The Dal Lake area encompasses Boulevard Road — the long lakefront promenade on the western and southern shore — and the houseboat strips at Dalgate, Nehru Park, and Nagin Lake. This is where most tourists base themselves, and for good reason: the views across the water to the Zabarwan Hills are constant, the shikara access is immediate, and the concentration of houseboats, hotels, and restaurants makes logistics straightforward.
Boulevard Road itself is a dual carriageway lined with willows and chinar trees on one side and the lake on the other. In the evenings it fills with strollers, vendors selling kahwa and corn, and the occasional shikara passing below at water level. The Mughal Gardens — Nishat Bagh and Shalimar Bagh — are at the far north end of the Boulevard, about 12 km from Dalgate. The Hazratbal Mosque is roughly midway along the northern shore. Char Chinar island sits in the open water visible from the middle section of the Boulevard.