Mughal Gardens: A Historical Pride
Talking about the beauty and heritage of Kashmir, the mention of the majestic Mughal gardens in Srinagar is found everywhere. Kashmir has seen ever-changing rulers from different regions. These ever-changing reigns made Kashmir special, creating a blend of different architectural styles. Among these are the renowned gardens of Mughal rule, which form major spots, representing Kashmir Tourism.
This blog is about the less-thronged but immensely precious Cheshme Shahi garden. Get to know about the history, things to do and best time to visit with other important details. So let’s unveil the secrets of this amazing heritage.
Cheshme Shahi: The Royal Spring
The name of the garden translates to ‘Royal Spring’. The Cheshme Shahi garden is among the few Mughal gardens in Srinagar. This garden is also located in the vicinity of Dal Lake, but it is not as highly thronged as other gardens of Shalimar and Nishat. It remains one of the less-visited places because of the small area of the garden and innerness of the area compared to other gardens that are placed straight on the boulevard.
Geography
The Cheshme Shahi garden is situated on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar. It is placed on the foothills of the Zabarwan Hills like the other Mughal gardens. It is located 14 kilometers away from the Srinagar International Airport. This garden has the dense forested Zabarwan hills on one side and a bird’s eye view of the Dal Lake on the other.
This garden is also a multi-terraced one with its spotlight being the royal spring which is on the topmost terrace. The water from the spring flows down all the terraces through a channel that has various fountains. The architecture of this place is Iranian style. Noted as one of Srinagar’s hidden gems.
History
Cheshme Shahi Garden was built on the orders of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1632 CE. He built it as a gift to his elder son, Prince Dara Shikoh. The spring at the location was discovered by a saint woman called Rupa Bhawani. This garden is also mentioned in the works of English writer and traveler Amit Kumar, who pointed out its medicinal benefits. The Cheshme Shahi spring is also famous for its mineral water, which is believed to have great medicinal benefits. It may give an awe that the great leader, Jawahar Lal Nehru used to order this water from Delhi.
Foods and Drinks
There are stalls at this location that sell tea, coffee, soft drinks, and other fast food items. If you want to have lunch at the place, you can move a little down to the botanical garden, where you can get every kind of lunch from Desi to Chinese.
Shopping
Shopping is also available at the Cheshme Shahi Garden. Several stalls selling clothes, footwear, and Kashmiri handicrafts such as Shawls, Paper Machine items and Kashmiri caps are there to erase your hunger for shopping.
Best Time to Visit
As with other Mughal gardens in Srinagar, the best time to visit this place is from April to October. You can also visit these places in winter but it can not be a better option than the summer. To best experience this destination, you should plan to visit in the bright day hours.
Conclusion
You may visit any place of attraction but do not forget to keep the place clean from all the garbage. We hope you like this blog which took effort to write. Our blogs have always been something different from others. Check out our other blogs here. Lastly, don’t forget to click lots of photographs and make deep memories.
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