Kashmir's Tulip Gardens, A Big Draw For Tourists

Pulse

oi-Devaki

By Devaki

Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 15:43

As the flowers are in a full bloom in Kashmir's Tulip Garden, it becomes a major attraction for the foreign tourists, who visit Kashmir Valley this season.

The Tulip Garden, which is considered to be one among Asia's largest, is situated at the foot of the Zabarwan mountain range. It overlooks the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar. It becomes an asset for Kashmir, the place for which tourism is the backbone of the economy.

It has been open to the public since March 2008. Since then it is a favourite spot of thousands of tourists, during the season of March and April.

"I have really been waiting for a very long time to come to Kashmir. It has been very difficult in the past, as you know. So, finally getting a chance to be in India and also to have an opportunity to come to Kashmir, everything had to fit very well and it did," says Ben Wilkensen, an American tourist.

From the Mughal era, the region has served as a retreat for Indians living in the plains, who seek respite from the summer.