ACHABAL

Achabal Garden “the places of the princess”, is a small Mughal garden located at the southeastern end of the Kashmir Valley in the town of Achabal, Anantnag district, India. It is about 8 kilometers away from Anantnag and around 60km from Srinagar city. It was in Kashmir that the Mughal style gardens was brought to perfection and Achabal is one such masterpiece. This place is famous all over due to an ancient spring surrounded by a terrace garden, which was developed by Mughals. The historical significance of this place strikes the visitor with awe.Achabal Garden, once the pleasure retreat of the Mughal Empress Noor Jahan is a beautifully created garden in Kashmir with its own special allure and character. Its picturesque beauty makes it one of the best Mughal gardens of the Indian subcontinent. It is difficult to describe in words the mesmerizing beauty of this Mughal style garden. The upper portion of the garden is popularly known as `Bag-e-Begum Abad` and was developed by Malika Noor Jehan Begum in 1620 A.D. Later it became renowned as Sahib Abad in which there was a `Hamam` or treasure of water getting heat from a logical lamp or `tosng`. The garden was created at the site of a powerful spring, which enters the garden as a waterfall. The design of this wonderfully created garden is ascribed to the beloved wife of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. The Garden of Achabal is located at the foot of a hill covered with dense forest, which is 8 kilometers from Anantnag and 56 kilometers from Srinagar. The daughter of the Mughal monarch Shah Jahan built the garden in the year 1620 with cascading outpourings and pavilions. The most beautiful of all springs is Achabal and it gushes out of the Sosanwar Hill. In the garden of Achabal the water gushes out of the spasm with great vigor throughout the entire year. In the later ages the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh built a mosque in the garden. There is also a trout farm for seed fish nearby. There are tourist bungalows and tourist huts nearby where the tourists can spend some moments in the lap of the beautiful setup. This garden is universally regarded as a visual treat for the eyes. This garden is also well adorned with sprawling Chinar trees. Stepped terraces, ornamental shrubs and conventional elegance, are the added attraction, which not only mesmerizes one but also attracts thousands of tourists from all over the globe every year. Accommodation is available at the nearby tourist bungalows or rest houses. Achabal not only serves as a breathtaking splendor but also is a reviving experience for all tourists. Located near the Himalayan Mountains, the site may have been a Hindu sacred site known as “Akkshavala” previously.

It was built about 1620 A.D. by Mughal EmpireEmperor Jahangir’s wife, Nur Jahan, called the “greatest garden lovers of them all.” The garden was rebuilt on smaller scale by Gulab Singh and is now a public garden. A main feature of the garden is a waterfall that enters into a pool of water.

This place is also noted for its spring, which is finest in Kashmir and is supposed to be the reappearance of a portion of the river Bringhi, whose waters suddenly disappear through a large fissure underneath a hill at the village Wani Divalgam in the Brang Pargana. It is said that in order to test this, a quantity of chaff was thrown in the Bringhi river at a place its water disappears at Wani Divalgam and that chaff came out of the Achabal spring. The water of the spring issues from several places near the foot of a low spur which is densely covered with deodar trees and at one place it gushes out from an oblique fissure large enough to admit a man’s body and forms a volume some 18 inches high and about a foot in diameter.

KOKERNAG

Kokernag is a blend of all delicate components of natural beauty that attracts tourists from all over the world. Home to a spring with magical, curative powers, a tour to Kokernag is one of the most popular weekend getaways from Srinagar. Located at an altitude of around 2012 meters above sea level, tour to Kokernag also reveals some of the other treasures of this important tourist destination. The moment you enter the green valley of Kokernag, you are welcomed by the cool and fragrant air of the mountains, an air that brings with it the perfume of the blossoming flowers which you see all around this picturesque vale. An array of springs gush out of the base of a thickly wooded hill from where the waters divide into channels, resembling to the claw- foot of a hen, hence its name; Kokernag. Place is famous for gardens, largest fresh water springs and its trout stocked streams. Kokernag has been a famous place from mediaeval times and is mentioned in Ain Akbari that the water of Kokernag satisfies both hunger and thirst and it is also a remedy for indigestion. It is also famous for its trout streams. Trout hatchery department has constructed pools in series where in trout is reared. Different pools have got trout with different weights and ages. Kokernag is situated at a distance of about 22 km from Anantnag on the right side of Anantnag- Kishtwar highway. The easiest and most comfortable way of reaching this place is to hire a Sumo at Anantnag. One can also catch a local bus that is easily available in Anantnag and head towards Kokernag. It takes about one hour to reach Kokernag. Blessed with rich soil which promotes the growth of several varieties of plants and flowers, a tour to Kokernag is made even more perfect by the presence of a number of accommodation options in the region. The total area of Kokernag is 300 Kanals of which 129 kanals is for the purpose of gardens and the rest is forest area. Many fascinating destinations are found in this area including Daksum, Sinthan Top, Margan Top, Botanical Garden, Trout Fish Hatchery and Achabal.  

VERINAG

Located at the foothill of picturesque Pir Panjal mountain range, Verinag is a major tourist attraction in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. It is situated 26 km south of Anantnag and 78 km from Srinagar. It lies just below the entry point of Kashmir Valley after crossing Jawahar Tunnel. With an average elevation of 1,851 m (6,076 ft), Verinag is famous for its spring and a garden. There is an octagonal stone basin at Verinag Spring and an arcade surrounding it which was built by Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1620 A.D. Next to this spring, a beautiful garden was laid out by his son Shah Jahan. This spring is also the major source of river Jhelum that flows through the entire Valley from south to north before crossing over to Pakistan. 

Verinag spring is situated at the bottom of a hill covered by pine trees and evergreen plants. It was originally an irregular and shapeless pond forming a little marsh. After seeing the dilapidated condition of the spring and its scattered waters, Jahangir’s artistic taste for polishing the beauty of nature could not tolerate the eye- soaring spectacle and he determined to improve it. He built the octagonal tank of sculptured stones round it, so that all water was collected therein, for which carvers were brought from Iran. Seven years later, Shah Jahan, constructed a garden in front of the spring with cascades and aqueducts in straight lines through and around the fine garden.