Pari Mahal Garden is one of the main attraction and top places to visit in Srinagar. Due to its amazing location situated on top of Zabarwan Mountain Range and overlooking Dal Lake, it is also at times called as fairies’ abode.
After a morning Shikara Ride at Dal Lake (Read more: Dal Lake Kashmir: Shikara Ride and Morning Vegetable Market), we decided to drive up to Pari Mahal. Located on an uphill road, it is 10 minutes drive from Chashme Shahi. This stretch of the road passes through a thick forest. It was an amazing morning drive as we kept on riding up on a serene road with only few morning walkers. Within few minutes, we were at Pari Mahal as road ends here only.
Ticket office had not yet opened and there was no one except CISF Security personnel. As they allowed us in, we realized that we had taken a good decision to visit Pari Mahal early morning as the whole garden was only for us. We will suggest you to plan your trip in morning only as you will get silent, serene and soulful atmosphere without any touristic hustle bustle.
History of Pari Mahal
Pari Mahal is a seven terraced garden which was laid in mid-17th century by Dara Shikoh, eldest son of Shah Jahan. It has been referred by Dara Shikoh as a residential School of Sufism headed by his spiritual guide Akhun Mullah Shah, a Sufi saint. Mughals always had a special place for Kashmir and many of Kashmir attractions have been built by them. This place is also one of them with amazing Sufi past and blissful natural beauty.
Pari Mahal Garden
Entry to Pari Mahal is from third terrace and then there are stairs to either walk up or down to different terraces. Built around a spring, it has open channels and earthen pipes (Kulfa) through which water flows down . There are garden full of blooming flowers on all levels of terraces.
Here are photographs from our visit –
Panoramic views of Dal lake and Srinagar city
Except Dal Lake, Pari Mahal is the only tourist attraction that we have visited in Srinagar. Sole reason for the same is the heavy tourist crowd that you face at all Srinagar attractions. Pari Mahal Experience turned out to be very different – morning serenity combined with the natural beauty. We will strongly suggest all to wake up early and head to this beautiful place early in morning.
Pari Mahal Opening Hours
Opens at 8 AM and closes at 7:30 PM. You can even reach earlier as Security Personnel allow you to enter while you can purchase ticket while leaving.
Pari Mahal Srinagar Location
We hope this helps you plan your Pari Mahal and Srinagar trip better. Please drop your comments below in case you need any additional inputs or want to share more from your experience.