The festival typically begins in late March or early April, depending on weather conditions, and continues for several weeks while the flowers remain in bloom. During the period, the garden attracts thousands of tourists and photographers from across India and abroad.
This year the garden is set to open on March 16. The tulip garden is expected to feature around 1.5 million bulbs across more than 70 tulip varieties.
In a post on X, Abdullah said he had visited the tulip garden and that the flowers were still about a week away from reaching their peak bloom.
“Got a sneak preview of Asia’s largest tulip garden in Srinagar earlier today. The garden is still 7-8 days away from its full bloom but it’s already bursting with colour,” he wrote.
“The garden looks amazing. The team of gardeners have done an amazing job under the supervision of the Floriculture Department officials,” he added.
The tulip garden, formally known as the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, is located at the foothills of the Zabarwan range overlooking the famous Dal Lake.
Spread across about 30 hectares, the garden is regarded as the largest tulip garden in Asia and features millions of tulip bulbs planted in terraced beds against the backdrop of the Himalayas.
Every year the garden becomes the centrepiece of the Tulip Festival Srinagar, organised by the Jammu and Kashmir tourism and floriculture departments to mark the arrival of spring in Kashmir.
The event has become one of the most important tourism draws for the Kashmir Valley, helping kick off the summer travel season after the winter months.
In 2024, it recorded more than four lakh visitors, including tourists and locals, while over 3.5 lakh people visited the garden in 2023.
However, Kashmir’s tourism sector faced a setback last year after a terror attack targeting tourists in Pahalgam in April left 26 people dead.
Alongside the tulip display, the festival usually features cultural performances, handicraft exhibitions, and local food stalls aimed at showcasing Kashmiri culture and crafts.
Authorities expect large tourist footfall again this year as the flowers reach full bloom over the coming days.
