Destinations

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Welcome to Jammu & Kashmir

''Agar Firdaus bar ru-e-zamin ast, Hami ast o- hami ast o- hami ast.''

Tulip Garden

  • Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip garden, previously Model Floriculture Center, is the largest tulip garden in Asia spread over an area of about 30 hectares. It is situated on the foothills of Zabarwan Range with an overview of Dal Lake. The garden was opened in 2007 with the aim to boost floriculture and tourism in Kashmir Valley. Tulip festival is an annual celebration that aims to showcase the range of flowers in the garden as a part of tourism efforts by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. It is organized during the onset of spring season in Kashmir valley.

Badamwari

  • The early bloom of flowers on Almond trees in the sprawling historic Badamwari garden in Shahr-e-Khaas has become a source of attraction for nature lovers and tourists, alike. Situated on foothills of Koh-e-Maran, the 300 kanals garden was dotted with trees. Historians maintain there was no record to suggest who laid the garden but they say it existed even before the rule of Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin in the 14th century. A well covered dome in the garden is named after an Afghan ruler, Warris Shah. The bloom on the Almond trees heralded the spring.

Naseem Bagh

  • Naseem Bagh is a Mughal garden built on the northwestern side of the Dal Lake, close to Srinagar in the Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir. Over 1200 chinar trees were planted in 1686 by Shah Jahan. It is mostly visited in the Autumn from September to December.The beauty of Nasim Bagh varies from season to season. In summer, the tall chinar trees with their thick green foliage keep the temperature down by at least two degrees. In Autumn, a riot of colors overtakes this garden. In winter, the area takes up an altogether a different look.

Dal Lake

  • Nicknamed ‘Jewel in the crown of Kashmir’, the Dal Lake is Kashmir’s pride. The lake, which covers an area of 18 sq km and is part of a natural wetland, is fringed by illuminated houseboats and colourful shikaras. The houseboat and shikara communities have survived on the Dal for centuries. Do not miss out on a shikara ride, a boat ride like no other, and do stay in a quaint houseboat with its carved walnut wood furniture. The shoreline of the lake, about 15.5-km long, is encompassed by a boulevard lined with Mughal era gardens, parks, houseboats and hotels.

Shalimar Bagh

  • The Shalimar Bagh or Farah Baksh, one of the Mughal Gardens of Kashmir, was built by Emperor Jehangir for his wife Nur Jehan, in 1616. Located on the right of Dal Lake, Shalimar Bagh is linked through a channel to the northeast of the lake. Shalimar Bagh has four terraces and a number of fountains, shaded trees and innumerable varieties of flowers. The best views of the garden’s beauty are afforded during autumn and spring, when leaves change colours and flowers blossom, respectively. One can also enjoy a sound-and-light show (son et lumeiere) in the evening.

Nishat Bagh

  • Also called the ‘Garden of Pleasure’, Nishat Bagh lies on the left bank of the Dal Lake, with the Zabarwan Mountains as its backdrop. The Mughal garden commands a magnificent view of the lake beneath the snow-capped Pir Panjal mountain range. Nishat Bagh was designed and built in 1633 by Asif Khan, the elder brother of Nur Jehan. The garden is a broad cascade of terraces lined with avenues of chinar and cypress trees, starting from the lakeshore and reaching up to an artificial façade at the hill end. Nishat has twelve 12 terraces representing the twelve signs of the zodiac.

Pari Mahal

  • Situated near the Chashma Shahi Mughal garden, Pari Mahal has beautiful terraced gardens and the ruins of a five-storied Mughal building that is illuminated in the evening. It offers a fantastic view of the Dal Lake and the city of Srinagar and is the ideal place for some soul searching. Pari Mahal is valued more as a historical monument than a park or a garden. The Mahal was initially a Buddhist Monastery, which was later converted into an observatory and a school of astrology by Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan.

Chashma Shahi Garden

  • The smallest of the Srinagar’s Mughal gardens, the Chashma Shahi or Royal Spring was laid out by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1632. ‘Chashma’ in Urdu means ‘waterfall’. The garden was so named because of a mountain spring/waterfall that feeds it. The famous freshwater spring inside the garden is believed to have medicinal values. As legend goes, when Mumtaz Mahal (Shah Jahan’s wife) fell ill and could not be cured even by the world’s best doctors, somebody suggested she be taken to some health resort.

Harwan Garden

  • Located about 18 km from Srinagar, Harwan is a huge garden lined with flowerbeds and massive chinar trees. A canal passes through the garden, which is dotted with bright, colourful flowers. The fresh air and big, green carpeted lawns make it an ideal spot for picnics and excursions. The garden serves as a gateway to the famous wildlife sanctuary of Dachigam and Mahadev Mountain. Behind the garden, there is the small but beautiful Harwan lake, which feeds the garden and provides an astounding view of the majestic mountains.