Therefore, an American planner and architect Albert Mayer was tasked to design a new city called "Chandigarh" in 1949.
The government carved out Chandigarh of nearly 50 Pwadhi speaking villages of the then state of East Punjab, India.
Shimla was the temporary capital of East Punjab until Chandigarh was completed in 1960.Albert Mayer, during his work on the development and planning of the new capital city of Chandigarh, developed a superblock-based city threaded with green spaces which emphasized cellular neighborhoods and traffic segregation. His site plan used natural characteristics, using its gentle grade to promote drainage and rivers to orient the plan. Mayer discontinued his work on Chandigarh after developing a master plan for the city when his architect-partner Matthew Nowicki died in a plane crash in 1950. Government officials recruited Le Corbusier to succeed Mayer and Nowicki, who enlisted many elements of Mayer's original plan without attributing them to him.
On 1 November 1966, the newly formed state of Haryana was carved out of the eastern portion of East Punjab, in order to create a new state for the majority Haryanvi-speaking people in that portion, while the western portion of East Punjab retained a mostly Punjabi-speaking majority and was renamed as Punjab. Chandigarh was located on the border of both states and the states moved to incorporate the city into their respective territories. However, the city of Chandigarh was declared a union territory to serve as capital of both states.
As of 2016, many historical villages in Chandigarh are still inhabited within the modern blocks of sectors including Burail and Attawa, while there are a number of non-sectoral villages that lie on the outskirts of the city. These villages were a part of the pre-Chandigarh era.
Geography and ecology
Location
Chandigarh is located near the foothills of the Sivalik range of the Himalayas in northwest India. It covers an area of
approximately 114 km2.It borders the states of Haryana and Punjab. The exact cartographic co-ordinates of Chandigarh
are 30.74°N 76.79°E.It has an average elevation of 321 metres (1053 ft).
The western disturbances usually bring rain predominantly from mid-December till end of April which can be heavier
sometimes with strong winds and hails if the weather turns colder (during March–April months) which usually proves
disastrous to the crops. Cold winds usually tend to come from the north near Shimla, capital of Himachal Pradesh and from
the state of Jammu and Kashmir, both of which receive their share of snowfall during wintertime.
Sukhna Lake, a 3 km artificial rain-fed lake in Sector 1,was created in 1958 by damming the Sukhna Choe, a seasonal
stream coming down from the Shivalik Hills
Chandigarh has a belt of parks running from sector to sector. It is known for its green belts and other special tourist
parks.Sukhna Lake itself hosts the Garden of Silence.The Rock Garden, also known as Nek Chand Rock Garden
after its founder,is located near the Sukhna Lake and has numerous sculptures made by using a variety of
different discarded waste materials like frames, mudguards, forks, handle bars, metal wires, play marbles, porcelain,
auto parts, broken bangles etc.The 30-40 acre Zakir Hussain Rose Garden contains nearly 825 varieties of roses in it
and more than 32,500 varieties of other medicinal plants and trees.Other gardens include the Garden of Fragrance in
Sector 36, Garden of Palms in Sector 42, Butterfly Park in Sector 26, Valley of Animals in Sector 49, the Japanese Garden
in Sector 31 and the Terraced Garden in Sector 33. Shanti Kunj Garden located between rose garden and cricket stadium in
Sector 16 is another garden full of flora and fauna.This garden contains plenty of medicinal plants which are used to cure
many diseases.the Botanical Garden and the Bougainvillea Garden,.
English is the sole official language of Chandigarh. The majority of the population speaks Hindi (67.53%) while Punjabi is
spoken by 27.89%.Government schools use English, Hindi and Punjabi textbooks.
Hinduism is the prominent religion of Chandigarh followed by 80.78% of the population. Sikhism is the second most popular
religion in the city followed by 13.11% of the people. In Chandigarh city Islam is followed by 4.87%. Minorities are
Christians 0.83%, Jains 0.19%, Buddhists 0.11%, those that didn't state a religion are 0.10%, and others are 0.02%.
Chandigarh has the largest number of vehicles per capita in India.Wide, well maintained roads and parking spaces all
over the city ease local transport.The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) operates public transport buses from
its Inter State Bus Terminals (ISBT) in Sectors 17 and 43 of the city.CTU also operates frequent bus services to the
neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and to Delhi.
