Mughal Gardens

Srinagar's Mughal Gardens are the most exquisite surviving examples of Persian 'chahar bagh' (four-fold paradise) garden design in the world, built by the Mughal emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan in the 17th century along the eastern shore of Dal Lake. Nishat Bagh ('Garden of Joy') offers 12 terraces ascending to dramatic Zabarwan views; Shalimar Bagh, the most romantic, was Shah Jahan's gift to his wife Nur Jahan; Chashme Shahi ('Royal Spring') is built around a legendary pure-water spring; and Pari Mahal ('Palace of the Fairies') crowns the hilltop as a former Sufi school turned observatory. Together they form a landscape of fountains, cascading water channels, chinar trees and geometric flowerbeds - a vision of paradise on Earth.