Srinagar in Autumn: Harud and the Chinars

‘Harud’ is what the Kashmiris call the season of autumn. It captures a special place in the hearts of the residents. The Chinar tree is the state tree of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Tall leafy chinars act as indicators of seasons. The trees become barren in winter. The leaves are green in summer. And during autumn the leaves turn amber before finally turning into a fiery red.

Thus, almost every week of harud is a picture worth saving.

Chinar is known as Bouin in the Kashmiri language. It is said that the tree was brought to Kashmir from Greece via Iran. I remember seeing chinars in Gaziantep. It is known as “plane” tree in Turkey. In Kashmir the tree is protected by law. Cutting of the chinars attracts punishment.

My quest for the golden and red chinars

In the last week of October, we take a flight to Srinagar to experience the colours of harud. My last visit to Kashmir was in 2006 – we have no ties in Kashmir and there is very scanty literature on the internet that could give me details about when and where to go in Kashmir to catch the chinars.

We know ultimately it will be a game of luck.

The autumn chinar itinerary in Kashmir

We land in Srinagar, the capital city of Jammu and Kashmir. We find it to be quite like Dehradun, very dusty and polluted. And no wonder – the enormous presence of the Indian army and the related infrastructure development must have taken a toll on the city. Srinagar is full of gorgeous gardens, particularly the Mughal Gardens and on my trip this time we are in search of these gardens.

Chinars near Dal promenade and at Hazratbal

On the first night, we stroll on the streets and come across a few odd chinars by the streets and market squares. There are a few by the Dal Lake promenade as well, but the leaves are only semi green. It seems like the yellow tint is just catching up. I get a sinking feeling in my heart that we have arrived a bit early.

“It is okay, nature is not in your hand, accept and make best of what you have,” I remind myself.

On the second day we set out to do the usual itinerary of Srinagar. I have high hopes of catching the chinars in the garden. Our first stop is the Hazratbal Shrine. Inside the mosque premises it is very peaceful. The mosque has an extremely pretty private promenade by the Dal lake. From here we observe unique alleys and typical Kashmiri architecture. We also see a few chinars in the garden.

Like those around the Dal lake, these chinars are also semi-green.

Moving on to Naseem Bagh

The Kashmir University premises in Srinagar are supposed to be the ultimate place for chinars. Adjacent to it is Naseem Bagh—a Mughal Garden. According to our driver, since we do not have access to the Kashmir University, we cannot enter Naseem Bagh (not sure if this is true or false but sounds fair enough). Instead, our driver drops us at Naseem Bagh Park. It is a small, decorated stretch along the Dal.

On Google Maps, Naseem Bagh is very confusing to locate as various points are marked as Naseem Bagh. We frolic around the few chinars in Naseem Bagh Park and give up our dream of going to the actual Naseem Bagh  which houses the largest density of Chinar trees in Srinagar. Even here the leaves are only semi yellow/green.

The chinar tunnel in Nishat Bagh

Nishat Bagh is a terraced garden overlooking the Dal Lake. It was constructed in 1633 by Asif Khan, the elder brother of Nur Jahan. It has twelve terraces and is usually thronged by tourists. We enter the garden and cross the cacophony of tourists wild with excitement. After clicking a few usual photos, we go on our chinar search. In the left side of the garden, we get the charming chinars! What doubles our happiness is that the tourists are least interested in it, so we have the whole place to ourselves.

As we walk under the trees, the crunch of the dried leaves alerts the puppies resting here of our presence. The carpet of dried leaves is probably providing them with much needed warmth. Here the leaves are more of the golden hue. We spend much time enjoying the blissful ambiance and click several photos.

A few minutes later, the gardener approaches us with his sharp gardening tools. He offers to take our photographs on our phones. We assume saying “no” would be disrespectful so we unwillingly say “yes”. After clicking some photos, he asks for money.

The fact that we did not ask for a service, we are alone in that stretch, and the presence of sharp tools in his possession make me feel intimidated. So we give him the money. However, at that point he notices my face, and offers us the money back. I’m not sure what to make of this situation, giving a fake smile I tell him to keep the money and just move on.

The Chinar tunnel enroute Pari Mahal

Pari Mahal is yet another terraced Mughal-garden situated on a hilltop. One gets a bird’s eye view of the city of Srinagar from here. The garden is smaller compared to the other Mughal Gardens, and there are no noteworthy chinar groves.

But the story does not end here.

The road to Pari Mahal is via the Raj Bhawan, a high security official complex. It is here on this road that we find a tunnel of golden Chinars. It is afternoon when we pass under it, the rays of the Sun only increase the resplendence. Since this is a high security zone, vehicles are not allowed to halt here. We lock the view forever in our eyes and minds.

Char Chinar Island of Dal lake

The Char Chinar Island is a tiny fleck of land in the Dal lake. The island is a garden with four chinar trees gracing its corners. The garden was built by Murad Baksha, brother of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The island has been romanticized in old Bollywood movies and particularly the songs. Ghat number 23 is the nearest ghat to reach here.

The government rate cards by the ghats is a joke. No boatsman follows it and bargaining is the norm. Thankfully our driver does the bargaining for us and the deal is settled at INR 800 for 1 hour of boat ride.

This side of Dal is probably the most scenic. It is sunset time and there is no boat traffic here. We have the shikara (boat) and the lake to ourselves. Cradled in the waves, we reach the Char Chinar Island in a few minutes. The chinars here are probably the greenest of all the chinars we see in Srinagar. It doesn’t matter though. We go with an open mind and make best of what we have.

There is a little sorrow in my heart but I am grateful to have experienced a golden Srinagar in autumn. I think it is still not cold enough for the chinars to turn red here. Also, the variation in the colours of Chinar among different spots in Srinagar must be related to the hyperlocal climate of the areas. Char Chinar gets maximum Sun exposure and is probably the warmest, maybe that’s why it is the greenest. The stretch near Pari Mahal is cooler, and maybe that’s why the leaves are already golden there.

Anyways, chin up, and with a smile on our faces we get excited about our next destination—Pahalgam. And just when I have given up all hopes of the fiery red Chinar, it emerges.

Some pointers if you are planning Srinagar for fiery red Chinars

It is very tricky to know when the colours of Chinar would turn red. It is advisable to book tickets last minute if you are travelling for the chinars. It is best if you have hyperlocal contacts there. I’ll not trust travel agents to give me proper information as they will only try to sell their packages. Instagram is good but many locals post pictures of last year so do not blindly trust the platform.

The timings change from year to year, it varies on how warm or cold the year has been. So do not go by data of the past year. The reddish tinge stays for probably less than a week and soon after, the trees becomes barren. Also, if there is a strong wind or rainfall, the reddened leaves will immediately fall off. Srinagar without snow, with barren trees, smog and biting cold might not seem that attractive.

Even though we did not find red chinars in Srinagar, we did in Pahalgam. The transition of colours must depend on hyperlocal climate—temperature, weather, soil, water, latitude, and altitude. That is why it is important to do individual town/village/park-based research.

Also, there is a lot of luck involved. All the best!

Are you a local from Srinagar? Are you an expert of Chinars? Do you have something to add that might enrich the readers? Feel free to comment below.

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