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Mughal Gardens of Srinagar are attractive and mind-blowingly beautiful. They are all located at close proximity to the Dal Lake with the Zabarwan range in the backdrop. This post is to showcase how lovely the Mughal Gardens of Srinagar are.

Long history made short

The Shah Mir dynasty ruled Kashmir in the 14^th century and were believed to be immigrants from Persia. Along with them the Persian influence also came into Kashmir which brought the religion – Islam, language, customs, dress, art, craft, music and the art of gardening. 

The newly established dynasty built many gardens all over the valley with water fountains & terraces, and they planted variety of flowers, plants and trees from the valley. The Mughals conquered Kashmir in the 16^th century, and they fine-tuned the existing pattern of gardening.

Click here to read more about the history of the gardens in Kashmir. 

Mughal Gardens 

The Mughal Gardens in Kashmir are said to be the most beautiful gardens out of all the Mughal gardens in India which were built during the Mughal Period.

The Mughal Gardens of Shalimar, Nishat, Chashme Shahi and Pari Mahal in Srinagar along with Verinag and Achabal in Ananthnag are said to demonstrate outstanding garden engineering skills. The water fountains, terraces as raised walkways, centuries old Chinar(Maple) trees that change colors with every season add to the beauty of the place. 

Timings: 9.30 am – 6.30 to 8 pm (closing time varies) 
Price:
Adult – Rs.24/-
Child – Rs.12/-
Note: The garden closing time depends on when the sun sets. In July the sunset was at 8 pm and hence we were in the garden premises till 8 pm.

Pari Mahal

Pari Mahal is a 7 terraced garden, located at the top of a mountain range that overlooks the city of Srinagar. The view of the city and Dal Lake that you get from Pari Mahal is stunningly beautiful.

Chashme Shahi 

This is another beautiful garden which is at a 5 min drive from Pari Mahal. It is built around a freshwater spring (where we also filled our water bottles) that is said to have medicinal properties. There are fountain pools within the garden which looked beautiful. 

Nishat Bagh 

Nishat Bagh was amazingly big (2^nd largest in Srinagar) and very well maintained. If there was a garden which I would call as my favourite, it would be Nishat Bagh. There were numerous water fountains and the backdrop of Zabarwan range also made it stunningly beautiful. 

Note: I went to Kashmir during Eid and hence you are seeing so many people in the gardens. This isn’t always the case.

Shalimar Bagh 

The largest garden in Srinagar is the Shalimar Bagh. I thought it wasn’t possible for a garden to match the beauty and grandiose of Nishat but Shalimar proved me wrong. This garden was equally pretty and massive in size. There were numerous water fountains in different patterns. This garden also had many trees that were centuries old, especially the Chinar. 

In the uppermost terrace of Shalimar Bagh there is said to be this inscription “Agar Firdaus bar rōy-e zamin ast, hamin ast-o hamin ast-o hamin ast”  by the Persian-language poet Amir Khusrau. This literally translates to “If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.” 

Other noticeable gardens 

Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden

This is Asia’s largest Tulip Garden at the foothills of Zabarwan range. It houses 45+ varieties of tulips and several other varieties of flowers. The annual tulip festival is held in the month of April (Spring season), when the tulips are in full bloom. 

Nehru Memorial Botanical Garden 

This garden contains a large variety of plants, trees, oaks and ornamental plants. It was established in the memory of Jawaharlal Nehru. 

Mughal Gardens of Srinagar is something which is never to be missed when you are on a trip to Kashmir. I spent my whole evening soaking in the beauty of the Mughal Gardens which are constructed skillfully and maintained well.

Click here to read my other travel posts.