Description of Chandigarh

Chandigarh is one of the best beautiful city in India, city and a union territory in India that serves as the capital of the two neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab. The city is unique in that it is not a part of either of the two states but is governed directly by the Union Government, which administers all such territories in the country. It is located 260 km from New Delhi, 229 km of Amritsar and just 116 km of Shimla. It is one of the planned cities in India and it is known for its architecture and urban design. The master plan of the city was prepared by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier. There are famous places like Punchkula is in Haryana, and Mohali & Zirkpur are in Punjab. The city is also famous for his famous tourist attraction like Sukhna lake, Rock garden, Rose Garden, Pinjore Gardens, Chhatbir Zoo and local market for shopping. 

History of Chandigarh

During the Partition of India along the Radcliffe Line, the capital of the Punjab Province, Lahore, fell into Punjab, Pakistan. The necessity to have a new capital for Punjab in India then, led to the development of Chandigarh. Chandigarh was the dream city of India's first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru. After the partition of India in 1947, the former British province of Punjab was split between (mostly Sikhs) East Punjab in India and (mostly Muslim) West Punjab in Pakistan. The Indian Punjab required a new capital city to replace Lahore, which became part of Pakistan during the partition. 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.

Geography of Chandigarh

Chandigarh is located near the foothills of the Sivalik range of the Himalayas in northwest India. It covers an area of approximately 114 km. It shares its borders with 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 meters (1053 ft). The city, lying in the northern plains, has vast fertile and flat land. It has portions of Bhabar in the north east and Terai in rest of the area. The surrounding cities are Mohali, Patiala, Zirakpur and Roopnagarin Punjab, Panchkula, and Ambala in Haryana.

Weather of Chandigarh

Chandigarh has a humid subtropical climate. The western disturbances usually brings 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.

The city experiences the following seasons and the respective average temperatures:

(February-to- April)- The climate remains the most enjoyable part of the year during the spring season Temperatures vary between (max) 13 °C to 20 °C and (min) 5 °C to 12 °C.

(Mid-April to June) the temperature in summer may rise to 44 °C. The temperatures might sometime rise to 44 °C in mid-June.

(July to September) - Chandigarh receives moderate to heavy rainfall and sometimes very heavy rainfall (generally during the month of August or September).

(November-end to February)- Winters are mild but it can sometimes get quite chilly in Chandigarh. Average temperatures in the winter remain at (max) 5 °C to 14 °C and (min) -1 °C to 5 °C. Rain usually comes from the west during winters and it is usually a persistent rain for 2–3 days with sometimes hailstorms.

How to reach Chandigarh

Chandigarh is well connected by roads / Train / Air to the following nearby cities.

Chandigarh has the largest number of Buses by all states. The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking operates public transport buses from its Inter State Bus Terminals (ISBT) in Sectors 17 and 43 of the city.  Also operates frequent bus services to the neighboring states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and to Delhi.

Well connected by roads to the following nearby cities.

1. NH 5 to Shimla in the northeast, and to Ludhiana in the west.

2. NH 7 to Patiala in the southwest.

3. NH 152 to Ambala in the south (NH 44 catches up from Ambala to Panipat-Delhi).

By Air

Chandigarh Airport has scheduled commercial flights to major cities of India including Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Leh Srinagar and Lucknow. The airport has international flights to Dubai.

By Rail

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, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore and Kollam,  Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, Bhopal,  Indore, Lucknow,  Amritsar, Ambala, Panipat, Kalka, Shimla and Pune.