Sustainable Tourism Strategy for the Wah Gardens

Abstract

The unchecked and unplanned urbanization in developing countries are adversely deteriorating the historic character of the cities in Pakistan. The city’s historic profiles are diminishing not being part of the planning processes and the heritage is being destroyed at the name of modern developments. The integration of the historic values in addition to other tangible and intangible values of the cities in the form of historic sites and monuments is the only sustainable solution and way forward in the current scenario for sustainable urban development. This research documents the development of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy for the less well-known areas like the Wah Gardens (almost at the verge of being disappeared) situated in the Wah cantonment, Punjab. The Wah Gardens were abandoned after the Mughal rule and most of the historic features are lost due to the new developments in the surrounding areas or being over shadowed as not integrated in the planning. Wah Gardens comprising of gardens, pavilions, water tanks and natural spring was built during the sixteenth century.