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| Pari Mahal |
Pari Mahal is one of the most popular tourist
destinations in Srinagar city which is sited on top of Zabarwan mountain range
which runs close to Dal Lake. This majestic seven terraced Mughal garden on top
of the hill overlooks Srinagar city, Tulip garden and the Dal Lake.
The term
Pari Mahal means “The Fairie’s Adobe” and it is also called as “Quntilon”. Pari
Mahal stands an outstanding example for the architectural excellence of Mughal
and how they mastered in the field of garden architecture during their reign.
The garden is very popular for its attractive plants and numerous fruit trees.
Currently state government of Jammu and Kashmir owns and manages the garden. Although
Pari Mahal boasted a large number of springs earlier, only a few can be seen
today. The mahal, on the spur of a hill, is illuminated at night and can be
seen from most places in Srinagar.
Pari Mahal was built by Mughal PrinceDara Shikoh who was the elder son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the year 1650
AD. As per records the venue was initially a ruin of Buddhist Monastery which
was destroyed and erected as Pari Mahal by Prince Dara Shikoh. The venue was
used for teaching astronomy and astrology to the Prince by his teacher Mulla
Shah for whom this fairy palace was dedicated by Prince Dara Shikoh. It is also
said Pari Mahal is the actual location where Prince Dara Shikoh was killed by
his younger brother Prince Aurangazeb to win the power of Mughal reign.
The garden is located towards the South-west of the
famous Dal Lake.
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| DAL LAKE |
The Pari Mahal gardens are now the treasure possession of the
state.Pari Mahal is situated just above Chashma Shahi Gardens, about 10 km from
Srinagar, in Jammu and Kashmir .
Pari Mahal is a historic monument as well as a well-laid
spacious garden. Situated around a small spring, the garden has beautiful
flowering plants and various kinds of fruit. Pari Mahal is a seven terraced
garden with 122 m length and 62.5 m width which is built according to the
Mughal garden design. The seventh or the top terrace was used by Prince Dara
Shikoh for its teaching. The garden has no water falls to supply water to its
terraces so many water tanks with underground water pipeline connection were built to supply water to each terraces
through water tanks.The entrance of Pari Mahal is a typical Mughal style
entrance with an arch followed by a dome with a middle chamber. On both sides of the entrance
follows a row of extensive rooms. The top terrace has a huge water tank which gets
water from a spring. Currently the spring and many water tanks in the garden
have dried.
Architecture
The garden is located to the
southwest of the famous Dal lake on a hill top. The length and breadth of the
garden is 122 meters and 62.5 meters respectively.
The garden has six terraces
and there are no water cascades in the garden as other Mughal gardens usually
have. The water tanks of the garden are placed separately on the terraces of
the garden and underground pipes are used to fill these tanks. Many beautiful
ornamental plants flowers and fruit trees are grown in the garden with a spring
flowing in between.
Architecturally,
the third terrace of the garden has been constructed in a very interesting
manner. The garden has a typical Mughal style entrance that has an arch in its
front followed by a dome and a central chamber. The entrance of the garden is
located amidst the east wall. It is finely coated with the beautiful paint and
plaster. There is a series of large expansive rooms on either side of the
entrance. One room towards the north of the entrance is considered to be the
hammam or the royal bathing space. Pieces of water pipes can be seen coming out
from the domed ceiling of this room and it has a very well decorated interior.
There are two chambers towards the south of the entrance. But the purpose of
these chambers could not be depicted. Pipes are inserted in the ceilings of
these chambers. There is a possibility that the second chamber might have been
used as a kitchen as it has two pipes inserted at the ceiling
Timing
The timing of
PariMahal is from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. The last entry is at 4:30 pm. On Fridays
the garden is closed.This terraced garden is an example of fine landscaping and
excellent location, which is why it interests photography lovers. You can click
photos of its beautiful lawns or capture the panorama of Dal Lake, Tulip Garden
and its encompassing mountains.Pari Mahal has always interested the Hindi film
industry and has been the shooting location of several Bollywood movies. Tum aagaye ho, the famous song from Sanjeev Kumar and
Suchitra Sen starrer Aandhi (1975),
was filmed here. Another Bollywood movie, Lamhaa (2010)
featured this beautiful place in two of its song sequences ( Madhno and Main kaun hoon). The movie starred popular actors like
Sanjay Dutt, Anupam Kher, Bipasha Basu and Kunal Kapoor.
The
architecture of the structure features Islamic architecture and styles of art
which prevailed during the reign of the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan. The
monument is located amid seven terraced beautiful gardens which add to the
beauty of the structure.
Best Time to
Visit
Heavy rainfall is experience during the winters. To
enjoy the lush green sight of the PariMahal, the best time is between April to
October
How to Reach Pari Mahal
Pari Mahal being the popular and historic tourist destination in Srinagar has a good transport network to facilitate its tourist. The Srinagar railway station is sited at just 19 km far from the garden and from there Pari Mahal can be reached in just 25 minutes. The Srinagar international airport is sited in just 22 km far from Pari Mahal from where it can be reached in just 30 minutes through any local transportation service.
Nearest Airport
Srinagar airport is the nearest airport. One can reach parimahal and Chashmashahi from the airport via road transport.
Nearest Railhead
The nearest railway station is the Udhampur Railway station located at 250 kilometers from Srinagar.
Roadways
The city of Srinagar is well connected to the nearby areas via well-established network of roads.
Nearest tourist destinations
# Shalimar Gardens
# Nishart Garden
# Dal Lake
# Char Chinar
# Dargah Hazratbal
# Botanical Garden
# Tulip Garden
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