This small compact neat and clean union territory is shared by both Punjab and Haryana as their capital. Surrounded by lakes,gardens and greenery all around, this city was one of the early planned cities in post-independence India and is internationally known for its architecture and urban design.
You can start your day with a sunrise by the Sukhna Lake followed by a visit to the Rock Garden and Parrot Sanctuary and Rose Garden. End it leisurely at the Leisure Valley.
Sukhna Lake: Its a 3 km rain-fed lake with a seasonal stream coming down from the Shivalik Hills.It is the venue for many festive celebrations with the Mango Festival held during the monsoons being the most popular one.
Rock Garden: Its the place the city is known for. A famous Indian Artist,Nek Chand, went up to the Siwalik Hills and collected discarded waste materials like frames, mudguards, forks, handle bars, metal wires, play marbles, porcelain, auto parts, broken bangles etc. to build this garden.It has numerous sculptures made of ceramic wastes.
Parrot Sanctuary: Its a habitat of thousands of parrots and a great place to come closer to the nature.
Leisure Valley: A theme park along with a botanical garden where you can spend some leisure hours.
Chandigarh to Amritsar is 230Kms and takes 4-5 Hours by car. You can start very early in the morning from Chandigarh to reach Amritsar by breakfast time and to have ample time to explore the city within a day.
Apart from its famous Golden Temple, the city holds a rich history of Indian Independence.
Start with Jallianwala Bagh, the iconic garden where the tragic Amritsar massacre took place in the British Era. The garden is very near to Golden Temple(almost within the same complex). So you can pay a visit to the famous Golden Temple consecutively.
Post Lunch set out for the Wagha Border to see the afternoon flag ceremony. Plan well ahead to get a seat at the stadium as it is very crowdy almost throughout the year. It will take around 1 hour to reach the place from Amritsar by road. You can get your own vehicle or hire one. Ample parking space is there. You have to walk 2kms from the parking to reach the stadium. The ceremony starts daily at 4.45PM but try to get inside the stadium at least 1 hour in advance.
Post return from the border, you can spend a leisurely evening at the Fawwara Chowk which is very near to the Golden Temple and which also gives you the opportunity to enjoy the view of the illuminated temple at night. The Town Hall is also very nearby which has some of the iconic dhabas to relish on the authentic Punjabi cuisines. Brother's Dhaba and Bharwan Da Dhaba are the 2 best choices.
A Partition Museum is also there at the Town Hall. The museum aims to become the central repository of stories, materials, and documents related to the post-partition riots that followed the division of British India into two independent countries: India and Pakistan. You can visit it anytime between 10AM to 6PM.
