Start with the city: the Capitol Complex tour at 10:00, the Government Museum, the Rose Garden, the Rock Garden and Sukhna Lake at sunset, about 18 km by cab. A second day goes to Panchkula for the Mansa Devi temple, Gurdwara Nada Sahib and Pinjore Gardens. A third goes up to Kasauli. Museums close on Mondays, so do the city day Tuesday to Friday.
Each plan is a real route by cab, timed against opening hours.
Capitol Complex, Rock Garden and Sukhna Lake
5 places · 18 km by cab
See the plan →Capitol Complex, Rock Garden and Sukhna Lake · Mansa Devi, Nada Sahib and Pinjore Gardens
9 places · 75 km by cab
See the plan →Capitol Complex, Rock Garden and Sukhna Lake · Mansa Devi, Nada Sahib and Morni Hills · Kasauli and Pinjore Gardens
12 places · 238 km by cab
See the plan →Call or message a local Chandigarh operator with this plan. Tell them your hotel and dates, and they send a price for the car and driver.
We are still listing Chandigarh operators. Write to [email protected] and we will put you in touch.
With the best time to go and how long to stay.
| Place | Open | Best time | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capitol Complex | Guided tours only, free, at 10:00, 12:00 and 15:00, about 90 minutes. Register 15 minutes early with photo ID (a passport for foreigners). Monday to Friday the tour goes inside the buildings; at weekends it stays outside. Closed on public holidays | The 10:00 tour, on a weekday, when it goes inside. | 1 h 45 min |
| Government Museum and Art Gallery | 10:00 to 16:30, closed on Mondays. The Natural History Museum and the Architecture Museum next door keep 10:00 to 17:00 | Late morning, after the Capitol Complex. | 1 h 15 min |
| Zakir Hussain Rose Garden | 05:00 to 21:00 every day; free | February and March, when the roses are out; the Rose Festival is in late February. | 40 min |
| Rock Garden of Nek Chand | 09:00 to 18:00 from October to March, 09:00 to 19:30 from April to September, every day. Adults ₹30, children ₹10 | Afternoon, then walk on to Sukhna Lake. | 1 h 45 min |
| Sukhna Lake | 05:00 to 21:00, free. Boats for hire in the day, about 09:00 to 18:00 | Late afternoon into sunset, about 17:25 in winter and 19:30 in June. | 1 h |
| Chandigarh Bird Park | 10:00 to 17:00, closed on Mondays (some listings say Tuesdays too). Adults ₹50? | Morning, when the birds are busy. | 1 h |
| Pierre Jeanneret Museum | 10:00 to 17:00, closed on Mondays? | Any time, on the way to Sukhna Lake. | 45 min |
| Le Corbusier Centre | 10:00 to 17:00, closed on Mondays | Any weekday afternoon. | 45 min |
| International Dolls Museum | 10:00 to 16:30, closed on Mondays | Any time with children. | 40 min |
| Sector 17 Plaza | Open all day; shops about 10:30 to 21:00? | Evening, when the fountains and shops are lit. | 1 h |
The heart of Le Corbusier's plan for Chandigarh and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tour walks you past the High Court, the Palace of Assembly and the Secretariat, big concrete buildings with bold colours, and to the Open Hand, a metal hand that turns in the wind and is the city's symbol.
In the 1-day plan
A Le Corbusier building in Sector 10 with Gandhara Buddhas, Pahari miniature paintings and modern Indian art. Next door, the Architecture Museum tells how Chandigarh was planned, with the first sketches and models, and the Natural History Museum has dinosaur fossils found nearby.
In the 1-day plan
One of the biggest rose gardens in Asia, about 30 acres in Sector 16 with over 1,600 kinds of roses, lawns and fountains. Outside the flowering months it is still a green walk in the middle of the city.
In the 1-day plan
A maze of courtyards, waterfalls and narrow paths built in secret by Nek Chand, a road inspector, from broken plates, bangles, tiles and bits of old buildings. Thousands of figures made from scrap line the walls. It now covers about 40 acres.
