One of the iconic images of the Netherlands are the massive tulip fields with their flowers in full bloom. The image is even more relevant for the Indian travellers since tulip fields have been the backdrop of several famous songs from blockbuster films like Yash Chopra’s Silsila (1981).
The epic song was shot in Keukonhof Gardens, about 40 km southwest of Amsterdam. The gardens have become so well-known in India that several more films, in various Indian languages, have been filmed there. The gardens have now become a must on the itinerary of any first-time visitor to the Netherlands.
When I first visited the Dutch city as part of a European tour, I opted for a direct Thalys train from Paris that took just over 3 hours to cover the distance of 500 km. The very next morning, I set out for the Keukenhof gardens in Lisse. A helpful traffic police officer asked me to skip the cab as that may be expensive, and rather take The Keukenhof Express directly from Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport. It actually turned out to be a great idea, as I got myself a return ticket in the same bus, along with a park entrance ticket included as a combo ticket, priced at EUR 30, about INR 2,500.
The hour-long bus journey was a breeze as it passed through beautiful scenery, while we began to spot the Tulip bulbs blooming across little fields in front of small row of houses, just as the bus crossed the countryside. With a weather hovering around 8°C in the first week of April, it was a perfect complement to the visual spectacle that awaited us.
Keukenhof Tulip Gardens has a grand entrance with rows of red, yellow & white tulips planted on each side. A few friendly Dutch women, adorned in traditional attire, stood near the entrance welcoming the tourists.
As I got hold of the map of Keukenhof, I finally realised the size and scale of the place. With more than seven million flowers spread across 80 acres of land, this wasn’t your run of the mill garden. As fortune would have it, I was visiting the garden at the possible time, in the middle of the Spring when the garden resembled a painting splashed with flowers of every possible colour, ranging from tulips, roses, hyacinths, daffodils, orchids, carnations, irises and lilies. The park says it has 800 varieties of tulips alone. One can also buy a tulip bulb to take home, though it is not certain if the flower will survive the hot temperatures in India.
To explore the park in its entirety, one ought to be prepared to walk for almost 12 km as cycling is not an option inside the garden. It took me almost four hours to cover about half the garden. All around me, the scenery was mesmerising. Massive tulip fields were spread across multiple acres towards the right side of the entrance, while the gardens in the left had glasshouse museums, rose displays, flower shows and a small stream of river flowing. They also had a “whisper boat ride” with an audio commentary to explore areas around Keukenhof.
One of the highlights of the place was a mini windmill, placed just before the fields, as an iconic symbol of the Netherlands. The panoramic view from atop the windmill of the fields with tulips in alternating colours was indeed a moment to remember and a photo opportunity not to be missed.
While walking through the garden trails, I smelled the delicious aroma of rich Dutch stroopwafels being cooked. A tad different from their neighbour, Belgium’s waffles, Dutch waffles also referred to as Stroopwafels are crispier and resemble a large chocolate cookie. It was so delicious, that I actually picked up a couple of tins of Stroopwafels, instead of magnets as souvenirs for back home.
Visiting Keukenhof Tulip Gardens
Though several tour companies offer a half day tour covering Keukenhof and nearby Windmills from Amsterdam, it is always cheaper and better to go by yourself.
As the name goes, the Spring garden of Keukenhof Tulips is open to visitors only during the Spring, from March 20 to May 15. The rest of the days, you would find the land plowed and nothing to see, so plan your trip accordingly. Temperature in most parts of Europe, including the Netherlands, during April hovers around 6-12° C and makes it as ideal as possible for a good European vacation.
If you are really in the mood to splurge and get a VIP experience, you can also opt for an exclusive 10-minute helicopter tour for price of EUR 126 (INR 10,000). From EC120 4-seater helicopter, you can get to see the gorgeous tulip fields along with a stunning view of the coastal strip of the Netherlands.
A history of the tulips
Keukenhof in Dutch translates to “Kitchen Garden”. However, tulips actually trace back to Turkey which was later brought to the Netherlands. In fact, it created a massive surge in the demand of tulips during the Ottoman Empire, so much that the 17th century was actually referred to as the Tulip Era.
Back in the 15th century, Dutch Countess Jacoba van Beiren formed a mini garden in an area besides the kitchen. This came to be known as the Kitchen Garden or Keukenhof. Four centuries and several wars later, Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt built a much larger structured garden in 1857, with the help of architect Zocher, who also incidentally built the Vondelpark of Amsterdam.
Nearly a 100 years later, in 1950, a group of flower growers planted spring tulip bulbs in this estate turned garden. Owing to a massive response, this eventually became the world famous Keukenhof Tulip Gardens or as they call it The Garden of Europe.
