Downtown Srinagar: A Local's Walk Through the Old City (2026-27)

I grew up in downtown Srinagar. When friends visit, this is where I take them: to Khanqah-e-Moula for the architecture, then to eat masala tchot, and paratha with halwa, the local dishes I love. And they have to try noon chai with chicken patties from the local bakeries.

It is also the part of the city most tourists miss. The lake and the gardens are beautiful, but downtown is what daily local life looks like: the khanqah, the dargahs, the bakers and the bazaars. This guide is the walk I would take you on. The rest of the city is in our Srinagar guide.

In short: go in the morning, start at Khanqah-e-Moula on the Jhelum, and walk to Jamia Masjid through the spice market. It is about 1.75 km on foot and takes two to four hours. Every mosque and shrine on the route is free. Avoid Friday midday, and the holy days listed below.

Where is downtown Srinagar?

Downtown is the old city, north of Lal Chowk, on both banks of the Jhelum. Locals call it Shehr-e-Khaas. It is the largest and most densely populated part of Srinagar, a run of neighbourhoods named after their bridges, the kadals: Zaina Kadal, Fateh Kadal, Aali Kadal, Nawa Kadal, Habba Kadal, Rajouri Kadal.

Lal Chowk is the commercial centre of the modern city. Downtown is the older city beside it, with the Friday mosque, the wooden shrines and the wholesale markets. A search for "downtown Srinagar" also brings up a hotel of that name; this guide is about the neighbourhood.

Khanqah-e-Moula: where I take every friend first

Khanqah-e-Moula, also called the Shah-e-Hamadan mosque, stands on the right bank of the Jhelum between Fateh Kadal and Zaina Kadal. It was first built in 1395 by Sultan Sikandar, in memory of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, the saint Kashmiris call Shah-e-Hamadan.

It is the building I show people when they ask what Kashmiri architecture is. It is made of wood, deodar, with carved pillars and a single spire, and it is decorated with papier-mache. It has burned and been rebuilt more than once: in 1480, and again in 1731. A fire on 15 November 2017 damaged the spire, and a restored crown went back up on 30 March 2018.

• Fee: free.
• When: outside prayer times. The Directorate of Tourism suggests 10 am to 4 pm.
• Who can go inside: the main prayer hall is for Muslim men. The Directorate says women are not allowed in the hall, and visitors in 2023, 2024 and December 2025 report that non-Muslims are not either.
• What everyone else does: walk the courtyard and the riverside, and look in through the side window, which the caretakers point out. That is where the painted interior is photographed from.
• Photographs: fine outside, not inside the hall.

The walk: Khanqah-e-Moula to Jamia Masjid

From the khanqah, the classic old-city walk crosses the river and loops back to the Friday mosque. No ranking guide measures it, so we did: it is about 1.75 km of walking, and guides allow two to four hours with stops.

• Pathar Masjid: the stone mosque, built in 1623 by Empress Nur Jahan, directly across the river from the khanqah. The khanqah is all wood; this one is stone, with nine mihrabs and none of the usual pyramid roof. Free, open outside prayer times.
• Zaina Kadal: named after Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, called Budshah, the great king, who built the first bridge here in 1427.
• The Budshah tomb: the brick tomb of the Sultan's mother, on Maharaj Ganj Road. The Sultan himself is buried in the enclosure beside it. It is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.
• Maharaj Gunj: the wholesale market for whole spices, tea and grains, set up under Dogra rule in the 19th century. Some shops have traded for over a century.

Three more stops sit a little off this line, for anyone with extra time.

• Dastgeer Sahib, Khanyar: a much-loved shrine, burned on 25 June 2012 and since rebuilt. Thursdays are busy.
• Naqshband Sahib, Khanyar: a shrine of the Naqshbandi order, known for its woodwork.
• Aali Masjid, Eidgah: the second-largest mosque in Srinagar after Jamia Masjid, on about 151 deodar columns.

Jamia Masjid: what to know before you go

Jamia Masjid at Nowhatta is the Friday mosque of the old city. Sultan Sikandar commissioned it in 1394 and it was completed in 1402. It has burned three times since, and what stands today follows the rebuilding of the 1670s.

There are no official visiting hours. The Directorate says "open throughout the day"; a visitor in July 2026 found it opened at 10 am. Go between 10 am and midday, or in mid-afternoon, and stay out of the prayer hall during prayers.

• Dress: shoulders and knees covered. Women cover their heads; carry a scarf.
• Shoes: off before the prayer area.
• Photographs: allowed in the courtyard and outside. Not of people praying.

The mosque has also been shut on particular days, by order, and no travel guide we read tells visitors this.

Ordinary Fridays are different: prayers were held as usual on 9 January 2026, for example. But Friday midday means a very large congregation and heavy security, so pick another day. One operator advises coming before 11:30 am or after 2 pm if Friday is your only option.

One more thing to know. After the Pahalgam attack of April 2025, the government closed 48 tourist sites, and Jamia Masjid was on that list. We found no order naming it as reopened. In practice it is open: tourists have reviewed visits in December 2025 and in June, July and August 2026.