In the 1-day plan
A man-made lake at the foot of the Shivalik hills, with a long walk along the dam where the whole city comes in the evening. You can take a paddle boat or a shikara, or just sit and watch the hills turn pink.
In the 1-day planBig walk-through aviaries beside Sukhna Lake with parrots, macaws, pheasants and other birds from India and abroad. A good stop with children.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
The house in Sector 5 where Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier's cousin and partner, lived while building Chandigarh. It shows his drawings and the cane and teak furniture he designed for the city's offices, now famous worldwide.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
Le Corbusier's old site office in Sector 19, where the city was drawn. It keeps his letters, sketches, photos and plans from the 1950s.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.A small museum in the Bal Bhawan in Sector 23 with dolls from dozens of countries and Indian states, in costume.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
The city's planned shopping centre: a big open square closed to cars, with shops, cafes and a musical fountain. It is the old heart of Chandigarh.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
One of the biggest malls in north India, in the Industrial Area, with shops, a food court and a cinema.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
A garden in Sector 31 in two halves joined by a bridge over the road, with pagodas, a pond and lit paths.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
The Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park, about 20 km south of the city, with tigers, lions, elephants and a lion safari in a closed bus.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
One of the best-known temples of the goddess Mansa Devi in north India, on the edge of Panchkula below the Shivalik hills. The temple complex was built in the early 1800s, and the walls of the old shrine have painted panels.
Day 2 of the 2-day plan
A gurdwara on the bank of the Ghaggar river where Guru Gobind Singh is said to have rested in 1688 on his way back from the battle of Bhangani. Big white halls and a calm courtyard.
Day 2 of the 2-day plan
The National Cactus and Succulent Botanical Garden in Sector 5, Panchkula: one of the largest cactus collections in Asia, with thousands of kinds in glasshouses and rock beds.
Day 2 of the 2-day plan
A Mughal garden from the 1600s, also called the Yadavindra Gardens, laid out in seven terraces that step down the hill with water channels, fountains and small palaces. The Rang Mahal and Sheesh Mahal sit along the main walk.
Day 2 of the 2-day plan
Two small lakes in the Morni Hills, the only hill area of Haryana, about 45 km from Chandigarh. Pine slopes, a lakeside walk and boats on the bigger lake. The drive up gives long views back over the plains.
Day 2 of the 3-day planThe highest point in Kasauli, with a small Hanuman temple on top. The story goes that Hanuman rested his foot here while carrying the Sanjeevani herb. From the top you see the plains to Chandigarh and the hills towards Shimla.
Day 3 of the 3-day plan
A stone church from 1853 with stained-glass windows, at the top of Kasauli's small Mall Road. The walk down the Mall passes old shops, bakeries and colonial houses under pine and oak trees.
Day 3 of the 3-day planOne day for the city: the Capitol Complex, the Rock Garden, the Rose Garden and Sukhna Lake. A second day adds Panchkula, with Mansa Devi and Pinjore Gardens. A third adds the Morni Hills or Kasauli.
Only on a free guided tour, at 10:00, 12:00 and 15:00. Be at the Capitol Complex tour desk 15 minutes early with photo ID; foreigners need a passport. On weekdays the tour goes inside the buildings, at weekends it stays outside. No tours on public holidays.
The museums (the Government Museum, the Le Corbusier Centre, the Pierre Jeanneret Museum and the Dolls Museum), the Bird Park and Chhatbir Zoo. The Rock Garden, Sukhna Lake, the gardens, Mansa Devi and Pinjore are open.
October to March, when the days are cool. The Rose Festival is in late February. May and June are very hot, so see the sights early and late in the day.
It stopped after cars got stuck in June 2022 and reopened that October. We found no recent report either way, so call the Timber Trail resort at Parwanoo before you go. It is on the Kalka to Shimla road, about 40 km from Chandigarh.
No. Monkey Point is inside an Air Force station: you show photo ID at the gate and leave phones and cameras behind. Last entry is about 16:00.
Sector 17 Plaza, about 10 minutes' walk from Sector 22, with shops and a fountain. Sukhna Lake is busy until 21:00, and Elante Mall stays open till about 22:00.
