Weekend Destinations around Chandigarh

Explore some of the destinations around the city during weekends. Even kids would love it.

Pinjore Gardens: 20 Kms from Chandigarh, the gardens also called Yadavindra Gardens cover a 100 acres of area. It

houses a mini zoo, historic places, Japanese garden, nursery and a number of picnic spots. It also serves as the venue for hosting the annual mango festival in the month of July. Beautiful jal mahal and sheesh mahal along with the huge variety of flora attracts many visitors. According to the Hindu mythology, it is said that it is over here that Pandava brothers had rested during their exile.

Chattbir Zoo: 
5 Kms from Chandigarh on Chandigarh-Patiala road, this zoological park houses hundreds of different mammals, birds and reptiles. Royal Bengal Tiger is the pride of this zoo. The highlight of this place is the lion safari where the visitors are taken on the adventurous trips to the lion reserves where the animals roam around freely. You can catch the glimpse of these beautiful creatures and also find distinctive species of birds over here. The zoo is open all days except Mondays.


Chandi Mandir: After a tiring week, a visit to the temple sooths the mind and soul. Chandi Mandir

is a very famous temple located at a distance of about 15 kms from the city beautiful. The city Chandigarh gets its name from the goddess Chandi- The goddess of power. During the festivity of Navratras, thousands of people visit this temple.

Nada Sahib Gurudwara: The gurudwara is located 15 Kms from Chandigarh in Panchkula district on the banks of river Ghagar. It is said that Guru Gobind Singh ji along with his victorious fellow warriors had taken a halt at this place while on their way back, after having fought the battle with Mughals. Gurdwara Nada Sahib has a lot of reverence for Sikhs and many people visit this gurudwara on a full moon night every month.




Mansa Devi Temple: 8 Kms from Chandigarh, this temple is located in Panchkula and was

established in 1815 A.D.  According to the Hindu mythology, the head of Devi Sati had fallen over here. Mansa Devi Temple basically houses two temples. The temple near the parking lot is said to be the main temple. Nature lovers can enjoy the beauty of a garden adjoining this temple that houses sacred plants. fairs take place in the surrounding areas of Mansa Devi temple during Navratras.

Morni Hills: 45 Kms from Chandigarh, these hills are an off-shoot of the Shivaliks and run in two parallel ranges from south-east to north-west. Adventure and trekking lovers can utilize these relatively unexplored hills. The river Ghaggar makes these hills picturesque. It also supports some birds like doves quails and sand grouse, wild animals like the hyena, the sambhar and jungle cat. Trees like  neem, pepal, jamun, dhak, amaltas and jacaranda fills the low hill tracts. Camping at the lake side is an another addition to the trip to Morni Hills.


Thunder Zone: 
It is an Amusement and Water Park at a drive away distance of just 13 Kms from Chandigarh. The

park is situated in 11 acres of land and includes 12 exclusive rides and the water park includes 4 pools. The park is divided into three categories of water park, amusement park and fun zone.

Fun City: 
It is the biggest amusement park and water park in the northern region of the country. It is just 20 Kms away from Chandigarh on the Panchkula-Barwalla Nadha Sahib gurudwara highway. The park is spread over 43 acres of land and offers a huge variety of rides and water slides.

Fateh Burj: 
enter the main gate of the Banda Singh Bahadur War Memorial at Chappar Chiri to see the India's tallest minaret. The Fateh Burj has earned the title of the tallest minaret in India from Delhi's Mughal-era Qutub Minar, which is 72.5 metres high. The memorial site, at large, is spread over 20 acres and has sand dunes as part of the landscaping. Artificial water bodies have been designed to provide visitors the reflections of the pillar. An automatic colour-changing light system is installed in the pillar, which functions in the evenings.

Jayanti Devi Temple: 
Just a 13 Kms drive away from Chandigarh the temple offers the beauty of Shivalik Hills and
streaming Jayanti river. the devotees living in Punjab decided to establish the similar shrine as in Himachal Pradesh inspired by the bliss of goddess Jayanti.

Siswan Region: 
The Siswan forest and Siswan Dam just 18 Kms from the city beautiful is an opportunity for all the nature lovers to enjoy the aura of this dense forest and also appreciate the fauna like stags, wild boars, barking deers and neelgai.

The journey to your destination will make you fall in love with the serenity of the nature and piousness of the temples. The fun and adventure of the amusement parks and trekking expedition will surely be a refreshing experience.

~ Mehak Chauhan

Sikh Museum

A Weekend trip to a place near the city, rich with culture and heritage of Sikhism can be a great idea.
Sikh Museum also known as Sikh Ajaibghar located in Mohali is the brainchild of Parwinder Singh, a former scooter Mechanic who dreamt of spreading awareness and educating people about the Sikh heritage.

