Chandigarh, Chandigarh: A Guide to PIN Code 160017
Everything you need to know about Chandigarh in Chandigarh - from local landmarks and street food to the stories behind the pincode.
There is a city in India where every road is straight, every sector is numbered, and every building follows a plan. It was designed by a famous architect, built by a visionary prime minister, and has been called the most beautiful city in India. This is Chandigarh - the City Beautiful - and it begins at PIN code 160017.
Le Corbusier's masterpiece
When Jawaharlal Nehru wanted a new city that would be free from the constraints of the past, he turned to Le Corbusier, the Swiss-French architect who was the father of modern architecture. Le Corbusier designed Chandigarh on modernist principles - a grid layout, numbered sectors, green belts, and a capitol complex that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Open Hand Monument, the Secretariat, and the High Court are masterpieces of modernist design that have influenced architects worldwide.
Chandigarh is what happens when a visionary architect meets a visionary leader. The result is a city that works as well as it looks - and it looks extraordinary.
The Rock Garden
The Rock Garden, created by Nek Chand from recycled waste materials, is one of the most unique gardens in the world. Built secretly over 18 years starting in 1957, the garden is a fantasy landscape of waterfalls, courtyards and sculptures made from broken bangles, ceramic tiles, electrical waste and other discarded materials. When authorities discovered it, the city decided to preserve it rather than demolish it. Today it attracts 5,000 visitors every day.
Gardens everywhere
Chandigarh is called the City Beautiful for good reason. The Rose Garden (Zakir Hussain Garden), spread over 30 acres, is the largest rose garden in Asia with over 1,600 varieties. The Terrace Garden, Garden of Fragrance and Bougainvillea Garden add to the city's green character. The city was designed to have green spaces in every sector, and this commitment to nature is visible everywhere.
Sector 17 and quality of life
Sector 17 Plaza is the commercial heart of Chandigarh. This pedestrian-only commercial centre has shops, restaurants, banks and offices. The open-air plaza with its geometric design and fountains is a popular hangout. Chandigarh consistently ranks among the highest in India for quality of life, per capita income and literacy rate. The city has wide roads, clean streets, excellent public services and a high standard of living.
Gateway to the mountains
Chandigarh is the gateway to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Kasauli, a quiet hill station, is about 70 kilometres away. Shimla, the queen of hill stations, is about 115 kilometres. The Kalka-Shimla railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, starts from nearby Kalka. This proximity to the mountains makes Chandigarh a popular base for weekend getaways.
160017 is where modernist architecture meets rose gardens, where a city was planned on paper and built in reality, and where every sector tells the story of India's dream to build something new.