Chashme Shahi Garden is a Mughal terrace garden in Srinagar, built in 1632 around a natural spring on the Zabarwan slope above Dal Lake. It is the smallest of the city's three Mughal gardens. Walking its three terraces takes 30 to 45 minutes, a ticket is sold at the gate, and April to October is the season worth planning for.
Duke Kashmir Travels is a Srinagar travel agency, registered with the Department of Tourism, Government of Jammu and Kashmir as JKTA00003978 since 2011 and an allied member of IATO since 2016. This garden sits in the Srinagar sightseeing day of its Kashmir packages, which begin near ₹6,350 per person, two sharing a room.
By Duke Kashmir Travels Team · Reviewed by Rayies Ahmad Zargar, Founder · Published · Updated
Key takeaways
- The only Mughal garden in Srinagar laid out around a spring, and the most compact of the three.
- Three terraces: the spring hut at the top, a fountain pool in the middle, collecting tanks at the gate.
- Built in 1632 for Prince Dara Shikoh, on the Persian charbagh plan.
- Season runs April through October: tulips first, chinar colour last.
- Twenty kilometres from the airport, roughly 25 minutes in normal traffic.
- Best paired in one afternoon with Nishat Bagh, Shalimar Bagh and Pari Mahal.
Who built Chashme Shahi, and for whom?
Ali Mardan Khan, a governor serving Shah Jahan, laid the garden out in 1632 for the emperor's eldest son, Prince Dara Shikoh.
The plan borrows the Persian charbagh, then bends it to a steep hillside. Water, rather than symmetry, holds the design together. The name the Mughals used, Chashme Shahi, means the royal spring.
What will you see inside the garden?
Three terraces, one above the other: a Kashmiri-style hut covering the spring, a pool with a single tall fountain below it, and collecting tanks beside the entrance.
Gardeners call those three stretches of water the aqueduct, the waterfall and the fountains. Flower beds, chinars and almond trees line each level, with the Zabarwan ridge closing the view behind. Srinagar families have carried this water home for generations and still call it the sweetest in the valley.
When is the best time to visit Chashme Shahi Garden?
April to October. Tulip season opens the year in early April, summer fills the beds, and chinar colour arrives in late October.
| Season | Months | What the garden looks like | Worth knowing |
|---|
| Spring | March to May | Almond and tulip colour, snow still on the ridge | The Tulip Garden opens for a few weeks from early April |
| Summer | June to August | Beds in full flower, fountains running, long evenings | The busy months; arrive before 11am for quiet photographs |
| Autumn | September to November | Chinar leaves turn red and gold from late October | The best light of the year, and thinner crowds |
| Winter | December to February | Bare terraces, low water, occasional snow | Quiet and inexpensive; pair it with a Gulmarg snow day |
How do you reach Chashme Shahi Garden?
By road from Srinagar International Airport it is 20 km, about 25 minutes. The garden stands above Boulevard Road on the eastern shore of Dal Lake.
Driving up from Jammu instead means 268 km and roughly eight hours, so most guests fly in and begin sightseeing the next morning. Every package uses a private vehicle, which is why the gardens can be strung together in one run rather than three separate outings.
How long do you need, and what does entry cost?
Thirty to forty-five minutes at a walking pace, and a small ticket bought per head at the gate.
The department that maintains the gardens revises that ticket price from time to time. It sits outside package rates everywhere on this site, so keep a little cash for the day.
What else is close by?
Pari Mahal on the ridge overhead, the Botanical Garden on the same gate road, and Nishat Bagh with Shalimar Bagh further north along the lake.
Shankaracharya Temple is a short climb from Boulevard Road, and the full Srinagar list runs to more than thirty places.
What do Kashmir packages include?
Hotels on MAP, meaning breakfast and dinner daily; a private car sized to your party; tolls, fuel, parking and driver's allowance; and GST inside the price shown.
Rates are quoted per head, two to a room, and lunch stays on your own account. Excluded: flights and train fares, the local union taxis inside Pahalgam, Sonmarg and Gulmarg, Gondola and chair-lift tickets, pony, sledge and shikara rides bought on the spot, and monument or garden entry. Browse Kashmir tour ideas for complete itineraries, or the Kashmir travel guide for the region as a whole.
Why book with Duke Kashmir Travels?
Fifteen years of Srinagar operations behind a registered agency, with the paperwork to match.
- Tourism registration JKTA00003978, issued 22 March 2011 by the state tourism department.
- Allied Member of the Indian Association of Tour Operators since 2016, membership ALD150928.
- Active member of the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK), Srinagar, since 2022.
- Co-founder and member of the JK Tourism Council.
- Award of Excellence for Best Emerging Travel Agency, from TAAK, 2011.
- Office on the fourth floor, Shah Complex, Nowhatta Chowk, Srinagar 190002, staffed right through the season.
If you would rather compare state-run stays and transport first, the J&K Tourism Development Corporation publishes its own rates.
Plan your visit
Send your dates and traveller count; we price a Srinagar itinerary covering this garden, its Mughal neighbours and the old city, with hotels of your choosing.
Call +91 9018 44 0000, write to info@dukekashmirtravels.com, or use the contact page. Each quote covers two travellers sharing a room and holds for the dates it names.
About the founder
Rayies Ahmad Zargar founded Duke Kashmir Travels in Srinagar in 2011 and still owns and runs it. He helped found JK Tourism Council and sits in TAAK. He reads and approves the destination guides published here, this page included. His profile sits on LinkedIn.