Pari Mahal, Srinagar

The Pari Mahal ("Fairies' Palace") stands high on the mountainside above the Chashma Shahi overlooking Lake Dal. Prince Dara Shikoh, son of Shah Jahan, built it as a school of astrology for his teacher Akhund Mulla Shah. Brookes counts it among the loveliest sites in all Kashmir. ^{1 2}

Its layout is grand: a central building and flanking pavilions on a podium, with stepped terraces rising behind to a central pavilion. The site has recently been cleared and a steep road laid to it; traces of fountains and tanks show in the replanted garden, with no sign of cascades between them, so the waterways were probably underground. Several levels have been restored, but it still lacks its original tanks and fountains. ^{1 2}