A guide to the top 10 must-visit tourist places In Chandigarh
There is no better way to know a place than to visit it and to visit you have to travel to different places. There is nothing better in life than experiencing different places.
A lot of people around the world travel every year to many places. Through travelling, you get to learn a lot of things. It is essential to travel once every year as travelling refreshes your mind and re-energizes you.
Travelling also opens a big door to explore the world and indulge yourself in the beauty of the unknown world.
Why do people travel?
Travelling has several reasons. Some people travel for fun and some travel for work. Similarly, some travel for education purposes and some to know in-depth about the place.
Most people travel to explore the unexplored, to see the hidden beauties around them.
Benefits of travelling:
Though the topic doesn’t demand benefits of travelling. But still, as already I discussed so many things, why leave this stone unturned. Though travelling has several advantages but just discussing the essential benefits:
- When you travel, you meet new people and listen to their stories; you share yours. This way you get to know about a new culture, you make new friends.
- Travelling helps you come out of your sensitive zone.
- Through travelling, you get to learn a new skill. When you travel to hilly areas, you learn trekking. Similarly, you get to do boating, scuba diving, and rafting at different places. So you get to know more about these skills, and the most important is to learn to know the act of survival.
- Travelling helps you to know about the true beauty of Earth. Through travelling, you also know about those unknown places, the unknown tribes, their way of living, food habits.
Chandigarh- The City Of Beauty:
I have already discussed a lot about travelling, and now it’s time to come to the core topic of travelling to Chandigarh- The City Of Beauty. Whether you stay in India or abroad, and have plans to visit India, give this place a visit.
This is the best place to visit. This city is one of the most beautiful cities in India. Chandigarh will continuously amaze you with its alluring view throughout your travelling plan. The city of Chandigarh has stories in every corner. You will never feel bored exploring this city.
Chandigarh is a city and union territory in India that serves as the capital of two prominent neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. To the north, west and south, Punjab borders Chandigarh; to the east, it is bordered by Haryana.
Chandigarh is situated to the southeast of another state with a historical significance- Amritsar. It is also the neighbouring state of the Capital of India that is Delhi. So if you have an extended vacation and ever visit Chandigarh, you can also keep this neighbouring state on your travel list.
Chandigarh is well known for its planning. It is one of the early planned cities in post-independence, and it is internationally acclaimed for its architecture and urban design. The main hand behind the master plan of the city was Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, who redesigned by transforming the earlier plans given by the Polish architect Maciej Nowicki and the American planner Albert Mayer.
Now coming to the significance of the city and starting with the Capitol Complex. UNESCO declared this as World Heritage in July 2016. Coming to the economic significance of the city, it has one of the highest per capita incomes in the country and has one of the highest Human Development Index.
The most crucial feature of Chandigarh is its historical significance. Scientists in their research found that Chandigarh was home to some settlements of the great Indus Valley Civilisation. So don’t you think that you should once visit? According to my, it is one of the best cities.
For travelling weather, temperature, climate, matters a lot. The climate of Chandigarh is not the best but don’t worry, and it doesn’t create that problem. Chandigarh has a humid subtropical climate which means mild winters, hot summers. But they have the best arrangements for tourists and cope with this weather.
Chandigarh has very dense plantations, mainly consisting of Banyan and eucalyptus plantations. A lake named Sukhna is known for its wide variety of ducks and geese and attracts Migratory birds from parts of Siberia and Japan in the winter season.
The Parrot Bird Sanctuary Chandigarh provides a home to many parrots. Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1998.
Tourism is the primary source of income for this city. Each Year millions of tourists come from different parts of the world to indulge in its beauty. Each Year Cricket Board of India organizes many matches in the Mohali stadium. Moreover, Chandigarh is also known for its rich culture.
The Chandigarh Rock Garden is one of the best places to visit in Chandigarh. Each Year millions of tourists visit this place to see the rock sculptures, and they can’t stop them from appreciating man’s skills—the fine grooves perfectly sculptured shows their expertise.
10 must-visit places in Chandigarh:
As I have discussed earlier, it is one of the most attractive places in India, there are numerous places to visit in Chandigarh.
Chandigarh is a place where tourists can see the true essence of Greater India, and it shows itself around to global travellers as India wishes to be seen. This city symbolizes prosperity and culture.
The city is distinctive from the rest of the cities in India. It is indeed one of the best places to visit, and each place you visit will remain in your memory forever.
Below I will provide a list of must-visit tourist places in Chandigarh, along with places to stay, rent everything.
If you go through these lists, you will know everything regarding Chandigarh.
1. Zakir Hussain Rose Garden:
The Sector 16 area of Chandigarh is known for its immense beautiful Zakir Hussain Rose Garden. It sprawls across 30 acres and gives you a chance to see more than 1600 species of roses and other plants. It is the most extensive botanical garden in Asia that mainly belongs to the roses, but you can see other flowers also.
The Zakir Hussain Rose garden is named after Zakir Hussain, the former President of India. Apart from the regular flowers, the garden also contains several medicinal herbs varieties.
Some of the medicinal plants spotted here are Bel, Bahera, Harar, camphor. These Medicinal Herbs are used for making ayurvedic medicines. So it has huge economic importance.
The beautiful rose bed spreading across the Zakir Hussain Rose Garden is eye-soothing and adds to the beauty of the place. So this place is also known as Heaven for rose lovers. Every Year in February or March rose festival is organized here.
This place has a heavenly feeling. So if you are a rose lover and want to soothe your eyes with the perfect blend of nature’s colour, then give this place a visit.
