Overview
- Chief Minister Omar Abdullah inaugurated the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden in Srinagar, opening the 2026 Tulip Festival at Asia’s largest tulip park.
- Around 1.8 million tulips across 70-plus varieties and nearly 100,000 other bulbous flowers are on display along the Zabarwan foothills overlooking Dal Lake.
- Official counts logged 4,229 visitors on opening day, with more than 3,700 by 2 p.m. Tuesday (including 14 foreign tourists), and over 6,000 at nearby Badamwari since March 14.
- An early bloom linked to warmer weather is giving visitors a longer viewing window, with daily hours reported as 9 a.m.–7 p.m. and online ticketing available.
- Authorities have stepped up amenities, security and traffic control, while pursuing local tulip bulb production with SKUAST-K even as high airfares and global travel shifts weigh on foreign arrivals.