7 Tourist scams in Kashmir – know before you go!

After our 9 days trip to Kashmir, I can confidently say that Kashmir is one of the most beautiful places on earth. In fact, if I had to choose the top 3 most beautiful places that I have visited so far in India, I will choose Kashmir, along with Andaman Islands and Meghalaya – the abode of clouds. Anyways, as beautiful and wonderful the landscapes of Kashmir are, equally warm and welcoming are its people. But, at the same time, on my own week long trip to Kashmir, I found Kashmir to be highly commercialised tourist destination. In fact, I will call it the most commercialised tourist destination I have visited in India. There is a twist in almost everything here. From booking cabs to taking pony rides to taking the shikara ride on Dal Lake. So, if you are not aware and knowledgeable, you are going to part with extra money at each step of your Kashmir trip.

So, without further delay, let me narrate here for you the major tourist scams that happen in Kashmir. For me, anything that makes you pay more than needed or cheats you directly or indirectly us a scam. With that, let’s get started.

Read : Asia’s largest Tulip Gardens in Srinagar, Kashmir

#1 Tourist scam in Kashmir – It is a must to take a pony at certain spots

Whether you visit the Valleys of Pahalgam, the Gondola in Gulmarg or the Doodhpathri Valley. You will find pony and horse owners everywhere. They even run behind the taxis and cabs. And stop them. Not allowing them to go beyond a point. Even if a proper road is present. Needless to say, the taxi and cab drivers are too afraid to put a fight. After you get down the vehicle, you will be surrounded by the horse and pony owners. And they will keep pestering and convincing you to take a ride. Also, they will always tell you an initial rate for the pony ride which is higher than expected. So, you need to bargain hard in case you are really considering to take one. This is one of the most obvious tourist scams in Kashmir.

Sometimes, they even go to the extent of digging up the pathway. And making it muddy. Or, any other means to make it appear impossible to trek or walk on. So that the tourists are convinced to take a horse ride.

In Gulmarg, when you arrive at the gondola taxi stand, again you will be surrounded by pony and horse owners. They will ask to give you a ride till the Gondola Station. Which is hardly 1 km from the Gulmarg Gondola taxi stand. And for this ride they will be asking for charges as much as Rs 1000/- per pony or horse. If you don’t know that you can easily walk to the Gondola station in around 15 minutes, you will end up paying them unnecessarily.

#2 Tourist scam in Kashmir – Exorbitant prices at Dal Lake Shikara ride

After a day long site seeing in Kashmir, visiting multiple Mughal gardens of Srinagar and having lunch, we decided to take a Shikara ride on Dal Lake. It is something without which perhaps you cannot consider your Kashmir Trip to be complete. It is the one and only kind of experience available in India. But, you must be aware of the right price you should be paying for this experience. When our cab driver took us to one of the many Dal Lake ghats, the shikara owners pound on us to take the ride. For a 2 hours ride across the Dal Lake wherein they claimed to show us 8 different points, they asked for an initial charge of INR 5500 per Shikara. Another one of the famous tourist scams in Kashmir.

Read : Is it worth staying in a houseboat on Dal Lake?

Luckily, I had the contact number of another Shikara guy from a different “ghat” whom I had come across the evening before. When I called him to casually inquire about the charges, he said INR 1500 per Shikara. See the difference!! Upon learning this, the current Shikara guys started making stories like the other guy will not show you all the points etc. etc. We almost left the ghat and sat back in our cabs. And were ready to leave. When they came after us. And finally we had a deal at INR 2000 per Shikara. I am still not sure if this is the right price or it goes even lower. Nevertheless, we had a good time roaming around the Dal Lake for almost 2.5 hrs. So, didn’t feel like overpaying at the end of it.

#3 Tourist scam in Kashmir – Local Taxi only allowed at certain places

If you are hiring a cab for your round trip of Kashmir from any other state of India, or, even from Srinagar, then be prepared to hire local taxis at certain locations. Like in Pahalgam. For visiting Aru Valley, Chandanwari, Betab Valley or other such locations near Pahalgam, only a local taxi from Pahalgam taxi stand can be hired. Since the taxi union of Pahalgam doesn’t allow for outside taxi. What this means is you will be paying the rates for that day for your own taxi as well as the local taxi. Same in Sonmarg. So, plan your trip accordingly. You can ask your tour operator not to charge you for the usual vehicle for that day.

#4 Tourist scam in Kashmir – Exorbitant taxi prices in Kashmir

Although in certain taxi stands we saw rates mentioned by government. No one seems to honour that, particularly in the peak tourist season. If you are planning a trip to Kashmir, it will be good to book your taxi in advance. Otherwise, if you try to book one at the spot, they will ask you exorbitant rates. We booked our cabs in advance for our own 9 days trip to Kashmir. And in Pahalgam, where we had no other choice than to take local taxi for the Pahalgam day trip, we booked one through our hotel. So, the rates were ok. In peak tourist season of April, we booked an innova for INR 4000/- for the whole day. This cost was split by 3 families which were traveling together.

But I heard and read in some vlogs and blogs that at times people paid even upto INR 12000 for the same road trip. So, beware and know the rates before you go.

Related read : Is it safe to visit Kashmir now?

