Vacationin Kashmir

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Practical

Etiquette

Kashmir is hospitable and also tired of being treated as a set. The manners are not complicated. They are specific.

Detail of the wooden front of Khanqah-e-Moula in Srinagar

Dress and shrines

Cover shoulders and knees at mosques and shrines. Take shoes off where everyone else has. Women should carry a scarf. Follow the women already inside if you are unsure which room is for visitors. Do not walk through a prayer to improve a photo.

Photographs and homes

Ask before you photograph a person, especially women, pony-men, and anyone working. A kangri and a pheran are not a costume. If someone says no, that is the end of it. Do not fly a drone over a shrine, a military area, or a crowd. When in doubt, do not fly it.

Food and money

Wazwan is eaten with the right hand, shared, and not rushed for content. Bargaining in a craft shop is normal. Haggling a baker out of the price of a girda is not. A tip for a pony or a boat is welcome when the price was agreed first. It is not a substitute for that agreement.

Questions people actually ask

Is alcohol part of local hospitality?

No. Do not bring it to a home or a shrine meal. A hotel that serves it is a hotel policy, not a local custom you should push.

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