The historic Shalimar Garden is one top tourist attraction in the city which has historic relevance. It is also famously known as the ‘Shalamar Gardens’. The gardens are part of the Mughal era which was completed in a record time of 1 year in 1642. The credit of the place goes to the then Emperor Shah Jahan who was known for his love for nature and construction. This extreme collage of nature and constructional artwork was accomplished under the project management of Khalilullah Khan who was a renowned noble of the Emperor’s court. Shalimar name meaning is still an unresolved mystery as the historians are yet to confirm that whether it came from Arabic or the Persian origin. The place is located close to Baghbanpura on the GT road which is in the northeast direction at a distance of 5KM from the city center of Lahore.
The architecture of Shalimar is incredible with its oblong parallelogram shape which is covered from all sides with a high brick wall. The wall is an attractive sight to watch because of its stunning intricate fretwork. The concept of the garden was based on Char Bhagh. The dimensions of the garden from north to south are 658 meters and from east to west are 258 meters which is a reasonably vast area. UNESCO in the year1981 included Shalimar Gardens in its World Heritage Site along with the Lahore Fort in the year 1972 for its unique construction and relevance with history of the era.