Asia’s largest Tulip Garden

“Dekha ek khwab toh ye silsile huey’….this famous Hindi song from the movie Silsila would have had most of you fantasize yourself as Amitabh and Rekha in the tulip garden . Remember those stunning visuals at Keukenhof tulip gardens, the largest in the world?

Flash back to “Silsila”….

Today, let us visit the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden in Srinagar; the largest tulip garden in Asia. This was originally a model floriculture center called Siraj Bagh.

A little bit on tulips….

Tulips have their origin in Persia and were brought to Europe in the 17th century. Today, Holland is the largest tulip producer in the world. Amsterdam in Holland boasts of flower auctions that attracts buyers from all over the world.

The tulip garden at Srinagar is a more affordable option for most tourists and it is equally stunning.

The beauties…

Visiting the Tulip Garden

This garden is open only for a short period of time in summer and so, be sure to time your visit to Kashmir when it’s open. It is open to the public roughly from early April for about 20 days marking the Tulip Festival. After that, the tulips lose their color and stance and the garden is closed. This period sees the maximum tourist inflows in to Kashmir making it necessary to book well in advance.

Spread over 30 acres of land at the foothills of the Zabarwan range in a sloping fashion with seven terraces, it is a sight to behold! Opened in 2007 to boost floriculture tourism, it is a relatively new addition to Srinagar’s attractions.

A short video of the layout of the tulip garden

At the tulip garden

Well, 1.7 million tulip bulbs for our very own garden were brought from Keukenhof. There are around 73 varieties of tulips here apart from daffodils, hyacinths and many other varieties of flowers .

Some daffodils among the tulips

The tulips are planted in rows with each row having a different color. This interspersed color pattern literally makes it a rainbow on land!!

The rainbow has descended on earth!!!

There are also a number of walkways and fountains making it a nice place for photo shoots.

Any amount of description by a mere mortal like me is not going to match nature’s visual treat. So, let me just leave you with the pictures and videos. Enjoy the colorful treat…