A spring day in Srinagar — the tulip garden and the Mughal gardens
A day built around the spring bloom. It begins at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden early, before the crowds, and then takes in Chashme Shahi, Pari Mahal, Nishat Bagh and Shalimar Bagh. For other seasons, use the one-day plan.
Photos: JyotiPN (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Harvinder Chandigarh (CC BY 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Who this is for
Garden lovers and photographers in the tulip weeks of spring, when the festival opens the garden.
Day by day
Day 1Tulips, then four gardens
5 stops · 26 min on the road
Tulips, then four gardens
The tulip garden early, before the crowds, then the hillside and shore gardens through the afternoon.
- 09:00Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip GardenAsia's largest tulip garden, opened in 2007, about 11 minutes from the centre; the bloom is in spring.
- ↓ 4 min by road · 2 km11:30Chashme ShahiThe small spring garden of 1632.
- ↓ 4 min by road · 2 km13:00Pari MahalThe seven-terraced garden above the lake.
- ↓ 13 min by road · 8 km14:30Nishat BaghThe terraced garden of 1633.
- ↓ 5 min by road · 3 km16:00Shalimar BaghJahangir's garden of 1619, the furthest on the shore.
Getting there
Srinagar airport is about 12 km from the city. See how to reach Srinagar and when to visit.
Where to stay
Stay in Srinagar; the tulip weeks are busy, so book early. We have no verified lodging, prices or booking rules.
Know before you go
- The tulip bloom depends on the weather; check the official opening date before you plan the trip.
- Go to the tulip garden first thing on a weekday; Wikipedia records 365,000 visitors in March and April of 2023.
- Check the current local conditions and your own government's travel advice before any journey to Kashmir.
Places on this route
Going together
No one has started a group going on this plan yet. Start one and other travellers can ask to come along.
Other ways to do it
All Srinagar itineraries →
More places nearby
All of Srinagar →
Nearby destinations
All destinations →
Questions people ask
When do the tulips bloom in Srinagar?
In spring. The tulip garden opens for an annual festival run by the government, and Wikipedia records that between March and April 2023 it had 365,000 visitors. The bloom depends on the weather, so check the opening date announced each year and be ready to move the day by a week.
Is the tulip garden worth the crowds?
On a weekday morning, yes: about 30 hectares of tulips and other bulbs on seven terraces, with some 70 to 75 varieties of tulip, are best seen early, before the festival crowds arrive. The plan starts there for that reason and moves to the quieter gardens in the afternoon.
What else flowers in Srinagar in spring?
The Mughal gardens, with their clipped lawns and flower beds, and the orchards of the valley. Wikipedia says spring is the wettest season, so carry a rain layer. The garden pages on this site show what each garden is like, and Dal Lake's lotus come later, in July and August.