Standing on the ramparts of Lahore Fort, one can see out over the city in many directions. Despite the density of modern urban settlement, one can imagine the web of routes that led out in Mughal times toward Multan in the south and Delhi in the east.

Today the citizens of Lahore recall these Mughal connections when they speak of the tunnels that ran from Lahore Fort to gardens in all directions (Wescoat, Brand, and Mir, 1991). The most common tunnel story links the fort, Shalamar, and Delhi — a path that reflects the form and pattern of Lahore in the mid-seventeenth century, at the pinnacle of its development.

There are indeed extensive interconnected underground chambers beneath the garden quadrangles of the fort, but none is known to extend beyond the walls of the fort. There are also alleged tunnels in haveli gardens of the walled city. Almost every blocked arch in a basement chamber is said to have been linked with prominent gardens and with the fort.

Tunnel stories are common in many if not most parts of the world. Stafford (1984) explores early modern scientific queries about underground caves and tunnels. Subterranean tales have found expression in science fiction, occult mysteries, lost worlds, and imaginary passages encircling the world.

The more modest network of tunnel stories about Lahore and South Asia reminds us of the historical connections between the city and outlying places, and the enduring social need for connectivity and coherence in the urban landscape.