The Shalimar Gardens in Lahore were commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and completed in 1641. They cover an area of 16 hectares and are divided into three terraces, with the highest reserved for the emperor's harem. The gardens originally contained 410 fountains and elaborate water features but have fallen into disrepair recently due to neglect, with walls collapsing and bricks deteriorating.

1. • supervision of a noble Shahjahan’s court, Khalilullah Khan and other prominent figures by that time.
The project was completed in a remarkable short period of one year 5 months and 4 days. Shalimar
garden is considered as one of the Shahjahan’s finest achievement after Taj Mahal.
• 658 meters North to South`
• 258 meters East to West.
SHALIMAR GARDEN LAHORE
INTRODUCTION
Gardens play an important role in establishing our environment as well as maintaining the health. But
due to the poor governance they are getting destroyed and loosing their real beauty. One such example
is The Shalimar Garden Lahore.
North
BRIEF ANALYSIS OF SHALIMAR GARDEN
• Lahore was conceived as a project by Ali Mardan Khan in 1641 A.D., the Persian governor of Punjab.
Shahjahan granted him permission to construct a garden which would be remembered for hundreds
of years for its beauty, The Shalimar garden which was launched under the
• It has five cascades, including the great marble cascade and Sawan
Bhadoon, while the main building situated in the premises included
Sawan Bhadoon pavilions, Naqar Khana (room of coloured artwork),
Khawab Gah of Begum Sahib (resting room of the Queen),
Baradaries to enjoy the cool breeze produced by the surrounding
fountains. Two huge gateways and minarets are located in the
corners of the garden called Diwan-eKhas-o-Aam.
Decay and Decomposition in brick work due to seepage
THE NEGLECT OF SHALIMAR GARDEN IN RECENT TIMES
• The historic Shalimar garden is losing height of construction work, which
continues decay and deterioration due to lack of interest by the authorities.
• Eastern and northern walls of the monument, have been completely lost or
on the verge of collapse. While the conditions of the boundary walls of the
monument are miserable. They are already at the verge of collapse, high
dilapidations at many places and can be seen on the outer side of wall
possibly due to massive rains in the last three years.
• The northern and the Eastern walls are in the much worse conditions than
the other two walls.
• The old bricks are causing lead and asbestos to be entered the environment
• Lower level to the road can cause water to accumulate inside causing
serious issues.
The Shalimar Gardens are divided into three distinct terraces. The
area in red is the uppermost terrace, and was reserved for the
Emperor’s harem, while the area in blue was reserved for the
Emperor. The area in green is the lowest terrace, and was
occasionally open to the public.
Mughal Gardens were based upom Timurid gardens built in Central Asia and
Iran between the 14th and 16th century.A high brick wall richly decorated with
intricate fretwork encloses the site in order to allow for the creation of
a Charbagh paradise garden - a microcosm of an earthly utopia.
The Shalimar Gardens are laid out in the form of form of a rectangle aligned
along a north-south axis, and measure 658 metre by 258 metres, and cover an
area of 16 hectares. Each terrace level 4–5 metres (13-15 feet) higher than the
previous level.
The uppermost terrace of the gardens is named Bagh-e-Farah Baksh, literally
meaning Bestower of Pleasure. The second that third terraces are jointly known
as the Bagh-e-Faiz Baksh, meaning Bestower of Goodness. The first and third
terraces are both shaped as squares, while the second terrace is a narrow
rectangle.
Shalimar's main entrance was onto the lower-most terrace, which was open to
noblemen, and occasionally to the public.The middle terrace was the Emperor's
Garden, and contained the most elaborate waterworks of any Mughal
garden.The highest terrace was reserved for the Emperor's harem.
The square shaped terraces were both divided into four equivalent smaller
squares by long fountains flanked by brick khayaban walkways designed to be
elevated in order to provide better views of the garden.Cascades were made to
flow over a marble paths in what are known as chadors, or "curtains" into the
middle terrace. Water collected into a large pool, known as a haūz, over which a
seating pavilion was made.
DESIGN AND LAYOUT
Shalimar Garden Shalimar Garden Entrance
The Shalimar Garden's contain the most elaborate waterworks of any Mughal
Garden.It contains 410 fountains, which discharge into wide marble pools, each
known as a haūz. The enclosed garden is rendered cooler than surrounding areas
by the garden's dense foliage, and water features-a relief during Lahore's
blistering summers, with temperature sometimes exceeding 120 °F (49 °C). The
distribution of the fountains is as follows:
•The upper level terrace has 105 fountains.
•The middle level terrace has 152 fountains.
•The lower level terrace has 153 fountains.
•All combined, the Gardens has 410 fountains.
The Gardens have 5 water cascades including the great marble
cascade and Sawan Bhadoon
WATER FEATURES
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