Blooming tulips at Asia’s largest tulip garden in Srinagar ahead of its opening to visitors on March 16, 2026. | Photo credit: ANI
Facing a major setback after the 2025 Pahalgama terror attack, the Jammu and Kashmir government is counting on blooming tulip and almond gardens to boost tourism in the valley this year.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is set to inaugurate the spring festival later this week at Srinagar’s Badamwari, an almond garden that features enchanting blooming pink and white flowers.
“An additional 300 fresh almond trees have been planted this year to add to the bloom. A lavender patch spread over 50 kanals (6.25 acres) of Badamwari is being prepared to extend the spring bloom till May-June. Many new plants have been introduced to complement the color palette and fragrance of the garden,” said Mathoora Masoom, Director, Hindmir, Hindmir.
Dating back to the 14th century, Badamwari Garden spans over 300 kanals (37.5 acres) and the Afghan-era fort of Hari Parbhat is nearby. There are also shrines of religious figures worshiped by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.
“Our aim is to transform the garden into a year-round garden. The aim is to introduce visitors to the rich variety of floral beauty that Kashmir has to offer. The traditional aesthetics of the garden are integrated with modern visitor-friendly features,” Ms Masoom said.
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The florist department introduced selfie points in the garden and renovated all-wooden rain shelters to promote the garden on social media platforms. The blooming garden is modeled after Japan’s cherry blossom festivals “to become part of the tourist itinerary”, although the spring blossom offers a limited short period.
Apart from the almond blossoms, the department will open the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden in Srinagar from March 16, offering blooming tulips. With more than 1.8 million tulip bulbs that include 70 to 75 different varieties, the garden offers rare Dutch flowers similar to Keukenhof. Selfie points will be set up to allow tourists to record their memories.
“We are fully prepared to receive visitors in the garden,” the official said.
The Tulip Garden hosted a record 8.25 million visitors in April 2025. However, a terrorist attack on the 26th of that month flattened the tourism chart for many months. The attack killed 26 civilians, including 25 tourists. Operation Sindoor in May further disrupted the flow.
In fact, the Tulip Garden was among 44 destinations closed to tourists last year. However, it was reopened this year after a security audit. Only 11.16 million tourists visited Kashmir in 2025 compared to 26 million tourists in 2024. The tourism sector contributes nearly 7% to the gross state domestic product of J&K.
Published – 11 March 2026 05:40 IST
