Shikara making in Kashmir is a family craft carried on inside Dal Lake: deodar planks, nails fixed red hot, a canopy on four pillars. How a shikara is built, who builds it, and how to see the craft respectfully.
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Quick Answer: Shikara making in Kashmir is a hand craft passed down in boat-building families who work inside Dal Lake. Builders use deodar, a cedar that does not rot in water, fix hidden nails while red hot, and seal the seams with a paste of poplar seed. One shikara takes roughly 10 to 20 days to build.
Last updated: 6 November 2026. By Kashmir Pulse Editorial. Kashmir Pulse is Via Kashmir's editorial channel, written by locals.
Every visitor to Srinagar rides a shikara, but very few ask who made it. Shikara making in Kashmir happens out of sight, in workshops on the inner channels of Dal Lake, where the sound of an adze on deodar carries across the water in the morning. For the families who do it, a boat is not a souvenir of Kashmir, it is how the lake has always moved: people, vegetables, flowers, fish and weed for the fields.
What is a shikara, and what is it used for?
A shikara is the long, flat-bottomed wooden boat of Kashmir's lakes. The version tourists know has a canopy on four pillars, cushioned seats and backrests in the middle, and storage space hidden under the seating. A usual shikara seats about six people. On Dal, the same basic boat, without the canopy and cushions, carries vegetables to the floating market at dawn, ferries families between the islands, and is used for fishing and for cutting lake weed.
How does shikara making in Kashmir work, step by step?
The best published account of the process, a 2011 field study by the craft archive Gaatha, describes a method that builders still recognise today. In simple steps:
- Choose the wood. Deodar, the Himalayan cedar, is used because it does not decompose in water. Builders prefer hand-hewn planks, which hold up better than sawn timber.
- Cut the planks. Logs are cut into long planks, typically 25 to 41 feet, and divided into three sections: a rear end, a front end and a central body of eight planks.
- Raise the sides. Two planks on each side give the hull a height of about one and a half feet.
- Fix the frame. Five cross-beams, called karis, hold the hull in shape from end to end.
- Nail it the old way. Long, rust-proof nails and iron clamps are driven in diagonally, never at right angles, and only while red hot. They are set so they stay hidden.
- Seal the seams. Gaps are packed with a paste made with poplar seed fluff so the hull stays watertight.
- Finish and furnish. The boat is painted in bright colours, the canopy is raised on four pillars, and the cushions, backrests and sometimes walnut-wood details go in.
Estimates of the time it takes vary: the Gaatha study says 10 to 12 days, while builders interviewed by the Voice of Kashmir in 2023 and Lake City Times in 2024 put it at 15 to 20 days. One builder told the Voice of Kashmir that around 35 feet of timber goes into a single boat.
Related reading: Kashmiri Samovar: The Copper Tea Urn at the Heart of Winter
Who builds shikaras today?
Shikara building is a family trade. In a 2024 Lake City Times interview, Ghulam Nabi Kinzou, who has worked in the craft for 25 to 30 years after his father, said his workshop makes 10 to 15 types of shikara. A third-generation builder from Baba Mohalla on Dal Lake told the Voice of Kashmir in 2023 that he had been making shikaras for 35 years. Both described the same pressures: good deodar is hard to get and expensive, and every plank has to be moved by water into the interior of the lake where they work.
The wider picture is sobering. The same 2024 report noted that Srinagar's houseboats have fallen from about 2,000 to around 750, with a shortage of master craftsmen among the reasons. Shikaras are still being built because the lake still needs them, but the hands that know the red-hot nail method are fewer every decade.
Shikara vs houseboat: how are they different?
| Shikara | Houseboat | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Small boat that moves | Moored floating home |
| Wood | Deodar | Deodar hull, often walnut or cedar carving inside |
| Time to build | About 10 to 20 days | Far longer; very few new ones are built today |
| Who uses it | Boatmen, vendors, farmers, visitors | Families who own them and their guests |
| How to experience it | A ride of an hour or a full morning | A night or more on Dal or Nigeen |
Most travellers do both: a night on one of the houseboats on Dal and Nigeen and an early shikara ride from its deck. Our Dal Lake shikara ride guide covers routes and timings.
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Can you see shikara making in Srinagar?
Sometimes, if you go slowly and ask. Workshops are family spaces, not showrooms, so there are no tours or tickets. The best chance is a morning shikara ride through the inner lake, past the Mir Bahri and Baba Mohalla side of Dal, with a boatman who knows the builders. If you see a hull upturned on a bank, ask your boatman to stop and greet the family first. Buying tea or simply showing real interest goes further than a camera.
Here is the line we always give visitors: a Kashmiri shikara is a boat that is still built the way it was a hundred years ago, by people who still need it every day. Treat the ride that way and the lake opens up differently.
Why a shikara ride is better in late autumn
November is a good month to look at the boats themselves. The lake is quiet, the light is low and clear, and with fewer visitors the boatmen have time to talk. Mornings are cold, so ask for a blanket and a kangri on board. Via Kashmir plans Srinagar stays with verified hotels, lake nights on houseboats on Dal and Nigeen, local cabs to the ghats, and complete Kashmir packages. Tell us your dates and we will set up a fair-priced morning ride with a boatman who knows the inner lake.
Frequently asked questions
What wood is used to make a shikara?
Shikaras are made from deodar, the Himalayan cedar, because it does not rot in water. Builders prefer hand-hewn deodar planks, which warp less than sawn timber.
How long does it take to build a shikara?
Published accounts range from 10 to 12 days to about 20 days, depending on the builder and the boat. The canopy, cushions and painting are added at the end.
How many people can sit in a shikara?
A usual tourist shikara seats about six people on cushioned seats under a canopy. Smaller working shikaras carry the boatman and goods.
Where are shikaras made in Srinagar?
Most are built by family workshops inside Dal Lake, in localities such as Baba Mohalla. There are no formal tours, but a boatman who knows the builders can sometimes take you past a workshop.
Is shikara making a dying craft?
It is under pressure rather than dying. Shikaras are still needed and still built, but builders report expensive and scarce deodar, and the wider lake boat trade has lost many master craftsmen as houseboat numbers have fallen.
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