Pari Mahal or The Fairies’ Abode is a seven terraced garden located at the top of Zabarwan mountain range over-looking city of Srinagar and south-west of Dal-Lake. The architecture depicts an example of Islamic architecture and patronage of art during the reign of the then Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. It is five-minute drive from Cheshmashahi, Srinagar. The gardens were established by Prince Dara Shikoh in the mid-1600s on the ruins of a Buddhist monastery. Dara, the son of Emperor Shah Jahan, followed the Qadiri order of Sufi Islam and made the garden for his tutor; it was further used as an observatory, useful for teaching astrology and astronomy. The gardens have since become the property of the Srinagar government.