Located on the plain just south of the
Shivalik Hills, about 240 km north of
New Delhi, the union territory of Chandigarh is bounded by the states of
Haryana in the east and
Punjab on all other sides. It includes the city of Chandigarh, four towns and a number of adjoining villages, which together cover 114 sq km. The city of Chandigarh is the capital of the territory, as well as the joint capital of the states of Haryana and Punjab.
The principal languages are Hindi, Punjabi and English. The temperature varies from 30° to 45° C. During winters the temperature often falls as low as 5° C. It also rains well between May and September. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains constitute a major part of the population. Chandigarh has about 15 medium and large scale industrial units. These include soft drinks, electric meters, antibiotics, electronic components and equipments, bio-medical equipments, tractor parts, cement pipes and washing machines. Chandigarh has its population drawn from every community and region in India, and ranks second in literacy among the country's states and union territories.
The important tourist centers are the Rock Garden, Zakir Rose Garden, Fragrance Garden, Shanti Gunj,
Sukhna Lake, Government Museum and Art Gallery, City Museum, Children Art Gallery, Terraced Garden, National Gallery of Portraits, Bougainvillea Garden, International Dolls Museum, Topiary Park, Log Hut and Leisure Valley.
Chandigarh city is the first `planned' city of India and covers an area of 56 sq km. Designed by the French architect Le Corbusier and his team of architects, the city has neatly laid out roads and parks, buildings ranging against mountain peaks, boulevards and streets lined by endless rows of trees and shrubs. The city is named after the Goddess Chandi Devi, whose white domed temple stands on the slope of a hill in the north-east of Chandigarh, on the edge of the Shivalik hills.
It is a modern city, built in 47 sectors (excluding the unlucky number 13). Each sector consists of market places and shopping centers. All the sectors are interconnected by state transport buses, auto-rickshaws and taxis. Chandigarh is a city full of artistic monuments and artistic people. Artistic performances occur almost every day in the city. There are a number of art galleries, museum and theaters in the city.
The airport is 12 km from Chandigarh city and the railway station is 8 km south-east of the city.
