A travel Guide to Chandigarh

Chandigarh Tourism

Chandigarh, with its modern architecture, wide roads, and lush green gardens, is the best-planned city in India. Chandigarh is a Union Territory but it is also the capital of Punjab and Haryana. Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru had a dream to make a modern city in India and in the 1960s, the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier converted Pt. Nehru’s dream into reality.

Chandigarh, India is a perfect balance between modernisation and the preservation of nature’s best, and all of Chandigarh tourist attractions reflect this balance. The city includes many modern marvels and beautiful gardens that together cover up the entire city. This first planned city of India is rich, prosperous, and exciting and rightfully called ‘The Beautiful City.’

Chandigarh tours have something for everybody. The city is filled with sky-high buildings, beautiful green gardens, and serene lakes. You can find luxury hotels, guest houses, and homestays according to your budget in the city. You can easily find cabs on its busy streets or if your budget does not permit, you can roam around in the city taking the convenient public transport.

Places to visit in Chandigarh

1. Rock garden

Nek Chand, the founder of Rock Garden, had a vivid imagination and he wanted to convert his imagination into physical form. In 1957, he started to build various objects and statues from rocks, concrete, and industrial waste he could find. Today, the place is spread on more than 40 acres of land, which is uniquely designed and decorated with more than 5000 illustrations and sculptures. The garden is one of the best Chandigarh attractions in the city. It is divided into three parts and each part has very distinct sculptures. You will find a creative display of broken glasses, terra cotta plants, and broken home appliances in this garden.

2. Zakir Hussain Rose Garden

You cannot exclude the Rose Garden from the list of best places to visit in Chandigarh. The Rose garden is a tribute to India’s former president, Dr Zakir Hussian. It covers more than 30 acres of land where you will find the most elegant and colourful collection of roses. There are around 5000 rose plantations that belong to more than 1600 species of roses of different colours. Along with roses, the place also has various other trees, including bel, bakers, camphor, harar, among others.

3. Iskcon Temple

Chandigarh tourist places do not include many temples, like other cities of India, but they still have something for the people who follow Hinduism. The Iskcon temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna and the temple management organises pooja and customary celebrations, which many devotees and tourists attend every day. The peaceful vicinity and the beautiful architecture of the temple attract thousands of visitors every day. The surroundings of the temple are surrounded by a blanket of dense green grass. So the temple is also a good place for family picnics for its visitors. Outside the temple, many shops of sweets and artefacts are present where you can eat and also buy some souvenirs.

4. Government Museum and Art Gallery

Government Museum and Art Gallery of Chandigarh tells the tales of Punjab and Rajasthan before and after its partition. In 1947, the museum was present where LOC lies today. But after the partition, the building was abandoned and 94% of all the properties of the museum were moved to Chandigarh while the rest were given to Pakistan. The museum is a great exhibition of Gandharan sculptures, Rajasthani and Pahari paintings, decorative arts, and other distinctive things. The museum has its own special place in Chandigarh tourism. On its tour, people admire and learn the rich history of our country.

5. International Dolls Museum

Taking a tour of the International Dolls Museum is not only an exciting experience for children but it is also an amazing place for elders to visit, too. The museum houses an enormous collection of dolls, which are adapted from the stories and tales of Cinderella, Ali Baba, Sleeping Beauty, among many others. The museum is informative and also gives a chance to children to take part in some fun activities, like dancing and singing around their favourite Disney characters. If you have a Chandigarh travel guide, you should ask him to include the International Dolls Museum in the itinerary.

Things to do in Chandigarh

Let’s take a look at the most exciting things that Chandigarh tourism offers you.

Take a boat ride in Sukhna Lake

If you’re thinking about the things to do in Chandigarh, then boating in Sukhna Lake should surely make it to your list. This gorgeous lake is stretched over 3 km in length and its sparkling water is enough to attract tourists.

Tourists come here to enjoy boat rides, water skiing, fishing, and to see a stunning sunset. You can also take long morning and evening walks by the side of the lake while watching the many colourful birds including the Crane and Siberian Duck. There are many fast food stalls near the lake where you can enjoy street delicacies.

Enjoy Nature in Leisure Valley

Leisure Valley, another place on the list of popular Chandigarh tourist places. The valley is a chain of unique and beautiful gardens where you can sit, walk and play around in the lap of nature. It is 8 km long and includes various gardens, including Shanti Kunj, Rose Garden, Bougainvillea, Hibiscus Garden, Garden of Fragrance.

This group of gardens greatly helps to curb the level of pollution and is also called ‘the lungs of the city’. Right before the winter, in the months of November or December, the city organises a 3-day long carnival that educates people about the environment and promotes greenery.

Explore Wildlife at Chhatbir Zoo

Chhatbir Zoo, also known as Mahendra Zoological Park, comes on the list of major Chandigarh attractions. The zoo is located at Zirakpur road on the outskirts of the main city and it is famous for lion safaris. The zoo has a large reserved area where big Asiatic lions and majestic Royal Bengal Tiger roam freely.

Other than that, the zoo also takes care of many mammals, birds, and reptiles. You can see elephants, bears, hippopotamuses, gorillas, crocodiles, and other animals from a close range.

Shopping at Elante Mall and Sector 17

Elante Mall is considered to be the second biggest mall in North India. The mall represents modern India and is a must-visit place for shopaholics. It is a place where you will find both, high-end brands as well as local brands.

Sector 17 is another place for tourists to enjoy shopping in Chandigarh. Whether you are looking for clothes, jewellery, shoes, electronics, handicrafts, you can find almost anything in here. A Chandigarh travel guide can help you to find the right shop to buy specific items. The place also has restaurants and food stalls of Indian, Chinese, and western food, which also adds more to Chandigarh Tourism.

Best time to visit Chandigarh

Most of the places in Chandigarh are outdoors. That means you should go to Chandigarh when the weather is moderate.

Summer

Summer is the best season to visit Chandigarh. During the month of April and May, the days get mildly hot, but the evenings become pleasant to roam around in the city. The flowers of different gardens of Chandigarh also bloom during this season, so you can enjoy sightseeing while eating snacks.

Monsoon

Rain showers start in Chandigarh in July. These showers pull the temperature down and brighten up the natural beauty of the city. Occasional rain showers come with a fresh breeze to protect people from severe heat. August and September face heavy rainfall, which is not the best time to visit Chandigarh.

Winter

Winters in Chandigarh are very cold and chilly, especially during the night. The snowfall in Shimla affects the temperature of the city, and in December and January, it even drops to 2 degrees Celsius. So winter is not the ideal time to see Chandigarh attractions.

How to reach Chandigarh

Searching for how to reach Chandigarh? Whether you want to take a flight, train, bus, or taxi, all are good options for tourists to reach Chandigarh.

By Air

You can take flights to Chandigarh from every major city of India. The Chandigarh International Airport is located at a distance of 11 km from the city. You can easily find taxis to reach the main city.

By Train

The railway station of Chandigarh is in sector 78. It is well-linked with New Delhi. Trains like Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi, Himalayan Express run daily to the country’s capital. Chandigarh is also linked with Mumbai, Lucknow, Kerala, and Chennai through the rail network.

By Road

Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) of Chandigarh is one of the biggest bus stations in India. The highways leading to the city are broad and smooth. Nearby states, such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Uttarakhand, and Delhi provide regular bus services for people.