Harwan Garden is situated in the district of in Srinagar. A beautiful and massive garden, Harwan is a popular picnic spot. A beautiful canal, fed from a lake just behind the garden, passes through its center. The canal is bordered with blossoming flowerbeds and chinar trees. Kashmir Harwan Garden does not have the usual terraces, artificial fountains, etc, like the other gardens of Kashmir. It has been deliberately kept devoid of these man-made things.
The main attraction of the the garden is its natural beauty that is present in plenty. The big lawns, carpeted with green grass, draw people automatically towards this place. An ideal spot for picnics and excursions, Harwan is the perfect place to take long walks in the lap of nature. It also serves as a take-off point for visiting Dachi Gam Wild life sanctuary and a starting point of a Mahadev Mountain trek.
A canal, beautifully bordered with Chinar trees and blossoming flower beds, starting from a lake just behind the garden, flows through the middle of the garden.
The major draw of the Harwan garden is its natural loveliness and charm. With greenery in the backdrop of snowy environment, this garden has big green grass lawns and attracts visitors virtually towards this place.
Reachable by taxis within half an hour, the garden is perfect place for picnics and excursions, also an ideal place for natures walk. It is the gateway to Dachi Gam Wildlife sanctuary
Harwan Garden Buddhist Temple
The relics of the Harwan Buddhist temple are age’s old and unique work of art and history, its origin goes as far as 300 AD. Its ruins are located in Harwan, a village situated in the north-western Kashmir. These ruins are situated towards the northwest of Kashmir and are accessible from the eastern side of Shalimar Mughal Garden.
The temple dates back to the Kushan era and civilization. It is believed that second Buddhist council was held here. It was discovered during an excavation as part of an archaeological expedition conducted by the Archaeological Department of India approximately between 1919 and 1929 AD. The architecture of this ancient structure depicts the lifestyle, attire and habitat of the people who belonged to that civilization. There are beautiful image carvings on the tiles within the temple. These are mostly the people who look similar to those from Kashgar or Yarkand. Harwan was earlier known as Shadara Hadwan, that means ‘woods of six saints’