World’s only floating post office in Kashmir

World’s only floating post office in Kashmir

Floating gardens, islands, and houseboats are all things we’ve heard of, but Kashmir’s famous Dal Lake has a floating post office. It’s the only floating post office in the whole world.

The floating post office itself dates back to 1953, when the local postal department established a mobile delivery service for residents near the lake. Tourists would often come to stay in several of the community-owned houseboats. At a time before the internet and mobile phone networks, the mobile postal service was a crucial lifeline, collecting letters and postcards and posting them to families back home.

About the post office

The floating post office was inaugurated back in the year 2011 by Omar Abdullah, the then Chief Minister of the state of Jammu & Kashmir along with Sachin Pilot, Minister of State for Communications and IT. This is an active post office that is not only visited by locals for posting letters but also by tourists at large. Other services offered here include internet facility and international phone calls.

The floating post office has a collection of old stamps and used to have a small museum in one of the rooms.  The floating post office boat was damaged during devastating floods in 2014, as the water level of Dal Lake rose. However, it was later returned to its rightful place and made functional after renovation.

This two-centuries-old floating post office was started in the British era and continues to deliver letters and couriers to the people living on the lake. The delivery of the post is done by a postman while traveling in a shikara.