Chandigarh Airport has scheduled commercial flights to major cities of India including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad,
Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Leh and Srinagar. The airport has international flights to Bangkok, Dubai and Sharjah.
Chandigarh Junction railway station lies in the Northern Railway zone of the Indian Railway network and provide
connectivity to all the regions of India and some major Indian cities. It provides connectivity to eastern states with
link to cities like Kolkata, Dibrugarh; southern states with trains to Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore and
Kollam; western states with trains to Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai; central states with trains to Bhopal and Indore;
other northern states with trains to Lucknow, Amritsar, Ambala, Panipat, Kalka, Shimla. and Pune.
The Chandigarh Metro Rail is a proposed metro rail to serve the city locally and connect it to other two cities of the
Chandigarh capital region. It is expected to start working by 2018 along with the extension of Kolkata Metro and proposed
Indore Metro.
Every year, in September or October during the festival of Navratri, many associations and organisations hold a Ramlila
event which has been conducted for over 50 years.
The Sector 16 Stadium, has been a venue of several international cricket matches. But it has lost prominence after the
PCA Stadium was constructed in Mohali. It still provides a platform for cricketers in this region to practice and play
inter-state matches.
The Rock garden is near Sukhna Lake. This not only adds beauty to this place but is also responsible for the scenic
beauty. If you take a look at the garden, you will notice many interlinked paths running along the waterfall of the
nearby lake. For the art lovers, the garden features landscapes of pottery, sculptures of animals, dancers and musicians.
In addition, these characters are crafted with rock and for a minute they seem to be realistic. The beauty of this place
resides in its solid artwork with the use of rock. For this reason, it is one of the top Places to visit in Chandigarh.
Additionally, it is an open air theater with proper stage setting. Several prestigious performers have performed here
too.
It is impossible for anyone to express the joy of securing a top position in your profession. I mean, who wants not to
relate with the things that highs up to the sky? Therefore the first listing to top awesome Places to visit in Chandigarh
is the largest botanical garden in Asia. Zakir Husain Rose Garden is spread over enormously wide 30 acres of area. The
majority of area plants variety of roses. Apart from roses, one would see several varieties of medicinal herbs too. How
imaginative is sitting between rose in a calm weather with soft breeze flowing around & dragging the rosy aromatic smell
to you. Moreover, it soothes your body and your mind and that could be the reason why this botanical garden faces a huge
amount of tourists every year.
Leisure valley is most definitely the Places to visit in Chandigarh and is an aesthetically important tourist attraction.
Additionally, it is a garland or chain of beautiful and unique gardens which can tease the five senses of the visitors.
It is a stretch of gardens starting from Rajendra Park and stretches about 8 km consisting of many parks and gardens.
This includes gardens like Rose Garden, Shanti Kunj, Bougainvillea Garden, Hibiscus Garden, Garden of Fragrance, etc. In
fact a 3-day long carnival in the Leisure Valley including all the gardens is a renowned festival nation-wide. For this
reason, large number of visitors from different countries come to explore this place.
The authorities dedicate The Butterfly Park of Chandigarh for extensive care of butterflies. This seven acre park
ensures that the landscaping is attractive and pleasing to the eye. This park contains a number of plants and trees which
make the visitor relax and enjoy the bright and beautiful butterflies. Since butterflies require flowers, many flowering
plants like marigold, salvia, petunia and dahlia are also planted. Besides, tall and strong trees also provide cool
breeze and shade for the visitors which is responsible to attract tourists.
If you are not an atheist, we have the listing of a place you would love to visit. Moreover, the Iskcon temple is
enticing and full of charm. Iskcon temple of Chandigarh features beautiful deities of God Krishna and his love of the
life Radha. Visitors here experience the presence of God and supernatural powers. According to them, if you sit in this
temple for a while, you get mental peace and rid of obesity. Temple is open every day from early morning up till 8 in the
evening but the best day to visit is after 7 PM on Sunday. If you take a visit to this place, try to take a part in Aarti
as it is highly soothing and relaxing.
This zoo is located very near to Chandigarh on the ZakirPur road. Additionally, ChattBir zoological park houses many
mammals, reptiles, birds and other wild animals. People know this as Mahendra Zoological park. Though this place is full
of wild animals, the lion safari is one major attraction. The guides take the visitors adventurous trips to Asiatic lion
reserves where Royal Bengal Tigers roam freely around this wild house. One can explore these lions from the nearest
possible distance. Due to the sightseeing of various wild creatures, this zoo is in top Places to visit in Chandigarh.
