Chandigarh

The beautiful city of Chandigarh has the distinction of being a Union Territory as well as the capital of the states of the Punjab and of Haryana.

The city is an architectural marvel. Designed and conceived in 1950 by the french architect Le Corbusier, at the behest of the then Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Chandigarh is rightly called The city Beautiful. The modern architecture and town planning makes it a jewel in the urbanscape of modern India. Over the years it has produced the best of  professionals in almost every discipline - arts, science, education, architecture, medicine, sports, dance, music, and much more. The setting of the city is picturesque, with the shivalik ranges of the Himalayas forming an attractive backdrop. Based on a rectangular module called sectors, Chandigarh comprises self-contained neighbourhood units of about 800 metres by 1,200 metres surrounded by roads for fast - moving traffic.The city, some say, is comparable to a living organism with the capital complex forming the head, the city centre the heart, the network of roads its circulatory system, the industrial area its viscera and the cultural and educational belts its intellect.

The Capital Complex is located at the northern end of the city and contains the secretariat, the High Court and the Legislative Assembly. The intrinsically beautiful buildings are like romantic geometry captured in giant sculptures in concrete. They are beautiful in their boldness and dramatic in their architecture and colours.

The residential sections or the neighbourhoods are self-sufficient as they have their own shopping and community facilities, schools, religious places etc. Each of these sectors are traversed by slow-traffic streets.

The city centre consists of two sections—one, the District Centre with a bus terminus, the parade ground, the district courts, the administrative offices, etc., and two, the shop-cum-office buildings. These consist of 4 - storey concrete buildings laid out along four pedestrian concourses, dotted with fountains, trees and other landscape elements.

ACCESS

Chandigarh is airlinked to Delhi and to Leh. Good Express trains also connected it to Delhi. There are convenient and excellent facilities for road transport too. Delhi is about 250 kms from Chandigarh.

PLACES TO SEE

The Rock Garden is a major tourist attraction. It is the famous fantasy garden created by Nek Chand and is fashioned from urban and industrial waste.

Sukhna Lake is an imaginative use of the waters of the seasonal rivulet, Sukhna Choe. It offers sailing facilities, and a long curving promenade for pedestrians. The lake provides an escape from the humdrum of city life.

Panjab University with its sprawling dimensions and elegant red sandstone buildings, is laid out amidst fountains, water bodies and flowering trees.

The Government Museum and Art Gallery, located in the cultural zone of the Leisure Valley, is one of the best buildings and in itself a work of art. It houses a vast range of paintings and sculptures including one of the rarest and richest collections of Pahari miniature paintings and Gandhara sculptures.

Chandigarh has earned the epithet of `City of Roses' by virtue of its sprawling Rose Garden widely considered as the largest garden of its kind in Asia. The Rose Garden is spread out on 30 acres of land and has 50,000 rose plants of nearly 1,600 varieties.

EXCURSIONS

Pinjore (Yadavindra Gardens), 20 km from Chandigarh is set in a typical blend of Mughal and Rajasthani architectural styles. according to Hindu mythology the Pandava brothers are believed to have rested here during their exile.

Bhima Devi Temple, 22 km from Chandigarh and situated on the Pinjore-Kalka Road, has a shrine dating back to the Panchayatan group of temples built between the 11th and 12th century A.D.

Chaatbir Zoo, is 15 km away and situated on the Chandigarh - Patiala Road. Famed for Himalayan black bear and many species of birds.

Mansa Devi and Chandi Mandir, both the temples are 10 km away near Panchkula, a township in Haryana. Chandigarh, in fact, derives its name from `Chandi Mandir'.

Bhakra Nangal, the highest dam of its kind in the world is 116 km away and spans the river Sutlej.

Kasauli, which is 77 km away is a premier hill resort.

ACCOMMODATION

Hotel Piccadily (4-star), SCO 1078-85, Sector 22-B, Himalaya Marg, Chandigarh. Phones: 707571, 707572, 707573. Fax: 0172-705692.

Sunbeam Hotel (4-star), Udyog Path, Sector 22-B, Chandigarh. Phones: 708100-7 (8 lines); Cable: sunbeam; Telex: 0395-7444 sun in; Fax: 0172-708900.

Hotel Maya Palace (3-star), S.C.O. 325-328, Sector 35B, Chandigarh-160 022 U.T.; Phone: 600547; Cable: Hotel Maya palace; Fax: 0172-660555.

Hotel President (3-star), Madhya Marg, Sector 26, Chandigarh - 160 022 U.T. ; Phones: 40840-5, 771731-32; Cable: Comforts; Telex: 0395-490 HYG IN; Fax: 0172-549054.

Hotel Heritage (4-star), S.C.O. 467-468, Sector 35-C, Chandigarh - 160022. Phones: 612921, 602479; Cable: hotel heritage; Fax: 0172-606214.

Hotel Park Inn, 433-36, Sector-35-C, Chandigarh U.T. ; Phones: 660111, 660110, 664848; Fax: 0172-660110.

Hotel Shivalikview, Sector - 17, Chandigarh-160 017. Phones: 700001, 703521, 704651; Cable: CITCO; Telex: 0395-7584; Fax: 0172-701094.

Hotel Regency, SCO-329-332, Sector 35-B, Chandigarh. Phones: 604972, 604973; Fax: 0172-604971.

Hotel Mountview (2-star), Sector-10, Chandigarh - 160 011. Phones: 547882, 544544, 547268, 547269; Cable: Mountview; Telex: 0395-7337; Fax: 0172-547120.

Aroma Hotel Complex (2-star), Himalaya Marg, Sector-22-C, Chandigarh - 160 022 U.T. ; Phones: 700045-48; Fax: 0172-700051

Hotel Pankaj (2-star), Sector-22-A, Chandigarh U.T. ; Phones: 709891, 709892, 709893; Cable: Hotpankaj; Fax: 0172-706480.

Hotel Classic (2-star), S.C.O. 403-404, Sector-35-C, Chandigarh - 160 035. Phones: 606092, 604116, 664906, 663275. Fax: 0172-663275.

Hotel Rikhy's International (2-star) S.C.O. 301-302, Sector 35-B, Chandigarh U.T.; Phones: 0172-600764, 601733.

Quality Inn James Plaza, Sector-17, Chandigarh. Phones: 703345, 703348. Fax: 703358.

Hotel Himani's Residency, Sector 35-C, Chandigarh. Phones: 661070, 610705. Fax: 610705.

Hotel South End, Sector 35-C, Chandigarh. Phones: 670935, 608131, 610404.

For further information please contact: Chandigarh Industrial & Tourism Development Corporation SCO 121-122, Sector 17-B, Chandigarh- 160 017 India.

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