Sikandar Bagh, Lucknow - Timings, History, Best Time to Visit

At a distance of 6 km from Lucknow Junction, Sikandar Bagh is a villa and garden located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Formerly known as Sikander or Sikandra Bagh, it is one of the popular places to visit during your Lucknow tour.

Sikandar Bagh was a well-laid garden of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh in the early 19th century. According to some people, it was named Sikandar after Alexander the Great, while others say that it was named after Sikandar Mahal Begum, the favorite wife of the Nawab. It was stormed in 1857 by the British during the Indian Rebellion and witnessed within its walls the slaughter of all 2,000 sepoy mutineers who had made it a stronghold during their Siege of Lucknow.

Sprawling over an area of about 4.5 acres, the garden is enclosed by a fortified wall, with loopholes, gateway, and corner bastions. The garden has a small pavilion in the middle, where innumerable performances of the Rasleelas, and Kathak dances, music and poetic 'mehfils', and other cultural activities were held earlier. Known to be the last Mughal garden in India, the garden now houses the National Botanical Research Institute of India.

Articles such as cannonball, swords and shields, parts of muskets and rifles, dug out of the garden over the years are now displayed in the NBRI Exhibition and scars from cannonball on the old walls of the garden still bear witness at the garden. Another visible reminder of the battle is the statue of Uda Devi, one of the female bodyguards of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, who fought side by side with the besieged mutineers. Attired in male battle dress, she had perched herself atop a tree in the garden, gun in hand, and kept the British attackers at bay until her ammunition was exhausted, upon which she dropped dead to the ground, her body riddled with bullets. The British were also surprised and stunned by her marksmanship until she was spotted by the soldiers, who fired relentlessly at her till she died from her wounds.

Timings: 9 AM - 6 PM

Entry: Free