Mughal Gardens

The famous Mughal Gardens are located in New Delhi in the premises of the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the official residence of the President of India. Sir Edwin Lutyens designed the gardens and the building for Lady Harding. Spanned over the area of 13 acres, the gardens combine the formal Mughul style with the British garden designs. The gardens comprise of Mughal canals, multi-level terraces and flowering shrubs along with European flowerbeds, lawns and privet hedges. It was W. R. Mustoe, who had planted appropriate shrubs, plants and trees in the garden. By the year 1929, the two had transformed the gardens to a sort of haven.

There are three main parts of the garden: the Rectangular Garden immediately behind the main building, the Long Garden and the Circular Garden. The gardens have four waterways with unique fountains at the intersections. These fountains comprise of 3-tiered huge red sandstone discs that bear a resemblance to lotus leaves, giving the whole gardens a look of the sort of paradise. Lawns and flowerbeds give delightful look to this beautifully designed gardens.

There is splendid Pergola in the Long Garden that on which bougainvillea creepers have been grown. On the sides there are bed of roses and trimmed hedge of Ingadulets that look like the colored knots on a vast carpet. If you wish to see the butterflies, then you can go to massed segmental and tiered flowerbeds around the pool in the Circular Garden. This is also called Pearl or Butterfly Garden.

The flowers at Mughal Garden include rose, viscaria, teptosyne, sweet william, oxalis, marigold and bougainvillea. Besides, there are number of other annuals and perennials. Then there are special Moulsari trees and fine collection of bonsai.

The Mughal gardens are open to the public in February-March every year. Visitors are allowed entry to the garden from 9.30 A.M. till 2.30 P.M. on all days except Mondays. The gardens may remain closed on other days also in case of a function in the Mughal gardens or during the visit of a VVIP during the said period. The dates are made known to the public through various media. The entry and exit into the gardens is regulated from Gate No. 35 of the President's Estate, which is located near the North Avenue, at the western end of the Church Road.