IT Chandigarh

THE AROMA HOTEL

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Description:Hotel Aroma holds the distinction of hosting some of the very first visitors to this beautiful city. The name ‘Aroma’ pre-empted the dream concept of city’s famous French architect Le Corbusier, who planned gardens, green belts, wide tree-lined avenues, colourful bougiannville and roses.
Hotel Aroma has grown with the city and today it offers the best accommodation and cuisine juxtaposed with highly professional and courteous service, to make your stay memorable.

Address: Himalaya Marg, Sector 22-C,
City: Chandigarh-160017
Phone: 2700047-048, 5085001-004

HOTEL MOUNTVIEW

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Description: Hotel Mountview at Chandigarh a city that is the hub of travel to the adjoining states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Against the backdrop of the Shivalik Hills, surrounded by lush green lawns, the hotel is located in an excellent & pleasant environment blended with the tranquillity of the Leisure Valley & the famous Rock Garden.

Total Rooms: 145
Address: Sector-10
City: Chandigarh, 160 011.
Phone:2740544, 2743126, 2743268 Fax: 2742220, 2742565

Hotel Shivalikview

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Description: Shivalikview Hotel Chandigarh is city Hotel 2 Minutes walk from Main Shopping Centre

Total Rooms: 108
Address: Sector 17
City: Chandigarh, 160 017.
Phone: 2700001, 2703521, 2704651 Fax: 2701094

TAJ CHANDIGARH
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Description: Taj Chandigarh offers rooms equipped with the latest technology, ergonomic furniture and contemporary amenities; comprehensive business facilities; inviting restaurants and bars; the city’s widest range of banqueting facilities; and the legendary Taj tradition of hospitality and service.

Total Rooms: 152
Address: Block No. 9,Sector 17-A,,Chandigarh
City: Chandigarh, 160017.
Phone:5513000 Fax : 5513883

Fun Republic

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Fun Republic is the savior for people who are more used to the culture of metros like Delhi and Mumbai. Fun Republic is not as big as the multiplexes in Gurgaon, but well it is something. In fact it’s better than some of the complexes in Hyderabad.

Fun Republic is Located in Manimajra, 10 Kms from the city center, Sector-17 & 3 Kms from Technology Park. So, how is it? Well, it is good. Fulfils most of requirement from a hangout place. Parking is easy (unless you decide to see first day second show) and cheap at Rs. 5 (2 wheeler) and Rs. 10 (4 wheeler). It has got Planet M for all music buying (accepts cards for sales for even 55 bucks!). For food, it has Pizza Hut, Sagar Ratna, Cinemasala, Cafe Coffee Day, Ruby Tuesday and Tikka Express. Showrooms of Levi’s, Dockers, Reebok, Greg Norman, Rockport, Giny and Jony, Lilliput, Provogue, Samsonite, Lee Cooper, Hangten, Adidas, Ethos, Emminent, Numero Uno, Oleega, Nzyme, Fen Fang. It even has a game parlor for kids and adults alike.

For the movie part, it has 4 auditoriums. All as good if not better than the PVRs of the Delhi NCR. Tickets are cheap (50-120 bucks). They just recently raised the price of the popcorn soft drink combo from 40 bucks to 60. Always gives mountain dew with too much soda. Maybe they can check that aspect! Popcorns are bad at times too. But well, considering the halls hardly get enough viewers for most of the movies.
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Overall, it’s better than any other alternative available in and around Chandigarh (yeah, much better than visiting sector 17) and worth a visit if you wanna catch a flick without burning a hole in your pocket.

Museum & art gallery

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About The Museum & art gallery

: The museum is situated in Sector 10-C, opposite Leisure Valley and Rose Garden. It possesses the largest collection of the world famous Gandhara Sculptures after Lahore. The adjacent museum contains fossils and implements of prehistoric humans found in India. It opens for public daily between 10:00 a. m. and 4:30 p.m. except on Mondays, national and public holidays.
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Creation

Le Corbusier designed the Government Museum & Art Gallery as a building for the Museum and it came into being on the 6th of May 1968 with untiring efforts of Late M.S. Randhawa, the then Chief Commissioner. Like the City of Chandigarh, the Museum owes its existence to the partition of the country. The collection of arts objects, paintings, sculpture and decorative arts was housed in Lahore, the then Capital of Punjab. The division of the collection took place on 20th April 1948 by which 60% of the objects were retained as were the objects already re-produced in books and excavated from the sites falling in erstwhile Punjab. The remaining 40% collection consisting mainly of Gandhara Sculpture and miniature paintings fell in the share of East Punjab. It was decided in 1960 that the Museum should have a building of its own in Chandigarh. The Museum possesses the largest collection of the world famous Gandhara Sculptures after Lahore. There is also a well-appointed library in the Museum, which meets the needs of the scholars and students.

