Hotel Houseboat Switzerland, Srinagar, located at Dal Lake, offers a traditional Kashmiri experience - Living on water. Tourists and travellers tend to prefer staying at houseboats in Kashmir rather than hotels, for the personalised services and an added touch of warmth. A stay in Kashmir that is not spent on the water is an incomplete one!Houseboats in Kashmir are a British invention. They came into life around 1880 – as a British solution to a land purchasing prohibition imposed on foreigners. The Maharaja of that time allowed foreigners to live on lakes and rivers only. The British took on the challenge of creating luxurious floating houses using the best handicrafts Kashmir could offer. Cedar is the wood of choice for boat construction. The rooms have wooden walls and carved ceilings, walnut furniture, Kashmir handcrafted rugs, embroidery & curtains.