In Pics: Asia’s Largest Tulip Garden in Srinagar Open to Public

This year, the garden will see over 12 lakh flowers in bloom. The garden usually attracts over 1.5 lakh visitors.

Situated on the eastern border of the central Kashmir Valley, the Zabarwan Range is home to Asia’s largest Tulip Garden.

The Tulip Garden located on the foothills of the Zabarwan mountains in J&K’s Srinagar was thrown open to the public on 25 March 2018.

The Tribune reported that over 12 lakh flowers are set to bloom in the garden in 2018.

The garden, which is credited with having extended the tourism season in Kashmir, usually attracts over 1.5 lakh visitors every year, The Tribune report adds.

The Zabarwan range is the area that overlooks the Dal Lake and holds the Mughal gardens of Srinagar. The north end of the range lies in Ganderbal, while the south end lies in Pampore.

The central part of the Zabarwan Range is also home to the Shankaracharya Temple. The highest peak of this range is Mahadev Peak at 13,013 feet (3,966 m), which forms the distant background of the eastern mountain wall.

Last year, over 50,000 tourists visited the Tulip Garden in the first two weeks since it opened in 2017, according to a Greater Kashmir report.

The Tulip Festival 2018 is a “must-attend” event for flower lovers, nature lovers, and tourists from across the world, according to tourism website, TripScam.

Types of Tulips

1. Standard Tulips – Normal tulips available across the Valley, from florists to local gardens.
2. Double-Flowered Tulips– Instead of a single bud, or single layer of petals, a double-flowered tulip has several layers.
3. Parrot Tulips – They appear as ruffled petals in various hues akin to the plumage of a tropical parrot.
4. Fringed Tulips – Fringed Tulips are frilly with fringed petals and buds.
5. Bi-Color Tulips – Bi-color tulips display a variety of colors as compared to standard tulips.

Greater Kashmir quoted the tourism department as saying that the garden drew a large number of visitors, both local and tourists, despite several shutdowns in the days leading up to its opening in 2017.

“In fact, the garden drew over 8,000 people in just one day, on Baisakhi 2017,” an official from the tourism department told Greater Kashmir.

(With inputs from Greater Kashmir, TripScam, and Jammu and Kashmir Tourism)