Mughal Garden Wah Cantt

Mughal Garden Wah is an elaborate garden located near the city of Wah, Punjab, Pakistan. The gardens are in the old village of Wah, close to the present garrison town of Wah, located 50 km north west of Islamabad  It is between Wah Cantt and Hasan Abdal on the main Grand Trunk Road. Wah Gardens is located 12 km west of Taxila on the G.T. Road .The gardens are in the old village of Wah, close to the present garrison town of Wah.

The word "Wah Garden" means "What a Garden". Wah is an Urdu sign of exclamation. In history of this area word Wah is used by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, when he first saw the clear, rushing water and greenery of the location, he said "Wah" and after that the place is termed as Wah Garden. It is also called as Mughal Garden.

The whole area is famous for its spring, shrines and greenery. Its history traces back to Mughal Emperors and the remains of them still visible in the area. There are many archeological sites in the area, which reminds us the glorious Mughal era. These gardens were initially used as a transit camp by Mughal emperors, but owing to the natural beauty, the area was developed and cultivated. The gardens were developed with magnificent trees and water channels by successive Mughal emperors.

Mughal emperors loved beautiful scenery, valleys and natural water falls. This natural attachment created an idea in their minds to establish gardens. Mughal Garden of Wah is the beautiful examples of their great love with nature. 

There are beautiful twelve door structures, canals and waterfalls. There are bathrooms having mixture of cold and hot water at the southern place of these twelve-door structures. The inner portion of the twelve-door structures has been plastered with some material. The walls of small rooms have been decorated with flowers and petals.

Fed by clear, cool springs from the nearby mountains, the water collects in a large square tank on its upper terrace. The water originally flowed through a "Bara-Dari", meaning a pavilion with twelve (bara) doors (dari), and two flanking pavilions, one of which had elaborate bath chambers (hammam), over an inclined cascade that was decorated in a typically Mogul black-and-yellow marble chevron pattern. The water continued along a cypress-lined garden axis, through a central water tank and platform, and ultimately through the main entrance gate of the garden. The interior walls of the bara-dari were originally embellished with stucco traceries depicting fruits, vases, foliage and trees, of which remains can still be seen. Seven watchtowers were discovered along the perimeter wall, and a hammam, or bath, is attached to the southern wing of the bara-dari.

The gardens have two terraces, the upper and the lower one. It is famous for its beautiful ponds, reflecting pools, water channels, cascades and fountains built during the reign of Shah Jahan. A large water tank to the eastern end supplies its three water channels that run parallel to the length of the garden. Fifteen fountains flow from the central water channel.

The lower terrace has tapering cypress trees, the canals through which once cool water flowed between elegant romantic pavilions and cascading into large reflecting basins.

In old era this garden were declared to be as a trustee of heaven and substitute for heaven's garden on earth. One can easily visit Wah Gardens, when traveling to Taxila, Peshawar or Abottabad, and enjoy the beauty of the area and the gardens.

*********************************************