Can we visit Hari Parbat Fort?

Probably, but we cannot confirm it for 2026. The newest first-hand reports are from 2024: visitors bought a ₹50 ticket at the foot of the hill, left a government photo ID at the CRPF checkpoint, drove most of the way up, and climbed about 150 steps. The Directorate of Tourism's page now says the fort "requires special permission".

The hill, also called Koh-i-Maran, rises on the edge of the old city. The long wall around it was built by Emperor Akbar in 1590. The fort on top came later, under the Afghan governor Atta Mohammad Khan; the district site dates it to the 18th century, other sources to 1808. The Archaeological Survey maintains it.

• Kathi Darwaza: one of the two surviving gates of Akbar's wall, at Rainawari. The other is Sangeen Darwaza.
• Gurdwara Chatti Patshahi: just outside the gate. It marks the visit of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh Guru, in 1620. Langar is served.
• Makhdoom Sahib: the shrine of Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom on the southern slope, reached by a stone stairway. Open from early morning until the evening prayer.
• Sharika Devi temple: on the western slope, sacred to the goddess regarded as the presiding deity of Srinagar. Reached by its own stairway.
• Badamwari: the almond garden below the hill. It reopened in June 2025.

Two things are in progress. A light and sound show has been installed inside the fort, and a government order of 3 June 2026 set up a committee to inspect it; no opening date has been announced. The Cable Car Corporation also lists a ropeway to Makhdoom Sahib with online booking, but we could not confirm its fare or whether it is running.

What to eat in downtown Srinagar

The food here is sold at shrine gates and bakery windows, not in restaurants. These are the things I make friends try.

• Masala tchot: a thin flatbread from the baker, rolled around boiled, mildly spiced chickpeas with a radish chutney. It is sold outside shrines, mosques and schools. Named sellers include one at the foot of the Makhdoom Sahib stairs and one outside the Eidgah.
• Halwa paratha: semolina halwa with an enormous fried paratha, two to three feet across, torn and sold by the piece. Look for it outside the khanqah and Dastgeer Sahib.
• Noon chai and bakery food: salted pink tea, with chicken patties from a local bakery. That is my order.
• Kandur breads: the neighbourhood tandoor baker is the kandur. Girda and lavasa in the morning, tsochwor and kulcha in the afternoon. The ovens are busiest from about 5:30 to 10:30 am and 4 to 7 pm.
• Harissa, in winter: mutton and rice cooked overnight and pounded to a paste, served hot with bread. Our family used to ride to a small shop in Rajouri Kadal at 4 am in the freezing cold for it. Worth it every time.

Harissa is a morning dish. Shops serve from before dawn and are usually sold out by about 10 am. The season is winter: every source includes December and January, and some stretch it from October to March. The old harissa shops are in Aali Kadal, Nawa Kadal and Rajouri Kadal.

The bazaars: spices, copper and kangris

• Maharaj Gunj: whole spices, tea, dried goods, sold wholesale and by weight.
• Zaina Kadal: copperware. Samovars, trays, bowls and the big cooking pots are still beaten by hand here and in Khanyar.
• Bohri Kadal: dry fruit, spices and kangris, the wicker fire-pots Kashmiris carry in winter.
• Jamia Market: around the mosque. Everyday goods: clothes, utensils, hosiery. Very crowded before Eid.

My family has a long history in Kashmiri arts, so here is the honest version. Real handwork is slow, imperfect and expensive, and much of what is sold to tourists as handmade is machine work, often not from Kashmir at all. Buy copper where you can see it being worked. And never buy saffron from a street seller: buy only from an authorised seller.

How to get there, and how long to allow

• Auto-rickshaw: the simplest way in from Lal Chowk or Dal Gate.
• Cab apps: Rapido is the most reliable and fastest to book in Srinagar, in our experience. Aala and Novo also work.
• E-rickshaws: they run on old-city routes through Nowhatta, Gojwara and Nawa Kadal. Since 13 November 2025 they are barred from Maulana Azad Road and Residency Road, so you cannot take one out of the Lal Chowk core.
• Your own car: cars reach Jamia Masjid, and there is paid parking. The lanes beyond are narrow; walk them.

Mornings are best: the bakers are working and the markets are opening. April to June and September to November are the comfortable months. Winter is cold, but it is harissa season.

Guided heritage walks: who runs them, and what they cost

You do not need a guide for the core walk. A good one adds the stories, and helps on a first visit, since the lanes are confusing.

Is downtown Srinagar safe for tourists?

By day, yes. It is a busy, working neighbourhood. A 2026 safety guide calls the old city safe to explore on foot during the day, and guided walks set out through it at 8 and 9 am. Go in daylight, keep an eye on your belongings in the crowded lanes, and plan around Friday midday and the holy days when Jamia Masjid has been shut.

We do not have a sourced answer for late evenings, so we will not give one. The walk is a morning one anyway.

For the lake side of the city, see our guides to Dal Lake and to Hazratbal, the shrine I go to when I want some quiet.