Chandigarh offers an excellent quality of life to its residents with lush green lawns, good number of trees, wide roads, planned residential sectors and markets with ample parking space. It’s the most planned city of India designed by the Swiss-French modernist architect, Le Corbusier and hence a wonderful place to live.
In addition to being perhaps the best city in India to live, Chandigarh also offers some beautiful tourists spots like Rock Garden, Japanese Garden, Sukhna Lake, Leisure Valley, Rose Garden and some iconic buildings (Capitol Complex, Secretariat Building and High Court Building - UNESCO World Heritage Sites). Out of these, Rock Garden is never never miss when you are visiting Chandigarh. A half day visit to Garden is enough to cover its both parts (spread in 40 acres).
Rock Garden is a sculptor garden conceptualised, founded and built by Shri Nek Chand Saini, a Govt Official in 1957, in his spare time with a concept of “Best out of Waste “utilising the waste and scrap material (industrial waste, home waste and thrown away items) such as broken glasses, pipes, fused tube lights, ceramics, bottles, tiles, bangles, stones etc. It also has beautiful man-made interlinked waterfalls and landscapes. It’s open from 9 am to 6 pm all seven days of week. It’s nicely maintained too.
One has to certainly get mesmerised by the creativity of Shri Nek Chand after seeing the sculptures and interiors here. The visitors can take pictures here and spend time sitting near the soothing waterfalls.
If time permits, you may also visit nearby Sukhna Lake, a rain-fed reservoir in the foothills of Shivalik Range of Himalayas created in 1958 (about 3 sq km) and enjoy boating here (children can also enjoy various rides here). A lake view restaurant is also here to quench your taste buds (don’t miss Gol Gappas with 5 different flavours of water). Camel ride is also available outside the lake.
But if covering the city by car or a taxi hired from outside, strictly follow all traffic rules, especially be cautious about your speed limit (60 kmph on main roads and 50 kmph on interior roads, there are speed limit signboards on every road indicating the same) and your vehicle should not have tinted film on its glasses or anything written on the vehicle or windscreens (No stickers also), else, be prepared for hefty fines by the traffic police who are there almost everywhere. Honking is to be avoided, lane discipline is to be adhered to and Parking has to be at the designated parkings only.
In the evening, you may spend time in iconic Sector 17 Market Plaza (oldest shopping arcade of city) and also indulge in shopping of apparel, dress material, traditional footwear and handicrafts etc in this market. This market is the ultimate destination for fun lovers and it also offers some good restaurants and street food to the taste of everyone.
One full day spent at Chandigarh is sure not to disappoint anyone, rather it will be a very satisfying day.
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