Asia’s largest tulip garden, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, opened on Sunday (March 19) for travellers to admire the beautiful flowers.

Located between Dal Lake and the Zabarwan hills in Srinagar, the garden has over 1.5 million (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, muscari and cyclamens.

Inam-ul-Rehman, who is in charge of the garden, told news agency PTI, “Preparations like gardening, engineering, fungicide treatment, nutrient spraying and minor repair which we do before the tulip show are going on.”

Hundreds of gardeners worked the garden to for its opening on Sunday. Although the tulip blooms remain on display for just three to five days, it is hard work for the ground staff throughout the year to ensure that the quality of the bulbs is maintained year after year, the in-charge said.

As per the Srinagar tourist website, the garden was opened in 2007 with the aim of boosting floriculture and tourism in the Kashmir Valley. It is built on sloping ground in a terraced fashion, consisting of seven terraces. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip garden is spread over 30 hectares.

The tulip festival is an annual celebration that aims to showcase the range of flowers in the garden as part of the tourism efforts by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also organised during the onset of the spring season every year.

How to reach Srinagar’s Tulip Garden?

• By air: The tulip garden is 22 km from Sheikh ul Alam International Airport.
• By train: It is 18 km from Srinagar Railway Station.
• By road: If you’re taking a cab, then the garden is 8 km from Lalchowk in Srinagar.