Popularly known as “The City Beautiful”, Chandigarh, capital city of both Punjab and Haryana, is the first planned city in India, executed by the French architect Le Corbusier. Situated at the foot of Shivalik hills, it is spread at a stretch of 16sq.kms. Surrounded by Panchkula (in Haryana) and Mohali (in Punjab), the three cities (Panchkula, Mohali and Chandigarh) together are commonly known as “Tri City”.
The city is also recognizable of its greenery, as trees and plants are the inevitable part of the structure. Being a well developed city, it has carefully and neatly built sectors, with numerous roundabouts and no flyovers. Chandigarh is a fast developing city keeping pace with modernization commingled with nature. Nearest hill stations from Chandigarh are Shimla (100kms approx) and Kasauli (40kms approx).
Places to visit in Chandigarh
- Rose garden- Situated in sector 16 and spread over an area of 30 acres, it is Asia’s largest botanical garden, having more than 1600 variety of roses grown around the world. “Rose festival” is celebrated every year in the end of February or commencement of March. This is the best time to visit the garden. Other Gardens , Terraced garden in sector 33, Botanical Garden in Punjab University, Fitness Trail & Flower Garden in sector 10, Hibiscus Garden and Garden of Fragrance in sector 36.
- Sukhna Lake– the scenic beauty of this man-made lake is for blissful for nature lovers and sports persons. One of the famous tourist’s spots in Chandigarh, the place is tranquil and filled with adventure at the same time. It has Golf course to its south, and Rock Garden in the west.
- Rock Garden- the mastermind behind the creation of this unique place is Mr. Nekchand. The garden is situated in Sector 1. The structures in the garden are made up of industrial and urban waste. Rock Garden is clearly a paradigm of ingenuity and imagination. The sculptures made are by scrapped materials like frames, play marbles, forks, hair etc.
- Leisure Valley- this is Chandigarh’s most beautiful and renowned tourist attraction. It has a long chain of theme gardens stretching from Rajendra Park in sector 1 to Bougainvillea garden in sector 3. The rose garden in sector 16 is also covered by the Leisure valley and ends up in sector 23. It is 8kms long and cover whole of the city of Chandigarh.
- City Center- sector 17 market in Chandigarh is best for brand conscious people and those who looking for window shopping. The market area offers air conditioned departmental stores. Pubs and other restaurants relieve the visitors from a hard day at shopping. The place offers an open area, where visitors can enjoy eating and shopping, and refresh themselves.
- Other popular markets in the city include Sector 15 and Sector 22-D market. Musical Laser fountain show is a recently opened tourist attraction located in Sector 17. Malls in Chandigarh – • Elante mall • DLF City Centre • City Emporium.
- Other places to visit –
- Government Art and Museum Gallery
- Le Corbusier Centre
- Capitol complex
- One hand Monument
- Chattbir Zoo
- Mohali Cricket Stadium
- Punjab University
How to connect to Chandigarh
- By road- There are plenty of buses running on the two national highways which connect to Chandigarh namely, NH-21 (Ambala-kinnaur) and NH-22 (Chandigarh-Leh). The network in is excellent condition, connecting Chandigarh to the nearby cities.
- By train- Major cities are well connected to Chandigarh by the means of train. The trains on the route of Delhi- Chandigarh operate on daily basis. The main trains connecting Delhi to Chandigarh are Shatabdi express and Himalayan Queen.
- By Air- Chandigarh airport is located at a distance of 12kms from City Centre and connects well with Delhi, Amritsar and Leh.
