Betab Valley

It is surrounded by snow covered mountain peaks and dense pine and deodar forests. Emperor Jehangir got the Shalimar Garden built for his wife Nur Jahan in 1616. A second garden Faiz Baksh, (The Bountiful) was added to it later during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1628 1658). Covering an area of approximately 539 m by 182 m, the Shalimar garden offer an amazing view over the other gardens, lakes and shallow terraces. Also known as the garden of love, the Shalimar Mughal Gardens has four terraces, rising one above the other. The fourth terrace of the garden was, at one point of time, reserved for royal ladies. There is also a canal lined with polished stones running through the center of the Shalimar Bagh. The canal is responsible for supplying water to the garden from Harwan.

The top terrace of the Shalimar garden was reserved for the Mughal Emperor and the royal ladies of the court. In fact, the top terrace was the most wonderful one out of all the terraces. Betab valley has earned its name from the popular Bollywood film Betab which was the debut film for the actress Amrita Singh and actor Sunny Deol. Betab valley is located fifteen km from Pahalgam in the Anantnag district of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Betab valley falls on the way to the popular cave temple Amarnath between Chandanwari and Pahalgam.The picturesque location of Betab valley contains numerous lakes, green grazing lands, snow covered mountains and thick vegetation.