Chandigarh Sightseeing, Quick Facts, History, Packages, Tours & Excursions

The city of Chandigarh, in northwest India, is located on the fringes of the Shivalik range of the Himalayas. Administratively, Chandigarh is the capital for both the states of Punjab and Haryana. The city is not under the jurisdiction of either state and is administered by the central government, and is thus, classified as a union territory. It is the main hub from which tourists travel to the Kullu-Manali region.

Chandigarh shares its borders with the states of Haryana in the south and Punjab in the north it is a good hub to travel to these states. For travellers its main importance is that it serves as a gateway to the hills of Himachal Pradesh.

During the partition of India, the state of Punjab was split between the Pakistan and India. The older capital city Lahore was in Pakistan, and it was decided to build a new city as capital for the Indian Punjab. Initially American architect-planner Albert Mayer, and then the famous French architect Le Corbusier designed the new city. Developed in 1950's Chandigarh became famous as one of the few planned cities in India. In 1966, the state of Haryana was carved out of Punjab and Chandigarh became the capital of both the states.

The structures of the Capital Complex, the seat of the government including the secretariat, the high court and the legislative assembly are Le Corbusier's signature work. In the centre of the complex is the giant metallic sculpture of the Open Hand, the official emblem of Chandigarh. Not far is the unique Rock Garden, a collection of 20,000 rock forms collected and fashioned by artist Nek Chand mainly from industrial and urban waste. The Zakir Hussain Rose Garden is Asia's largest Rose Garden and is spread over 30 acres of land having over 1600 different species of roses. The area around the Sukhna Lake is hilly and make for good outings in the forest.

Panchkula in Haryana and Mohali in Punjab have become satellite cities of Chandigarh.