THE BIJBEHARA GARDEN 181 



plains than any I have seen in Kashmir, can still 

 be clearly made out by the glorious chenar 

 avenues. The trees form the usual cross on a 

 very extended scale, radiating from what was 

 once a large tank surrounded by wide par- 

 terres, with a pavilion set in the midst of the 

 water. The eastern canal supplied the garden 

 with a force of water drawn from the Lidar 

 River, and the avenues to the north and east 

 disclose vistas of the snow mountains which 

 shut in this end of the Kashmir valley. The 

 walls are broken down, but remains of octagonal 

 towers mark their corners. There is the usual 

 hummum, now in ruins, and the south avenue 

 terminates in a tank and brick pavilion. Below 

 this building is a long river terrace — a feature 

 repeated on the opposite side of the Jhelum, 

 once crossed by a stone bridge ; and the origin- 

 ality of the whole plan lies in its carrying out 

 Shah Jahan's idea of a double garden, one on 

 each side of a river. 



This was formerly known as Dara Shukoh's 

 garden, but is now called the Wazir Bagh. The 

 banks are steep, and the Bijbehara reach of the 

 river is a beautiful one. The high balconied 

 houses of the little town, and the massive forms 



