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In a pheran at Pari Mahal

Mughal Gardens of Srinagar

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 14th 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 16th century, and they fine-tuned the existing pattern of gardening.

Pari Mahal entrance
Pari Mahal

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.

Pari Mahal monument
Entrance to Pari Mahal
Pari Mahal top
View from terrace

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. 

Garden
Entering Chashme Shahi

Nishat Bagh 

Nishat Bagh was amazingly big (2nd 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. 

Entering Nishat Bagh
Nishat Water Fountains
Water Fountains

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

 Nishat exit
Nishat walkways

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. 

Shalimar Entrance
Shalimar Entrance
Shalimar walkways and water fountains
Walkway and Water Fountains

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.

Me in Nishat
Happy me!

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Aarthy

Hola, you travel-inquisitive soul! Welcome to my blog and thanks for stopping by! My name is Aarthy, exploring new places, food and people gets me excited. From being someone who focused on traveling on budget, to the one who started preferring luxurious relaxed holidays I have come a long way in my travel journey. I focus on exploring places to the fullest with my husband and daughter. Follow me for a constant dose of my travel stories, experiences, tips and much more.

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Ramalakshmi Jegadeesh

    Happy to read and happy to see my dear..Wonderful photos…Keep rocking

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