Shalimar Bagh Tips: 15 Things to Know Before You Visit

No. Plucking flowers is prohibited, garden staff watch the beds, and travellers have reported a Rs 500 fine for it. Stepping into the beds for photos is also discouraged. Shoot from the paths instead. Litter is the other rule staff enforce, so carry a bag for wrappers and bottles and take it out with you.

Yes. It is the easiest Mughal garden in Srinagar for slow walkers. The central paths are broad, the terraces are shallow, and benches under the chinars make good rest stops. There are steps between the terraces and wheelchair access to the top terrace is limited, so elderly visitors can enjoy the lower two terraces and view the Black Pavilion from below if the climb is too much.

Yes. The lawns are wide, there is plenty of picnic space under the chinars, and children have room to run. Keep small children back from the fountain edges and channel walls, which stay wet and slippery. The first terrace is the easiest with a pram, and toilets are near the entrance. Weekday mornings are calmer than Sunday afternoons, when local families fill the lawns.

Tea, kahwa and snack stalls sit outside the gate, and toilets are near the entrance. There are no restaurants inside the garden, so carry a water bottle and a small snack for the walk up the terraces. For a proper meal, head back towards Boulevard Road or eat after Nishat Bagh. Ask at the gate whether outside food is allowed on the day of your visit.

Phone and camera photography is free. Srinagar district has restricted the use and possession of private drones since a July 2021 district magistrate order, so don't plan to fly one over the gardens or Dal Lake. Professional and pre-wedding shoots with crews and props also need prior permission, so contact the Floriculture Department before you travel rather than asking at the gate.

Shalimar Bagh is the largest Mughal garden in Srinagar, at about 31 acres, and is known as the Crown of Srinagar. It is famous for its three terraces split by the Shah Nahar water channel, the fountains and cascades, the black-stone pavilion on the top terrace, the chini khana lamp niches behind its waterfalls and its autumn chinars. It is part of the Mughal Gardens group on UNESCO's tentative list.

Mughal emperor Jahangir laid out Shalimar Bagh for his wife Nur Jahan in 1619 and named it Farah Bakhsh. In 1630 Shah Jahan had his governor Zafar Khan extend it as Faiz Bakhsh. The garden follows the Persian chahar-bagh plan, with a public court on the lowest terrace, the emperor's private court in the middle and the zenana garden for the royal women at the top.

Shalimar Bagh sits on the north-east shore of Dal Lake, 14 km from Lal Chowk. Nishat Bagh is 2.8 km away. Hazratbal Shrine is about 7 km, and Chashme Shahi and the Tulip Garden are each about 8 km. Pari Mahal is about 9 km. A sunset shikara from the Boulevard Road ghats makes an easy finish to a garden day.