Chandigarh Tourism
Longitude: 760 48' E
Latitude: 300 50' N
Area: 114 square km
Altitude : 304 - 365 m above MSL
Annual Rainfall: 111.4 cm/yearly average
Monsoon: July - September
Climate: Winter Min. (Nov-Jan) 4oC - 14oC, Summer Max.
(April-July) 37oC - 44oC
Literacy Rate: 81.76 %
Air Quality : Chandigarh's
ambient air quality is better than that of most other cities in the world.
In Chandigarh only non polluting and power driven industries are permitted.
INTRODUCING CHANDIGARH
Chandigarh, derives its name from the
temple Chandi Mandir located in the vicinity of the site selected for
the city. The deity Chandi, the goddess of power and a fort or 'garh'
lying beyond the temple gave the City its name.
WHAT TO SEE
Chandigarh offers a rich fare of places of tourist interest
within short intra-city distances, amidst a clean environment.
Chandigarh is famous for its unique
architecture. Another lesser known aspect of Chandigarh is that besides,
architecture and other urban components, it is one of the few cities of
the world with well planned landscaping. The city boasts of Leisure Valley
and large number of beautifully maintained gardens.
Chandigarh has the distinction of having
world acclaimed Rock Garden. It consists of art objects made from industrial
and urban waste. Sukhna Lake is another important place of tourists attraction.
This man-made Lake is situated in the foothills of Shivalik Range and
offers an ideal place for quiet communion with nature. It also offers
boating and other water sports facilities.
The city has also a Museum Complex. The Government Museum
and Art Gallery has the largest collection of the world famous Gandhara
(Buddhist) Sculpture after Lahore. It has also large number of articles
of miniature indian paintings. The City Museum displays the planning and
development of the City from the drawing board state to its completion.
The Museum of Evolution of Life shows evolution from unicellular organism
to its present state of biological diversity.
The City has one of the best facilities for organizing
culture and theatre shows. It has large number of auditoriums, some of
them air-conditioned. The City boasts of six art galleries.
Chandigarh has two forest areas beyond
Lake Sukhna where one can find excellent trekking routes in the lower
hills of Shivalik Range.
In recent years,
Chandigarh has also
become an attractive place for film shootings. The city is newly developed
and some of its tourists spots like Sukhna Lake, Rock Garden, Panjab University
and City Centre are popular places for shooting. The nearby villages of
Chandigarh which have not changed much and even today the pre-partition
atmosphere can be seen, are another attraction for the film producers.
In the pre-historic period,
Chandigarh
was home to the Harappans. After independence, two prehistoric sites situated
near Chandigarh have been excavated. Ropar about 40 kms from Chandigarh
is one of the important Harappan sites. Sanghol about 40 kms from Chandigarh
in Fatehgarh Sahib district of Punjab is an important Buddhist site.
There are large number of important places of tourist
interest beyond Chandigarh. Chhatbir Zoo, Bhakra Nangal Dam, Patiala,
Anandpur Sahib and Fatehgarh Sahib are important tourist attraction sites
and are situated within 60-70 kms from
Chandigarh. Yadvindra
garden Pinjore and Mansa Devi both in Haryana are situated within 15 kms
from Chandigar
h. The hill stations of Kasauli, Chail and Shimla are also
close-bye.
The city has excellent Convention and Conference facilities.
There are about 30 government and private hotels in Chandigarh offering
900 rooms. The CITCO- run hotels have two excellent halls accommodating
about 500 and 300 persons. There are other large auditoriums and conference
halls also of capacity upto 800 and 1000 persons. The City in recent years
has become venue for various International/National conferences and exhibitions.