The home of the IPL team Kings XI Punjab, the Mohali cricket stadium is the seat of the Punjab Cricket Association.
It was established in 1993. Additionally, this stadium has been a venue to many local and international matches in India.
It has been a favorite venue of the cricket fans in India. The first planned city of post independence India, Chandigarh
is frequented by thousands of tourists each year which accounts for this stadium too.
If you are planning a day out in Chandigarh, Terraced Garden should be your choice to spend some time in the evening.
This botanical garden is as large as 10 acres featuring a variety of small plants and enormous trees. Moreover, This place
is a favorable picnic spot for visitors as they enjoy the cool breeze that soothes the mind. Besides, stepping in this
garden refreshes you deep inside and takes out all your stress.
Nepli reserve forest is in Sukhna wildlife sanctuary in Chandigarh. Here you find beautiful landscapes that are hard to
find in plain areas. Besides, this reserve is equipped with a dense forest with some wild animals and a pond. If you love
forest adventure, get a permit and check into this place that will give you an exciting experience. Thus, this is one of
some Places to visit in Chandigarh to visit if you love adventure.
The largest succulent botanical garden in Asia, the Cactus garden covers an area of 7 acres. The garden features more than
3500 different species of cacti and was established in 1987. The garden attracts a huge number of tourists and botanists
each year. If you are nature lover, then one must visit this Places to visit in Chandigarh.
The city, lying in the northern plains, includes a vast area of flat, fertile land. Its northeast covers sections of
Bhabar and while the remainder of its terrain is part of the Terai.The surrounding cities are Mohali, Patiala,
Zirakpur and Roopnagar in Punjab, and Panchkula and Ambala in Haryana.
Chandigarh is situated 114 km southwest of Shimla, 45 km (28 miles) northeast of Ambala, 229 km (143 miles) southeast of
Amritsar and 250 km (156 miles) north of Delhi.
Climate
The city experiences the following seasons and the respective average temperatures:
Landscape
Demographics
Languages
Religion
Many institutions serve the minorities in the city. One such being the Roman Catholic Diocese of Simla and Chandigarh,
serving the Catholics, which even has a co-cathedral in the city, Christ the King Co-Cathedral, although it never was a
separate bishopric. Most of the convent schools of Chandigarh are governed by this institution.
Chandigarh hosts many religious places, including Chandimandir, the temple after which it was named. The ISKCON temple
in Sector 36 is one among the worship places for Hindus. Nada Sahib Gurudwara, a famous place for Sikh worship lies in
its vicinity.Apart from this, there are a couple of historical mosques in Manimajra and Burail.
Transport
Road
Chandigarh is well connected by road to the following nearby cities, by the following highway routes:
NH 5 to Shimla in the northeast, and to Ludhiana in the west.
NH 7 to Patiala in the southwest.
NH 152 to Ambala in the south (NH 44 catches up from Ambala to Panipat-Delhi).
Air
Rail
Culture
Festival
The "Rose Festival" in Zakir Hussain Rose Garden in February every year, shows thousands of subspecies of roses.
The Mango Festival, held during the monsoons, and other festivals are held at Sukhna Lake.
Sports
The Chandigarh Golf Club has 7,202 yard, 18 hole course known for its challenging narrow fairways, a long 613 yard long,
dogleg 7th hole and floodlighting on the first nine holes.
There are many other sports grounds and complex like the Lake Sports Complex; Sports Complexes in Sectors 7, 42, 46;
Table Tennis Hall, Sector 23; Hockey Centre, Sector 18; Football Stadium, Sector 17; Skating Rink, Sector 10; Wrestling,
Basketball and Handball Indoor Hall, Sector 42; CLTA Lawn Tennis Grounds, Sector 10; Athletics Stadium, Sector 7 and
26 Police Lines; Volleyball Courts, Sector 7 and so on. Many personalities from this region have excelled in sports.
Tourists Places in amritsar
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Leisure Valley
Butterfly Park
Iskcon Temple
Chattbir Zoo
Mohali Cricket Stadium
Terraced Garden
Nepli Reserve Forests
Cactus Garden