Srinagar, Mar 26: Over 90,000 visitors visited Asia’s largest tulip garden, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden here since its opening on March 20.
Tulip Garden, opened on March 19 for travellers to admire the beautiful flowers. Located between Dal Lake and the Zabarwan hills in the summer capital, the garden has over 15 lakh tulips of various colours and hues. Besides a scenic display of tulips, the garden, formerly known as Siraj Bagh, has other spring flowers such as hyacinths, daffodils, mascari and cyclamens.
On March 20, 10514 visitors that included 3601 locals, 6898 nationals and 15 international travelers visited the garden. On March 21, 11874 tourists visited the garden that included 11874 locals, 9204 nationals and 15 foreigners, On March 22, 22826 visitors visited the garden that included 1304 locals, 12204 nationals and 76 foreigners.
Similarly on March 23, 8683 tourists visited the garden that included 1304 locals, 7341 nationals and 38 foreigners. On March 24, 7694 visitors visited the garden that included 7122 nationals and 40 foreigners, besides 532 locals. On March 25, 7862 tourists visited the garden that included 464 locals, 7271 nationals and 127 foreigners.
Officials said at least 60 gardeners are working round the clock at the iconic garden. The garden is divided into 36 plots with 16-18 beds in each. There are three parks inside the garden as well, where visitors can sit and have an immersive experience in a sea of colours flanked by the Zabarwan mountain range. Various small ornamental plants adorn the sides of numerous by-lanes of the garden.
The garden played an important part in wooing more tourists during the spring last year, particularly after the Covid disruptions in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the garden saw 3.6 lakh visitors, including tourists and locals, against 2.3 lakh in 2021.
Last year, over 26 lakh tourists had visited Kashmir, and the arrivals this year are also looking encouraging. February saw more than one lakh tourists thronging Kashmir, especially its three known destinations of Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg.
Kashmir’s connection with tulips traces its origin back to hundreds of years when the flowers were grown on muddy rooftops of houses. Gradually, people started planting them in kitchen gardens and flower beds till 2005-06, when the then state government decided to convert Siraj Bagh into a regal tulip garden, keeping up with Kashmir’s historical ties with the flower variety.
The Tulip garden was opened in 2007 with the aim of boosting floriculture and tourism in Kashmir. It is built on sloping ground in a terraced fashion, consisting of seven terraces.
