This Srinagar Chrysanthemum Garden Is Bringing Visitors Back After a Year of Fear & Loss

On an autumn afternoon in Srinagar, visitors slow their steps as they enter the Bagh-e-Gul-e-Dawood garden. Rows of chrysanthemums stretch across the hillside, glowing in soft yellows, pinks, reds, and whites. The Zabarwan mountains stand quietly in the background, as people wander through the terraces, pausing longer than planned, taking photographs they did not expect to take this late in the year.

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In this photograph by Danish Showkat, the Valley feels alive in a season that usually begins to fall still. Families walk together, children weave between flower beds, and elderly visitors rest on the edges of the paths, soaking in the colour. Autumn in Kashmir often signals a winding down, but here, the mood feels different. There is movement, conversation, and a sense of return.

Earlier this year, that feeling was absent. After the Pahalgam attack in April, tourism in Kashmir collapsed almost overnight. Visitors left. Gardens fell quiet. For thousands of families who depend on seasonal tourism, the months that followed were marked by worry and waiting. Spring and summer are usually the Valley’s busiest periods, but this year, even those months passed with little work and fewer earnings.

As temperatures dipped and autumn approached, expectations were low. This time of year typically brings a natural slowdown, as winter draws closer and footfall thins out. Yet, the opening of the chrysanthemum garden altered that familiar rhythm. Visitors began arriving again, drawn by a bloom few had seen before in Kashmir at this time of year.

Just outside the frame of this photograph, that shift played out in everyday ways. Vendors rolled their carts back to the garden gates. Kehwa was brewed again, poured warm into small cups, shared with visitors who lingered after their walk. For many, these small moments marked the return of daily earnings after months of uncertainty.

Spread across 100 kanals and home to over 30 lakh blooms, Bagh-e-Gul-e-Dawood was planned to extend Kashmir’s tourism season. On the ground, it became something more personal. It brought colour to a dull month. It brought work when it was most needed. It brought a sense that the Valley still had room for hope, even after a difficult year.

The photograph holds that feeling with care. A late bloom in the calendar. A gentler pace before winter. A reminder that recovery often arrives softly, through ordinary moments and shared spaces.

The full story follows a Srinagar kehwa seller and how a late-blooming garden helped him survive a season of loss. Read it here.

Photograph by Danish Showkat