Many houseboat owners speak excellent English, so ask if anything untoward is happening.
While strolling the bazaars, eyeball the local newspaper headlines for reports about possible violence and upcoming protests.
Tourists who go on day-trips -- or longer visits -- higher in the Himalayas, usually pick the main towns of Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg and other zones not targeted by the separatists.
You will be advised by tour guides, signs and roadblocks before you get too close to the off-limit villages near Pakistan and China.
Wherever you go in Kashmir, you will see plenty of soldiers and police armed with assault rifles. The good news is they are usually relaxed, not on high alert, because hostilities have cooled.
In Srinagar, "more than 40 security bunkers have been removed from the city so far," since 2010, thanks to the improved situation, the Press Trust of India news agency reported in April.
The stupidest thing a tourist could do in Kashmir would be to photograph, paparazzi-style, the security forces or strategic locations. Or offend Kashmir's Muslim residents who can be exuberantly friendly but strictly Islamic about "forbidden" behavior.
Sensitivity to what people around you are doing should guide you. Heed anyone yelling at you -- except for touts trying to sell you stuff.