#5 Shikara ride at Dal Lake – cost, shopping, snacking

The scam story at Dal Lake doesn’t end with the initial bargain that you will need to do to take the Shikara ride. Unfortunately, it continues beyond that. Once you start the Shikara ride, you will soon be surrounded with other Shikaras. Wherein the vendors will try to sell different things to you – souvenirs, dry fruits, snack items and what not. Also they will ask you to take pictures in traditional attire. And of course all of this comes with a cost. For example, a fruit chat plate comes for INR 150/- minimum when on the Dal Lake Shikara 🙂 And the best part is, you can’t run away anywhere 😀

Later the Shikara will take you to the shops which sell Kashmiri shawls, woollens, dress materials and what not. They will be so persistent, that even if you are not interested, you will have no option than visiting them once. Because with each sale, the Shikara guy also gets a commission. Basically, there is no option of saying “Boss, I just want to experience the beauty of the Dal Lake and a shikara ride on it, no more disturbances please!” . So, good to set expectations with your shikara driver before you start.

#6 Gulmarg Gondola Ride – queue jumping & must take a guide

Just like the Shikara ride in Srinagar, the Gondola ride in Gulmarg is something every tourist looks forward to. When we went for our own Gondola ride in Gulmarg, we couldn’t help but reflect on the memories from our trip to Engleberg and Mount Titlis from Lucerne on our 4 days trip to Switzerland from years back. And we went with the hope that things will turn out to be similar here. But unfortunately, we found the Goldola ride to be very mismanaged, and very badly organised. And full of scams. I would say it is not one but a set of many tourist scams in Kashmir that you encounter during the Gulmarg Gondola Ride.

The scam starts right from the Gulmarg Gondola Taxi Stand. Upon reaching there the driver told us that although they are not allowed to take us to the Gondola Station from the taxi stand (a nearly 1 km distance), but since early in the morning and no one is there to stop, he will do the extra favour of dropping us till the Gondola Station gate. Later, he charged INR 500/- for just that extra 1 km!!

If you happen to visit in winter season, there will be people ready to give you a ride on sledge or pony. They will tell you that it is not at all walkable and you will have a hard time walking. And then they charge a hefty price of upto INR 1500 (or who knows even more) per sledge to take you through that 1km distance.

Queue jumping at Gulmarg Gondola

Another thing, that our cab driver kept insisting from day one was to take a guide up the Gondola with us. Initially we didn’t understand the need or the reason. He kept saying that the guide will help you deal with or bargain the right price of snow activities like sledging, skiing etc. once you reach the top of the Gondola. So, finally we did take a guide.

Although he did prove very helpful in certain situation. But, we also learnt that guides help people get in the middle of the queue (unethically) when queues become long. And the people who don’t have a guide to help them are the one who suffer. Not just that, you need to pay an extra amount for getting in the middle of the queue, apart from what you paid to the guide. In whose pocket that money lands, I am not sure. But, overall due to the rush, the unorganised way the queues are manages, and the total chaos, people bend and end up paying to just get out of all this.

#7 Tourist scam in Kashmir – almost every one sells Kesar, Dry Fruits and pure Pashmina Shawls

Another one of a definite Tourist scams in Kashmir!! Kashmir, for centuries, has been world famous for it’s quality kesar, dry fruits and Pashmina Shawls. But, that doesn’t mean that every seller who approaches you with these items and every shop that happens to sell them is genuine. Until you are aware of the quality, stick to government certified emporiums and shops. Also, never shop from the outlets your cab drivers tend to take you to. The commission that they make out of every sale goes as high as 50%. And the poor tourist ends up paying the extra price!

How to protect yourself from the tourist scams in Kashmir

My intention with this post is not to demean or create a bad image of Kashmir tourism. In fact, Kashmir is one of the most beautiful places I have visited in India. And the people there are exceptionally warm, helping and welcoming. While I observed these scams, I also enjoyed great hospitality, got helped unexpectedly and had heart to heart talks with locals at several instances. More on those you can read through my blog posts on Kashmir and my vlogs on youtube. But, at the same time, these scams or unnecessary money extortion leaves a bad imprint on tourists. Particularly if you don’t know about them in advance. And later feel cheated.

So, the purpose of this post is to make you as a tourist in Kashmir , totally aware. And set the right expectations so that you are not disappointed on our trip. But rather prepared to deal with anything that comes your way. Here are some additional tips on how to protect yourself from the tourist scams.

Tips to protect yourself from the tourist scams in Kashmir

1. Always book your tour through a reputed tour operator so that you are not cheated. Particularly in the peak tourism months, overbooking can happen, mix ups can happen. And you might end up being without a room or getting the exact same hotel that you booked. It did happen with one of our knowns. They didn’t get the houseboat they were promised, instead a very cheap boat which they had to leave and then find an OYO room to stay the night.
2. If you are booking on your own, then call each hotel and confirm your reservation with them.
3. A good cab driver can make your journey and a bad one can spoil your experience. So, again, book your cab through a reputed agency and double confirm with them on the availability.
4. Always negotiate prices in advance before taking a ride – be it the gondola or the taxi or Shikara. And bargain hard.
5. When shopping, stick to the emporiums and shops that government has authorised. Never from the ones your drivers take you to as they will have a commission to earn and prices will be higher almost all the times.
6. Negotiate hard when shopping, particularly with the street vendors who will come to you selling shawls and dress materials. Our friend got a dress for INR 700/- whose initial cost was quoted as INR 3500/- !! And we bought shawls at a cost of around INR 500/- which were quoted between INR 2000/- – INR 2500/- .

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