NEW DELHI: Come November 1, and Delhi’s
Sunder Nursery
will cost Indian visitors
Rs 30
and foreign nationals
Rs 100
for admission. But that will be a small price to pay for what
Time magazine
calls the world’s 100 greatest places to visit, stay in or dine at. Restored in phases since 2007, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture has now completed the infrastructure required to make Sunder Nursery a
ticketed site
.
sun11
The restored Mughal-era complex adjacent to Humayun’s Tomb in south Delhi was opened to the public in February this year and has been visited by over two lakh people since. For over a century, it had been the capital’s most popular plant nursery, and even today 20 of its 60 acres are used as a source for plants by Central Public Works Department.
The heritage complex has 12 monuments designated as World Heritage Sites by Unesco, six of them in Sunder Nursery: Lakkarwala Burj, Sunder Burj, Sunderwala Mahal, Mirza Muzaffar Hussain’s tomb, Chhota Batashewala and the Unknown Mughal’s tomb. The conservation work on Humayun’s Tomb and these monuments had drawn attention to this being a unique ensemble of 16th century garden tombs.
Designed by the late landscape architect M Shaheer, Sunder Nursery has a 550-metre-long ornamental central vista starts from the entrance zone of Humayun’s Tomb. The gardens along the central vista, inspired by Mughal traditions, employ lotus-shaped marble fountains, geometric flower beds and raised sandstone pathways. According to officials, the park has over 300 tree species, some not found anywhere else in Delhi, Sunder Nursery the city’s first arboretum. Over 80 bird species have been recorded here.
In its annual list of the World’s Greatest Places, 2018, Time magazine has named Sunder Nursery as a must-visit place among iconic spots from 48 countries. The magazine described the park as “a horticultural haven with restored Mughal-era monuments and water features”. The three other Indian entries in the list are Indian Accent in New Delhi for dining and Alila Fort Bishangarh in Rajasthan and Oberoi Sukhvilas Resort & Spa in Chandigarh for staying in.
“Following a decade of persistent effort, Sunder Nursery is beginning to now serve as a heritage and ecological hub for Delhi,” beamed Raish Nanda, CEO, AKTC. “Since the February inauguration, critical facilities have been built and several additional attractions are planned, including Delhi’s first ever specialist structure to display tropical flora.” Under an agreement signed in December 2017, AKTC will maintain the park for 10 years.