The Spring season in most parts of India may be short ---but how sweet it is. And how joyously we celebrate the rejuvenation of the Earth. It’s not just us humans who go slightly crazy, everywhere the flowers turn up in their Sunday best, spilling colours and scents. Birds too are singing for joy and the gentle breezes, sweet on your skin, urge you to be outdoors all day long.

Young grass springs on the plain;
Young leaves clothe early hedgerow trees;
Seeds, and roots, and stones of fruits,
Swollen with sap put forth their shoots;
Curled-headed ferns sprout in the lane;
Birds sing and pair again.

Spring has arrived early in the Kashmir valley and Asia’s largest Tulip Garden has taken full advantage of it. Officially thrown open to the public on 16 March, at least 10 days ahead of the appointed opening day, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden in Srinagar is an unmissable treat of Nature’s deep-seated generosity. Banishing memories of the cold hard winter when they lay in quiet hibernation, the tulips, now clothed in the vibrant hues of the rainbow, raise their heads to the benevolent springtime sun as they welcome guests from around the world. Gaily they start an impromptu dance as the cool breezes waft through the flowerbeds.

Nestled between the foothills of the Zabarwan Range and the iconic Dal Lake, close to the heritage expanses of Cheshma Shahi, the tulip garden has been quietly establishing itself as one of Srinagar’s most alluring attractions. The high season for the blooms is anything between 15-20 days, weather permitting.

Spread over a sprawl of 70 acres, the garden offers a fabulous showcase of 18 lakh spring-blooming bulbs of 70 different varieties of tulips. Wheelchair-accessible pathways wind their way through the terrace garden.

The terraced slopes of the Zabarwan Hills offer other stunning blooms to drool over. Roses, muscari, irises, hyacinths, daffodils and ranunculus in all their glory too vie for the attention of selfie and insta buffs.

Catch a shikara ride on Dal Lake to enjoy the stunning panorama of the shawl of fresh snow on the upper hills, and the lower slopes painted in vibrant colours by the tulips.

Get there early before the crowds descend. Around 9am is the perfect time; but if you miss this uncrowded slot opt for the late afternoon when the mass of crowds dwindles a bit. The garden is officially open till 7pm.

This is the best opportunity to go exploring Srinagar’s iconic Mughal gardens. Also referred to as the Persian Paradise gardens, they featured terraces placed around a central water channel, lined with fountains and planted with a variety of flowers and trees growing in abundance in the Kashmir Valley.

Located on the shoreline of the Dal Lake the Shalimar Garden is a wonderment of many delights of colours, fragrance and verdant splendour. Roses perfume the air; giant dahlias grab your camera’s eye; birdsong is music for the ears. What an unmissable sensory experience. Spread over 30 acres, this traditional Mughal Char Bagh pleasure garden was a huge draw for Emperor Jehangir, a keen botanist himself. Tiny, fettered pavilions, known as ‘Chini Khanas’ would light up the pathways with the flickering light of oil lamps placed inside them. Now beautiful potted plants drape over them. The central waterbody, the Shah Nahar, and fountains would keep it all very cool and pleasant even on warm afternoons. The chief structures here are the Pink Pavilion, in the Diwan-i-Aam zone of the garden, and the Black Pavilion, located in the Diwan-i-Khas section.

For an uncrowded experience head for the dreamy environs of the 17th C Nishat Bagh. Nestled on the eastern bank of the Dal Lake, edged by the pinnacles of Zabarwan mountain range, Nishat is a terraced oasis of calm and perfumed splendour. Chashme Shahi Garden was commissioned by Emperor Shahjehan for his beloved son Dara Shikoh, poet and Sufi scholar. A smaller version of a Mughal Garden its starpoint is its natural spring whose waters are believed to have medicinal properties.

Forget the Netherlands, Srinagar’s Indira Gandhi Tulip Garden has more than enough to cater to your love of tulips. The state government is, in fact, making every effort to propagate local varieties to diminish the need for imports. So do go catch the Valley’s tulip season for an exceptionally satisfying back-to-nature experience.