Timing of the park: 6 am-8 pm
2. Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh
The sector 10 area is occupied by the Massive Art Gallery and is one of the most exciting places in Chandigarh. It contains antiquities from the Indus valley civilization to different paintings and coins from ancient and historical times.
Government Museum and Art Gallery have Gandharan sculptures, ancient and Medieval Indian sculptures, Pahari and Rajasthani miniature paintings.
There is an interesting fact related to this museum. This museum was set up during the Partition of India. Just after partition, much of the art objects, paintings and sculptures present here were kept in the Central Museum, Lahore, the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab.
This museum was primarily built to house the artefacts received from the Lahore Museum. Later, the division of collections took place on April 10, 1948. Pakistan retained sixty Percent of Objects, and forty per cent were given to India.
The Museum and Art Gallery also has the most extensive Gandharan artefacts globally, which were received from the Lahore Museum. It is said that the government museum has the second-highest collection of Gandhara sculptures after the Indian Museum, Kolkata.
The main architecture of the building was designed by the Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier, and along with him, associate architects, namely Manmohan Sharma, Pierre Jeanneret, and Shiv Dutt Sharma, were also present.
Another essential feature of the museum of art and gallery is the Child Art Gallery. The Child art gallery houses the artwork of children especially meant for children. The gallery also contains Dinosaur Fossils excavated by scientists from this region.
Those who love history or know about Ancient India can visit this place. Those who live in Chandigarh if want to spend a holiday fruitfully can visit this place as they will get to know many things. So what more? Do visit today.
Timings: 10:00 am to 4:30 pm (closed on Mondays)
3) Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh
Sukhna Lake is an artificial lake stretching across 3km in Chandigarh and is one of the top tourist attractions.
Situated in the foothills of the Himalayas, this region experienced extreme siltation because it was led for vegetation, and the rest was made Lake.
Known as one of India’s most beautiful man-made lakes, tourists mainly enjoy boating and strolling around this Lake.
To get the true essence of the Sukhna lake, you should visit this place during dawn or Dusk and gaze at one of the gorgeous sunrises or sunset. You will love it.
Boating Timings: 9:30 am to 6:00 pm
Boating Fee: ₹ 50
4) Nek Chand’s Rock Garden:
Situated near the majestic Sukhna lake, the Rock Garden is one of the most unique and beautiful rock gardens.
It was founded by Nek Chand, a former government official who started cultivating this garden in his spare time.
It is counted as one of the important tourist attraction sites, and each year millions of tourists visit the rock garden.
The uniqueness of the rock garden lies in its sculptures. The rock garden consists of sculptures built from the stones, debris, and junk collected when 50 cities were cleared to build the capital city Chandigarh.
If you are an aesthete, then you will dive into this place, but if you are not, then by the time you leave this Garden, it will make you one.
Timings: 9:00 am to 7:30 pm (April to September); 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (October to March)
5) International Doll’s Museum, Chandigarh
Located in Sector 23 of Chandigarh International Dolls Museum is another fantastic place to visit in Chandigarh.
Established in 1985 and run by the State government of Chandigarh, the museum houses dolls and puppets from worldwide, starting from Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany.
International dolls museum also has a huge collection of Indian dolls dressed as bridegroom tribes. The most striking feature of this museum is the working electric toy train.
More or less, this place is loved by children the most. So do give the International dolls museum a visit for sure next time you come to Chandigarh.
Timings: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
6) Open Hand Monument, Chandigarh
Open Hand Monument is located in the capitol complex of Chandigarh, Sector 1, which is itself a UNESCO heritage site. The monument is also the emblem and symbol of The Chandigarh government.
The hand symbolizes “hand to give and to take, peace and prosperity and unity of mankind”. The Open Hand Monument is one of the finest sculptures of Le Corbusier and is made of metal. It is also unique because it is made so that it rotates in the wind.
Timings: 9:00 am to 8:00 pm
7) Le Corbusier Center, Chandigarh-
Le Corbusier was a famous Swiss Architect who was the main architect behind Chandigarh city’s formation. He made many notable sculptures of Chandigarh.
The Chandigarh administration established the Le Corbusier Center, which is happened to be the old office of Le Corbusier. He made the blueprints of his great sculptures here. Those who are keen on knowing this great man can visit this place.
8) Mohali Cricket Stadium, Chandigarh
The Inderjit Singh Bindra Stadium, also known as Mohali cricket stadium, is a cricket ground located in Mohali, Punjab. It is home to Punjab’s state team and the IPL team Kings 11 Punjab.
A striking feature of this stadium is its arrangement of floodlights. The floodlights are very low in height to avoid aircraft from nearby Chandigarh airport colliding with Light Pillars
9) National Gallery of Portraits
This gallery is situated behind state the library, and the National Gallery of portraits consists of photos and paintings which depicts events that took place in India’s Independence.
10) Terraced Garden
The most beautiful place to visit in Chandigarh is the Terraced Garden which is famous for its light and music fountains. The scenic beauty of this place is also noteworthy. On a breezy evening, this place soothes you completely.
The bed of flowers also adds to the beauty of the terraced garden, and for all, these gardens are the most relaxing place in the city.
Concluding Thoughts
So these are, in my opinion, the top places to visit in Chandigarh. There are many more tourist places in Chandigarh apart from these, and you can visit them also.
Just keep in mind your safety, and also the cleanliness of the tourist sites.
After completion of your trip, you will find a new you. An energized, refreshed soul. So what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and go.
Last Updated on by kalidaspandian