Chandigarh is a newly developed city, it does not have many historic monuments to offer. August 15, 1947, the day of independence of India was also the day of division of a nation into India and Pakistan, this was also the day of division of State of Punjab (Punj+Aab) named so for being the land of five rivers being divided into two states West Punjab gone in Pakistan with retaining Lahore as its capital and East Punjab in India became a state without a capital. Shimla which used to be the summer capital of India and had the infrastructure was selected as the temporary capital of Punjab.

The Government of Punjab selected brilliant young engineer Mr. P.L. Verma to undertake the tasks of search for a permanent Capital City for the State of Punjab.

At that time the Punjabis were very nostalgic about Lahore. Till the last moment they hoped that Lahore would remain with India. The loss was felt acutely and people were eager for a city similar to Lahore be built. So Verma and his team of engineers savoured the concept of a larger independent town, when most of the bureaucrats and politicians favoured the concept of a small settlement attached to one of the existing towns. Bureaucrats were conscious of the acute shortage of funds and the very small financial outlay for Punjab. Each politician was eager that this capital be built in the area from where he came. All politicians were trying to pull the capital towards their own constituency.

Attractions of Chandigarh

Capitol Complex
Chandigarh capitol complex houses the seat of Government. Initially, it served as the seat only for the Govt of Punjab, but now it has the headquarters of both, the Govt of Punjab and Haryana. The credit for the awesome designing of the Capitol complex goes to Le Corbusier. Located in Sector 1, capitol complex in Chandigarh, India consists of three main edifices, namely, the Secretariat, the Legislative Assembly and the High Court. There was a plan to build a fourth building also, which is going to be the Raj Bhavan, as in the Governor's Palace or a Museum of Knowledge. However, till yet, it has not come into existence. The three buildings of the Capitol complex stand majestically representing themselves as the temples of democracy of free India.

Rock Garden
The well-ordered streets of Chandigarh lead the visitor to the northeastern edge of the city. It is here that the Rock Garden is located. Upon entering, the visitor finds winding paths which provide a perfect complement to Le Corbusier's design for the civic grid of Chandigarh. Walls built of terra cotta pots and sherds shade cobblestone paths, leading to large open areas occupied by pavilions built of concrete and stone. The buildings in the rock garden borrow from architectural precedents in India: some can be related to Mughal traditions by the use of the chattri (a domed kiosk supported on pillars) and the bangala (a curved roof whose two sides meet at a single ridge), and the pointed arch; other structures pay homage to the simple elegance of village domestic architecture.

Rose Garden
Next to city centre, in Sector 16 is situated Zakir Hussain Rose Garden Asia's largest Rose Garden and is spreaded over 30 acres of land having over 1600 different species or roses. These have been planted beautifully carved out lawns and flowers beds. Like the cultural zone which is just across the road in sector 10,this was also planned by Dr. M.S. Randhawa as his interest in horticulture and fondness for flowers was profuse. Every year, either at the end of February or beginning of March, a big festival known as Rose Festival, is celebrated at this garden. Over 20,000 people visit this festival. It’s one of the great celebrations in the city. There are lots of competitions, cultural celebrations and many other events.

Chhatbir Zoological Park
Chhatbir Zoological Park is 15 Kms. from Chandigarh. The Zoo spreads over an extensive wooded area on the banks of the Ghaggar river. This large zoo famous for Lion safari, apart from star attraction Royal Bengal Tigers.

Sukhna Lake
This 3 km² rainfed lake was created in 1958 by damming the Sukhna Choe, a seasonal stream coming down from the Shivalik Hills. Originally the seasonal flow entered the lake directly causing heavy siltation. To check the inflow of silt, land measuring 25.42 km² was acquired in the catchment area and put under vegetation. In 1974, the Choe was diverted and made to bye-pass the lake completely, the lake being fed by three siltation pots, minimising the entry of silt into the lake itself.

Government Museum & Art Gallery
The Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, owes its existence to the partition of the country in August,1947. It is one of the premier institution of India with a very rich collection of Gandharan sculptures, Pahari and Rajasthani miniature paintings. Before the partition in 1947, the collection of art objects, paintings, sculptures and decorative arts, were housed in the Central Museum, Lahore the then capital of Punjab. On April 10, 1948, the division of collection took place by which sixty percent of objects were retained by Pakistan and the remaining forty percent collection consisting mainly of Gandharan sculptures and Indian miniature paintings ( Mughal and Pahari schools) fell in the share of India. Received in the month of April,1949, this collection was first housed in Amritsar then Shimla, Patiala and finally shifted to Chandigarh.

City Museum
City museum in Chandigarh, India is a very popular museum. It was established by the Chandigarh administration at the time of the 50th Anniversary of India's independence in December 1997. The purpose of setting up Chandigarh City Museum was to collect, preserve and display the planning and architectural development that went into the unique urban designing of the city. City museum contains the original sketches, models, plans, photographs and all such documents that explain the evolution of city from the stage of rough paper sketches to its realization. The displays that are stored at the basement explain the story of India's partition and the need to build the new Capital city of Chandigarh. And the first floor focuses on the growth aspect and exhibits the things based on the theme of "Chandigarh today and tomorrow."

Science Museum
Inaugurated on 14 August, 1973, this museum depicts the origin of the earth and the evolution of life. The exhibits cover 5,000 years of Indian History from the Indus Valley Civilization to the present day. There are other galleries of astronomy, geology and the world of ancient man. Visiting Hours :10.00 a.m. to 04.30. p.m. all days except Monday and official holidays.

Sector 17 Plaza
One of the most important places to visit is Sector 17, Chandigarh's sleek shopping area and the city centre. Planned around four pedestrian concourses meeting at a central chowk (intersection), the Sector 17 of Chandigarh is a pedestrian's paradise dotted with fountains, sculptures, and groves of trees. In summers the tourists move from one end of the sector to the other, under the shade of a corridor, and in winter it is nice to be out in the sun-drenched piazzas. In the evenings, when the colorful mosaic of neon signs and the aesthetically illuminated fountains come alive, Sector 17 becomes the Chandigarh city's biggest outdoor club.

Botanical Garden
Botanical Garden is located Sector 14.There are two Botanical Gardens in the city – one between Rock Garden and lake and the other in Panjab University. Another Botanical Garden is being developed to about 110 acres of land in Sarangpur which will be a major tourist attraction in the near future.

Pinjore Garden
Pinjore Gardens, also called Yadavindra Gardens are 20 km from Chandigarh, 15 km from Panchkula, on the Chandigarh Shimla road. Taxis and buses ply regularly between Pinjore, Kalka, Panchkula and Chandigarh. Pinjore lies on the foothills of the lower Shivalik ranges. The fascinating Mughal Gardens one of the most popular picnic spots. A mini zoo, plants nursery, a Japanese garden, historic palaces and picnic lawns await tourists. Especially at weekends, fountains are switched on and after dusk, lights pick up the beauty of the palaces by night.

International Dolls Museum
One of the popular and fine museums in Chandigarh, or perhaps the whole of India, is the International Dolls Museum. Established in 1985 and located in Sector 23, the International Dolls Museum in Chandigarh houses splendid dolls and puppets gathered from all over the world. Set up for the purpose of entertaining kids, the museum serves an amusement park for children along with housing toy trains and beautiful dolls.

How to Reach

Air
Chandigarh's airport is 11 kms from the City Centre.

Road
Chandigarh is well connected with whole country by road, Amritsar- 240 Km, Delhi- 248 Km, Jammu- 380 Km

Train Railway Station is about 8 kms from the City Centre in Sector 17.