The entrance to the beautiful Sunder Nursery is surprisingly easy to miss. Tucked away from the chaos of Delhi’s traffic, the approach begins along the ever-busy Mathura Road, where cars sweep around a roundabout crowned by the striking Subz Burj—the blue-domed Nila Gumbad, now fenced off as it awaits restoration. Just beyond rises the majestic Humayun’s Tomb, while on the opposite side, pilgrims weave through narrow lanes leading to the revered shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.

Slip past this whirlwind of history and devotion, and you’ll find yourself on a tree-lined side street. A discreet turn to the left reveals a quiet pathway, where the grandeur of Humayun’s Tomb seems to fade from view, hidden behind the neighborhood’s more famous landmarks. Barely 300 meters from the main road, a modest signboard finally announces your arrival: Sunder Nursery.

The gardens have their roots in the Mughal era of the 16th century, when the site was known as Azim Bagh. Created as a Mughal-style garden beside the already thriving landmarks of Nizamuddin Basti and Humayun’s Tomb, it was designed as both a space of beauty and purpose. Today, more than a hundred historic monuments—some dating as far back as the 14th century—dot the broader landscape of Nizamuddin-Humayun’s Tomb-Sunder Nursery.

History whispers at every corner: once, the Grand Trunk Road cut directly through this nursery, linking Purana Qila to Humayun’s Tomb. At its farthest end still stands the Azimganj Sarai, now within the Delhi Zoo, believed to have sheltered pilgrims, travellers, merchants, and craftsmen who passed through centuries ago.

Sunder Nursery is thus far more than a garden—it is a crossroads of stories, where nature, history, and faith have been quietly entwined for hundreds of years.

With the decline of the Mughal empire, many of Delhi’s monuments slipped into neglect, their once-proud walls crumbling into silence. The gardens of Sunder Nursery were no exception. For a time, they too lay forgotten.

But history had other plans. When the British shifted their capital from Calcutta to Delhi, they breathed new life into the abandoned grounds by transforming them into a plant nursery. Rows of saplings and exotic specimens were cultivated here, destined to line the broad avenues and manicured gardens of the newly envisioned capital city. It was during this period that the site gained the name by which it is still known today: Sunder Nursery.

The credit for this revival is often given to Sydney Percy-Lancaster, the second of three remarkable Englishmen from the same family who dedicated their lives to shaping India’s horticultural landscape. Under his vision, the nursery flourished as both a botanical hub and a place of experimentation.

Later, the Central Public Works Department took charge, continuing the legacy of field trials with new plant varieties. Yet, while the trees and plants thrived, the centuries-old monuments and Mughal-era gardens quietly slipped further into obscurity, overshadowed by the nursery’s utilitarian role.

What remains today is a fascinating blend of stories—of emperors and gardeners, forgotten tombs and flourishing trees—woven together in the soil of Sunder Nursery.

A decade ago, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture undertook the monumental task of breathing life back into Sunder Nursery, once a forgotten patchwork of ruins and overgrowth. What emerged from this ambitious effort was not just the careful restoration of monuments but also the creation of a world-class city park—a rare blend of history, culture, and ecology in the heart of Delhi.

The project was part of a larger vision for urban renewal, designed to transform the Nizamuddin-Humayun’s Tomb-Sunder Nursery area into a vibrant cultural district. Restoration here was not only about preserving crumbling stones; it was about reviving heritage, creating green spaces, and enriching the everyday lives of those who live around it.

True to its global reputation, the Trust gave Sunder Nursery the same care it has bestowed on heritage parks from Cairo to Kabul, Zanzibar to Aleppo. The result is a space that feels both international in standard and deeply rooted in Delhi’s own story.

At the heart of the park are fifteen monuments, carefully conserved and showcased against the backdrop of flowering gardens and tree-lined avenues. Of these, six—such as the elegant Lakkarwala Burj, the ornate Sunderwala Mahal, and the tomb of Mirza Muzaffar Hussain—hold pride of place within the nursery itself. Others, including a charming 18th-century garden pavilion, add layers of history to the landscape.