Shopping Centre

About Shopping Centre

Super Market or shopping centre is at sector 17 surrounding Nilam Cinema and consists of several sky-high mansions which attracts the tourists. Sector 17 is the biggest Shopping Centre of the city, where one can find well-stocked shops and variety of goods. Most of the shops are air conditioned where shopping is a pleasure. Other major shopping districts include sector 22 and sector 15. Last but not the least for Chandigarh residents is the famous Tribune building acting, as the local newspaper’s hot spot with its little news board.
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Planned complex

It is a juxtaposition of cuboid building blocks and open spaces. In the evenings shoppers and tourists, enjoy eating ice creams or popcorns, sitting on the steps of the “dove of peace” spout, where water cascades down from one level to another in geometrically shaped tanks, amidst delightful play of colourful lights. All the buildings are four storeyed. Originally, Le-Corbusier wanted to raise some high-rise buildings but influenced by the limitations of building materials and methods, he adopted a uniform four-storey height for all the buildings.

About Rock Garden

This magic garden is another attraction for travelers built by Nekchand, with multicoloured pieces of useless stones and other throwaway. In summer it is open from 9-13.00 hrs. and 15-19.00 hrs. From October to March, they are open from 9-13.00 hrs. and 14-18.00 hrs Location: This strange and whimsical garden is located in Sector 1 and is a premier tourist attraction.
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Unique feature

The most powerful aspect of the gardens is that - thousands of animal or humanoid figures made out of discarded materials, which stand in rigid rows like silent static armies. It’s a series of interconnected rocky grottoes, walkways and landscaped waterfalls. All this demonstrates how urban and industrial waste can be fruitfully recycled and used in creative pursuit.<%image(20070424-rock-garden man.jpg|434|269|)%>

Creation

It is the creation of Nek chand, who began the project in the year 1958, while working as a roads inspector for Chandigarh’s Engineering Department. An unpretentious entrance leads to a magnificent, almost surrealist arrangement of rocks, broken chinaware, discarded fluorescent tubes, broken and cast away glass bangles, coal and clay-all juxtaposed to create a dream folk world of palaces, soldiers, monkeys, village life, women and temples. Since the site where the garden stands today was used as a dumping ground for urban and industrial waste, he picked up pieces of foundry limekiln and metal workshop wastes and shaped them with his creative genius. These pieces have been innovatively displayed as sculptures in the garden. An open-air theatre and a vast pavilion with a centre stage are the other highlights of the Rock Garden where art and culture blend amidst the rustic and exotic environs of the garden. Several prestigious performances have been staged in this small artistic and naturalistic open-air theatre. It has become almost a heritage site and visitors leave in admiration, only to return again. Artists and connoisseurs from all over the world flock to see this unique and amazing creation. It is without doubt, a tourist spot, which is a must on the itinerary of every visitor to Chandigarh.

Layout

The layout of the Garden is based on the fantasy of a lost kingdom. One has to pass through a variety of doorways, archways, vestibules, streets and lanes of different scales and dimensions, each one opening into a new array of displays or courtyards and chambers lending an air of suspense and curiosity at every corner, at every turn! During the Teej Festival, the Garden assumes a festive look, holding a special attraction for tourists. As one strolls through the Garden, enjoying the awe inspiring creation, one may find himself face to face with the unassuming artist Nek Chand himself, working at or supervising his ‘kingdom’.

Sukhna Lake

About Sukhna Lake

This 3-square-kilometre rain fed lake created in 1958 by damming the Sukhna Choe, is a seasonal stream coming down from the Shivalik Hills. Serious ‘walkers’ pursue an exercise regime and families enjoy an evening stroll. It attracts migratory birds from lands as far as Siberia and elsewhere.<%image(20070424-sukhna-lake.jpg|434|269|)%>

Location

This manmade picturesque Sukhna Lake lies in the foothills of Shivalik range. It is an idyllic place for quiet communion with nature and for offering water sports activities like boating, yachting, water skiing, etc. The creation of Lake was one of the greatest gifts from Le Corbusier and P L Varma Chief Engineer.

Emotions attached

People of Chandigarh love Sukhna. To preserve its tranquility Corbusier insisted that it be forbidden to motorboats and the top of the dam (promenade) prohibited to vehicular traffic. This beautiful gift to the city has extended its attraction beyond its boundaries and Sukhna is an inseparable part of the city. The city planners were deeply attached to the lake, so much so that Pierre Jeanneret’s ashes were immersed in the lake in 1970 as per his wishes by his niece. The Government of India has declared the Lake as a protected national wetland. It is the venue for many festive celebrations the most popular is the Mango Festival held during the monsoons when scores of varieties of mangoes are on display. The Lake is fringed by a golf course to the south, and the famous Rock Garden to its west. This is a favorite spot for bird watchers. One may simply relax at the cafe run by the Chandigarh Tourism Development Corporation. The lake also has a full-length watercourse, developed in 1989 when the city hosted the 1989 Asia Rowing Championship.

Enchanting evenings

The evenings see Sukhna again coming alive with tourists, and families thronging the promenade. Photographers and painters can capture the scenic beauty of the setting sun, or the heavily clouded monsoon sky, or the early morning mist in winter set amidst the tranquility of the lake. For children there are a number of joy rides and a mini train. As night descends, the lights from the hill resort of Kasauli reflect in the lake presenting a bewitching sight.