Old city walk: wooden shrines and craft lanes

Begin at the Khanqah-e-Moula, also called the Khanqah of Shah Hamadan, on the right bank of the Jhelum between two old bridges. First built in 1395 to honour the Persian preacher Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, it is a wooden building with a pyramidal roof and an interior covered in painted papier-mache. Non-Muslim visitors are generally welcome outside prayer times; women may not enter the main hall.

From there, lanes lead through the old quarters where workshops are still at street level. Look for papier-mache artists painting boxes layer by layer, walnut carvers working with hand chisels on tables and screens, and copper engravers at work on samovars. Many workshops welcome a short visit if you ask politely, and buying directly here costs far less than at lakeside showrooms.

End at the Jamia Masjid at Nowhatta, begun in 1394, with its courtyard garden and 378 deodar pillars. Avoid Fridays, when the mosque fills for prayers and the area is busy. Stop at a kandur bakery for girda bread or a kahwa stall on the way. A local guide adds a lot, both for context and for opening workshop doors.