Together with the fifty monuments restored across the broader precinct—twelve of which are recognized as part of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site—Sunder Nursery now offers visitors something extraordinary: a living museum under open skies, where centuries of history unfold amid the fragrance of roses and the call of birds.

Step through the gates of Sunder Nursery, and the city seems to fall away. A vast carpet of green stretches out before you, broken only by the elegant silhouettes of whitewashed monuments and the earthy brown of sandstone pathways. These paths invite you deeper into the garden, leading your gaze toward a grand central axis—an invisible line that connects the entrance near Humayun’s Tomb all the way to the distant Azimganj Sarai, tucked today within the Delhi Zoo. This alignment, echoing the ancient route of the Grand Trunk Road, feels less like a stroll and more like a quiet passage through time.

Spread across 90 acres, the landscape of Sunder Nursery is a carefully woven tapestry of heritage, ecology, and horticulture. Every element has been thoughtfully placed: monuments rise amid groves of old trees, and designed vistas reveal themselves as you walk. Inspired by the Mughal tradition of symmetry and grandeur, the gardens come alive with marble fountains, their waters gliding through orderly beds of flowers.

Around each historic structure, smaller themed gardens unfold like chapters in a story. One such gem is the rose garden that lovingly encircles the Lakkarwala Burj, its blossoms filling the air with fragrance as if offering tribute to the centuries-old tomb.

In every corner, Sunder Nursery combines history and nature into a living tableau—an oasis where the past is not just preserved but allowed to bloom anew.

Of the sprawling 90 acres of Sunder Nursery, about twenty are still true to its name—actively cultivated as a nursery. Among its highlights is a plush bonsai collection, with more than four hundred delicate, sculpted trees displayed in specially designed facilities. Not far away, a broad sunlit maidan rolls out like a green carpet, a favorite winter picnic spot for Delhi’s families. On one side, a gently sloping open-air amphitheatre hosts cultural performances, while at the far edge of the gardens, a tranquil lake beckons with shaded pathways, quiet alcoves, and plans for charming lakeside cafés. Soon, a 10,000-square-metre museum will add another dimension to the site’s cultural offerings. And perhaps the most exciting plan of all—a pedestrian underground tunnel connecting Humayun’s Tomb directly to Sunder Nursery—will seamlessly link two of Delhi’s greatest treasures.

But behind the elegance of today’s Sunder Nursery lies a decade of painstaking work. What you see now was once rubble and ruin. The restoration meant more than just repairing monuments—it meant reviving a whole ecosystem. Broken memorials were carefully rebuilt, missing fretwork and inscriptions recreated with loving precision. Truckloads of debris were cleared before irrigation systems, pathways, and nursery beds could be laid down. Over 20,000 saplings of 280 native species were planted, laying the foundation for Delhi’s first conservatory. Slowly, the barren land transformed into a haven: over the years, 60 species of butterflies and 80 varieties of birds have been recorded here, with more expected as the water bodies continue to flourish.

For heritage lovers, the joy lies in rediscovering the Mughal jewels once lost to neglect, now restored to dignity. For nature enthusiasts, the delight is in the thriving biodiversity and the chance to wander through a 20-acre microhabitat zone, where Delhi’s original riverine, ridge, and marsh ecosystems have been recreated.

In many ways, Sunder Nursery is more than just a park—it is Delhi’s lost landscape, reborn. A place where history, ecology, and culture coexist, offering both solace and wonder just steps away from the city’s chaos.

🚩 NAVIGATOR

How to Get There:
Tucked just behind the magnificent Humayun’s Tomb, Sunder Nursery is easy to reach yet feels like a world apart from Delhi’s chaos. The nearest metro stations are Jor Bagh on the Yellow Line and JLN Stadium on the Violet Line. From either stop, a quick hop in an auto-rickshaw (tuk-tuk) will whisk you straight to the gates of the garden. The ride itself is part of the experience—buzzing through Delhi’s lively streets before stepping into a green oasis of calm.