To offer the maximum recreational as well as educational value of this Museum, Parwinder Singh, the founder and CEO has displayed self-made sculptures presenting the richness of Sikh history. Various eminent incidents from the Sikh history are portrayed using the fiber-glass made sculptures. The Museum has 12 sets of sculptures on display.

The sculptures include:
•         Bhai Kanhaiya Ji
•         Banda Singh Bahadur Ji and His three years old son Uday’s martyrdom
•         Shahidi Bhai Taru Singh Ji
•         Shahidi Bhai Mati Das Ji
•         Shahidi Bhai Mani Singh Ji
•         Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji
•         Bhai Subegh Singh Ji and His son Shahbaaz Singh Ji’s martyrdom
•         Sardad Hari Singh Nalua
•         Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh

This museum was set up by Sikh Heritage and Culture Society. The Founder President of this society, Parwinder Singh has been designing these sculptures since twelve years. He has been taking care of this museum solely. In the year 2005, this museum was located on Landran road and now it has been re-located to Balongi Village in Mohali. The museum is almost 4.4 Kms away from the Mohali Bus Station.

Contributed by Mehak Chauhan

City needs robust infrastructure, job opportunities, connectivity to be a Global City: Experts

‘Visioning Chandigarh’ Conference looks at challenges and opportunities for city

The city ‘s growth requires holistic view of the challenges including its satellite cities of Panchkula and Mohali, and future planning should be inclusive of them, felt experts participating in the ‘Visioning Chandigarh’ conclave-cum-workshop organized by Taaleem College of International Studies (TCIS) and the Institute for Competitiveness India.

Leading senior lawyer of the city M.L. Sarin said that though city indeed is a success in terms of the contribution it has made to the country in more than one way, the original character of the city must be preserved.

The city needs a permanent administrative body, and resented the short-sighted changes and ‘accidental development’ that are harming the eco-system and putting unnecessary pressure on the city’s resources.

Dr. Amit Kapoor, honorary chairman of the Institute for Competitiveness India, which is an extension of global network of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, said that the city has failed from the business perspective because of the absence of manufacturing industry, lack of highly qualified talent, and low job opportunities for the skilled professionals.

City has much more potential to be a global city and more importantly requires much more proactive people’s engagement with the city, encouraging walking, cycling, etc, he said.  Despite being a small city only 9 percent of the people use the pedestrian way, he added.

Dr. S.P.S. Grewal founder of Grewal Eye Institute said that though the city is relatively a healthy city yet its aging population require more centres of excellence in the medical field, and promotion of medical tourism has great potential.  A good convention centre could be another driver of growth for the city, he added.

Quark Media’s Senior Global HR Director Sofi Zahoor said that there should be a uniform policy for Greater Chandigarh – the tricity – and have a long-term plan to attract bigger companies, and more employment opportunities in the region.

CII-Yi (Young India) Chair of Youth Affairs Amanjot Kaur said that youth in the city have been showing remarkable interest in entrepreneurship, and the city must evolve startup funds and incubators to support them.

Jaiprakash Hasrajani, CEO and co-founder of TCIS and Taaleem India felt the need for better international connectivity that could make the city as a gateway to various other tourism and religious destinations in the adjoining states.

Dr. Kevin Stolarick, Research Director, Martin Prosperity Institute, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Canada, facilitated the workshop and involved the participant in group exercise to identify the challenges, that ranged from traffic to corruption, waste management, un-cleanliness, vandalized gardens, to ineffective administration.

Some of the other speakers included  Principal Advisor to Government of Haryana Sastry Tumuluri; Business India’s Advisor Dolly Bhasin; Director of The Millennium School Robin Aggarwal, and Gursimran Kaur, founder and COO of ValuerHR eSolutions Pvt Ltd.

Cruising...the best way to enjoy a complete holiday

Cruising is perhaps one of the best way to enjoy a complete holiday. Whether it is a family trip or a business one for corporate meeting or a sales conference, cruise has everything for everyone.  In fact at times you will find it hard to keep pace with the amount of activities that you can participate in and enjoy.   Reach the boarding destination and hopin.  You could be visiting a number of countries enroute and would have the opportunity to take a day tour, without the hassle of packing and unpacking your luggage when you normally travel from one place to another and rush to catch the flights.
And Chandigarh has the unique distinction of having many people going in for cruise for holidays, honeymoon, on-cruise weddings, corporate events, product launches, and what not. The city now boasts of an exclusive cruise specialist, Sumeer Walia, of Cruise Rover, an ex-Royal Caribean staffer who is now just helping people plan their cruise holidays.  Have a great deal, and great holiday.