Garden of Dreams

The Garden of Dreams is a walled neo-classical garden at Kaiser Mahal, opposite the former royal palace at the entrance to Thamel. It was laid out in 1920 for Field Marshal Kaiser Sumsher Rana, who called it the Garden of Six Seasons, and it was designed by Kishore Narshingh, the architect of Singha Durbar. After Kaiser Sumsher's death in 1964 the government took it over, and it fell into neglect until a planned demolition was halted in 1998.

Between 2000 and 2007 the garden was restored with Austrian development aid, working with Nepal's Ministry of Education. The project was carried out by Eco Himal and led by the Austrian architect Gotz Hagmuller, who also restored the Patan Museum. The result is a compact garden of just under 7,000 square metres, with six freestanding pavilions, each dedicated to one of Nepal's six seasons, and lawns where people sit with a book.

Kaiser Sumsher was a scholar, linguist and collector as well as a soldier and statesman, and the garden reflects the books on gardening, architecture and literature in his library. The layout follows formal European conventions, with paved perimeter paths, trellises and a sunken flower garden around a large central pond, while fountains, balustrades, urns, statues and pergolas complete the ensemble. The straight lines of the architecture are softened by looser, natural planting, in a manner close to English gardens of the early 20th century.

The garden is managed by the Garden of Dreams Development Committee and is open from 9am to 9pm every day. Tickets are sold at the entrance, and guards may ask to see yours, so keep it to hand. Kaiser Cafe inside the grounds serves food and drinks, which makes it easy to spend a couple of hours here.

The garden suits couples, readers and anyone who needs a break from the noise of Thamel's lanes. It is not a sight that needs a guide, and it works as a pause between busier stops.

The garden faces the former royal palace at the entrance to Thamel. The Narayanhiti Palace Museum is just to the east, so the two make an easy pairing for a morning or afternoon.