days if you can.
When
Outside congregational prayer. Evenings before dusk are often calm at Hazratbal. Avoid turning a festival day into a casual drop-in; the crowd is there for a reason that is not you.
Where
Hazratbal on the north shore of Dal. Khanqah-e-Moula in the old city. There are many smaller shrines. One or two, visited properly, is the right number.
Doing it well
- Read the etiquette page before you go. Etiquette.
- Give a donation only if you want to, into an obvious box, not to a person who attaches themselves in the lane.
Skip these versions
- A drone, a selfie stick, or a loud explanation in the courtyard.
- Assuming every green-domed building is a ticketed monument.