Road
The Union Territory of Chandigarh is well served by an excellent network of roads. National Highways 21 and 22 are the chief road arteries linking Chandigarh with the rest of the country. In good weather it is a pleasure to drive into Chandigarh along these roads. The city is within motorable distance from a number of popular towns and pilgrimage centres.

Bus
Buses of several State Road Transport Corporations connect Chandigarh with many cities and towns of neighbouring states. Buses may be luxurious-air-conditioned, deluxe, semi-deluxe or ordinary coaches. The Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) is located in Sector 17(City Centre). Other services at the ISBT include a post office, tourist offices, a rail reservation centre, a 24-hour cloakroom and several eateries. CITCO s self-service restaurant The Chef provides snacks and light meals from 7.00 a.m to 10.00 p.m.

Train
Chandigarh Railway Station is about 8 kms from the City Centre in Sector 17. The Shatabdi Express and the Himalayan Queen provide two train connections every day between Chandigarh and Delhi. Chandigarh Transport Undertaking buses ply to and from the railway station to coincide with the arrival and departure of both trains.

Air
Chandigarh s airport is 11 kms from the City Centre. Indian Airlines connects Chandigarh with Mumbai, Delhi, Jammu Leh and Amritsar.

There are a number of things to do in Chandigarh. You may choose to visit the monuments and see the renowned architecture, admire the landscaping and explore the Leisure Valley or take the nature trails or view the detailed evolution of Chandigarh in the City Museum, or simply imbibe the serenity of the Sukhna Lake. Should you wish to do any or all of the above, kindly read on for the most interesting details.

Architecture
For all visitors, some buildings are on the "must-see" list. We will walk you through the most distinctive among these.The Capitol Complex in Sector 1 is the seat of government. It is also the raison d etre for this city. Today it is the joint headquarters of Punjab and Haryana. The offices of the Union Territory Secretariat are located in Sector 9. Sector 1 was conceived and developed entirely by Le Corbusier. We are told that the three geometrical concrete buildings in the Capitol Complex - the Legislative Assembly, the High Court, and the Secretariat - do not resemble anything that existed before.

The Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha)
The Legislative Assembly at the south-eastern end of the Capitol piazza is the most arresting of them all. It stands facing the High Court, with an imposing portico that has a cubist mural painted by Le Corbusier himself. The three features emerging from the roof: a powerful cupola housing the main assembly chamber; a pyramidal tower meant for the upper house and housing the Haryana Legislature; and a simple cuboid tower providing access to the roof, combine to break the silhouette of the building and lend a certain grace to the structure.

The High Court
The High Court was one of the first architectural monuments to be built in the Capitol Complex. Its extraordinary parasol-like roof floating over the building with a magnificent outward sweep conveys symbolically that the law is an "umbrella of shelter" for the ordinary citizen. The awesome entrance for the judges through a high portico resting on three giant pylons is intended to manifest the Majesty of the Law to all who enter.

The Secretariat
The Secretariat is the largest of these edifices in the Capitol Complex. It is a huge multi-storeyed linear slab-like structure, intended as a work place for 4000 people. The long line of identical sun breakers is broken by introducing varied heights and projections, together with a roof containing towers, funnels, pavilions and a cafetaria jutting out like an art object placed on a pedestal. In the hands of Corbusier, this basically dull framework has turned out to be something of a sculpture. These three buildings create an extraordinary composition. In particular, their raw finish and rough concrete surfaces which Le Corbusier insisted upon was first critiqued vehemently, and then admired the world over. The fourth building in the composition was envisaged as the Governor s Palace or a Museum of Knowledge. This is yet to be realised.In the world of architecture, these buildings are perceived as exceptional manifestations of modern architecture, reflecting the creativity and care of a lifetime.To further enhance the linear perspective in the Capitol Complex, Le Corbusier planned several monuments along its main piazza extending 1200 feet. These are the monument of the Open hand, the Martyrs Memorial, the Tower of Shadows and the Geometrical Hill.

The Open Hand
This giant hand in metal sheet rises 26 meters from a sunken french and rotates freely in the wind from a high concrete pedestal, conveying the symbolic message "Open to give, open to receive". Conspicuous by its scale, the Open Hand is the official emblem of the city. The design of this emblem as of the monument was conceived entirely by Le Corbusier. There is probably no city emblem in the world quite like this one. Open to give and open to receive presumes an open mind. This notion as also the emblem, celebrates the give and take of ideas, as opposed to commemorating personalities.

Panjab University
The basic layout and many of the buildings in the Panjab University were designed by Pierre Jeanneret and represent some of his finest works, notably the Gandhi Bhavan, the Fine Arts Museum, and the Students Centre. The Gandhi Bhavan is poised atop a large reflecting pool. The architectural grandeur of this building is accentuated by its reflection in the water. The Fine Arts Museum is a modest single storey structure faced with red sand stone, and laid out around a central courtyard. The Students Centre is a unique cylindrical structure with a ramp spiralling up to the cafeteria on the top floor. The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, the Colleges of Architecture and Engineering (Sector 12), and those of Boys and Girls Hostels (Sector 11) are very near the Panjab University (Sector 14). These campuses are worth visiting to see the diversity of architectural expressions within the modern idiom.

The Rock Garden
Sector 1
Open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. all days.An unpretentious entrance leads to a magnificent, almost surrealist arrangement of rock fossils, broken chinaware, discarded fluorescent tubes, broken and cast away glass bangles, building waste, coal and clay - all juxtaposed to create a dream folk world of palaces, soldiers, monkeys, village life, women and temples. These are open-air sculptures, one display separated from the other by a clever use of tunnels, twists, turns and concealed gateways such that this magical world unfolds in phases. You have to see it to believe it, and will then not forget it. All of this is enhanced by a waterfall, pool and an open air theatre with proper stage setting.

Botanical Garden
Sector 1
Between the Rock Garden and Sukhna Lake, the Botanical garden is spread over 88 acres. Its rockeries, lily-pools, and the rare species covered in green houses draw garden lovers as well as botanists.

The Sukhna Lake
Open all days.This 3-square-kilometre rainfed lake was created in 1958 by damming the Sukhna Choe, a seasonal stream coming down from the Shivalik Hills. The roof of the bund or dam, elegantly landscaped has become a favourite promenade. Serious walkers pursue an exercise regime, families enjoy an evening stroll, painters and photographers mingle with children on roller skates - to partake of this extraordinary amenity. Photographers and painters never tire of capturing the setting sun, or the heavily clouded monsoon sky, or the early morning mist captured with the rising winter sun against the tranquillity of the lake. Even anglers do not leave unrewarded.The Sukhna Lake attracts migratory birds from places/lands as far as Siberia and elsewhere.