Achabal Travel Guide – Nur Jahan’s Mughal GardenDuke Kashmir Travels
Achabal is a terraced Mughal garden in Anantnag district, Kashmir, India. It lies 58 km from Srinagar and was laid out for Empress Nur Jahan around a natural spring.
It is the smallest and least visited of the valley's major Mughal gardens, which is exactly why it is worth the drive: on a weekday you may have the terraces to yourself.
By Duke Kashmir Travels Team · Reviewed by Rayies Ahmad Zargar, Founder · Published · Updated
Key takeaways
- Distance: 58 km from Srinagar, about 90 minutes; 8 km from Anantnag town.
- What it is: a Mughal garden built for Nur Jahan, fed by its own spring.
- Best time: April to October, with the chinars turning in late October.
- Time needed: about an hour.
- Combine with: Kokernag and Verinag on one south Kashmir day.
What is Achabal known for?
Water, and the way the garden is built around it. The spring emerges at the head of the garden and is carried down three terraces in stone channels, dropping over cascades between rows of chinar.
The layout follows the same Mughal grammar as Shalimar and Nishat in Srinagar, on a smaller scale and with more forest around it.
How do you visit Achabal?
58 km from Srinagar, 8 km past Anantnag, about ninety minutes. An hour is enough for the garden itself, so it is normally combined with Kokernag and Verinag, or taken as a stop on the way to Pahalgam.
Book Achabal with Duke Kashmir Travels
We are a J&K Tourism-registered agency (JKTA00003978) operating in Kashmir since 2011. Achabal is part of our south Kashmir gardens day. Tell us your dates and we will fit it in.
Insider tip from our local team
Achabal is at its best on a weekday morning. It is a local picnic garden at weekends, and the terraces are small enough that a few families fill them. Late October is the week to come for the chinars.