The gardens date from the period when the Mughal Empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith,[1] and are now one of Pakistan's most popular tourist destinations.

[4] "The arguments of the courtiers in favour of the Turkic signification of the word failing to make any impression on Ranjit Singh, he gave his own name to the garden, and called it “Shahla Bagh” شهلا باغ, “Shahla” meaning in Persian “sweetheart” with dark gray eyes and a shade of red and “Bagh” meaning “garden.”"[5] The courtiers present passed high eulogies on the Maharájá's ingenuity in selecting so charming a name for the famous gardens of Láhore, and it was ordered, accordingly, that henceforward the gardens be called by that name, and written so in all public correspondence.

[6]The Shalimar Garden is located next to the Grand Trunk Road, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of the Delhi Gate of the Walled City of Lahore.

[7] Unlike the gardens in Kashmir which relied on naturally sloping landscapes, the waterworks in Lahore required extensive engineering to create artificial cascades and terraces.

[2] The project was managed by Khalilullah Khan, a noble of Shah Jahan's court, in cooperation with and Mulla Alaul Maulk Tuni.

Ali Mardan Khan was responsible for most of the construction, and had a 100-mile-long canal built to bring water from the foothills of Kashmir to the site.

[11] The Gardens were nationalised in 1962 by General Ayub Khan[12] because leading Arain Mian family members had opposed his imposition of martial law in Pakistan.

[citation needed] The annual Mela Chiraghan festival used to take place in the gardens until General Ayub Khan forbade it in 1958.

[2][13] A high brick wall richly decorated with intricate fretwork encloses the site in order to allow for the creation of a Charbagh paradise garden - a microcosm of an earthly utopia.