Shalamar Garden

The Shalamar Gardens, also known in English as the Shalimar Gardens, are a Mughal garden complex located in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The gardens date from the period when the Mughal Empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith, and are now one of Pakistan’s most popular tourist destinations. The Shalamar Gardens were laid out as a Persian paradise garden intended to create a representation of an earthly utopia in which humans co-exist in perfect harmony with all elements of nature. Construction of the gardens began in 1641 during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, and was completed in 1642. In 1981 the Shalamar Gardens were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as they embody Mughal garden design at the apogee of its development.

Meanings of Shalamar Garden

The courtiers told the Maharaja Ranjit Singh “that Shala was a Turki word which means pleasure and the “mar” means the place to live in”. Dissatisfied, he changed the gardens’ name to Shahla Bagh, “Shahla” meaning in Persian ‘sweetheart’ with dark gray eyes and a shade of red and “Bagh” meaning “garden”.