Pinjore Gardens (or Yadavindra Gardens)

Pinjore Gardens, now called Yadavindra , were started in the 17th century and designed by Nawab Fidal Khan, brother-in-law of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The gardens are in the foothills of the Himalayas, near Chandigarh. The site is sloping. You enter at the highest level and follow canals, past elegant pavilions, to the lowest level. It is a very attractive place and particularly interesting for having been lived-in by the author of the first serious history of Indian garden design: Constance Villiers Stuart. The text of her book is on the Gardenvisit website and the section which describes Pinjore Garden is quoted from in the below video. She loved the place. The most interesting of the garden's three levels is the large lower section (where avocados and mangos grow). When Villiers Stuart calls it a 'real Indian garden' she means that it was a 'flowery orchard' (see note on Hindu gardens). This was probably the character of ancient Hindu gardens and was definitely the character of Mughal gardens - though most of them are now managed, like English gardens, with lawns and trees. The plan of Pinjore/Yadavindra Garden is very close to the Diagram 16 from the evolution of Islamic charbagh garden design (also shown, left). 

See also: blog post on Pinjore Gardens