Pinjore Garden, Rock Garden , Sukhna Lake – Part-V (CHANDIGARH)

DAY -4 — 30th March ’11 — CONTINUED…
PINJORE – ROCK GARDEN – SUKHNA LAKE – SEC-17 MARKET – NEW DELHI

We started our return drive from Kasauli at 2pm. Our next stop was Pinjore Garden. We reached the garden at 3:15 pm. As it was lunch time we stopped at Hotel Oasis which is located just adjacent to the Garden. It took us around half an hour taking lunch and relaxing a bit. Then we proceeded to the Garden. The clock was showing 3:45 PM. We calculated the time that after visiting it , we have to go to Chandigarh and visit Rock Garden, Lake and the main market and then finally Delhi. Quite a lot to do. But we had to make it quick . So after entering the garden, I quickly started my photography while my family was busy roaming.

Cactus Park
Courtesy – https://www.ghumakkar.com/pinjore-kalkaji-temple-cactus-garden-review/

PINJORE GARDEN – It is also known as Yadavindra Gardens. It covers a total area of 100 acres. It is believed that it is over here that Pandava brothers had rested during their exile. What I like about this garden is that it is different from The other Mughal Gardens which I visited in Kashmir.The seven terraces at Pinjore, instead of ascending, descend into the distance. It was built by Nawab Fadai Khan.

This main plan of the garden is similar to the Mughal Style where there is a Central water way and across it on the both sides are the flowers and trees. The garden is a delight for someone like me who just loves to capture the Excellent bright coloured flowers in his camera. It is quite a big garden and we did not have much time to waste . So after spending around an hour there , we proceeded towards Chandigarh.

After entering Chandigarh , the clock showed 5 PM. We did not know how we would cover rest of the places. Our next stop was The Rock Garden. Though , I had visited it before but it was few years back. We inquired from the locals about the timings Of the Garden and the lake. They adviced us that we should first visit Rock Garden as its closing time is 6pm. So we first went to the Rock Garden. We entered the Rock Garden at 5:15 pm.

ROCK GARDEN – It is located in Sector 1 between the Capitol Complex and Sukhna Lake. It was founded by Nek Chand.The garden has sculptures made by using a variety of different discarded waste materials like frames, mudguards, forks, handle bars, metal wires, play marbles, porcelain, auto parts, broken bangles etc. It is built over 64 acres. Here the walls are made of the Tericoota pots and there are also maze of paths. There are various artificial waterfalls . Overall it is a unique garden as it does not have a single flower.

The Dancing Divas

The Waterfall

The garden is so big that you need almost half a day to visit it completely. But we did not have much time. My parents were totally exhausted by this time. As We had started from Shimla in the morning , then Kasauli , Pinjore and still Delhi was quite far. In the Rock Garden once you enter , there is only a single exit gate from where you can exit after seeing the whole garden. As we were moving forward in the Garden , at one stage my parents just sat down and they said that now we dont have much patience to finish the whole garden. So we started walking back towards the entry gate. Then we requested the Security person to allow us to exit from the entry gate as we we were dead tired. He allowed us and we felt very happy like we were released from a prison.

Found a little snake

After the very lengthy Rock Garden , we proceeded to the Sukhna Lake. It is 5 min drive from the garden. It is a beautiful lake with hills in the backdrop. It is just a perfect picnic spot. We relaxed there for 15 min. The clock showed 6:15 pm. We hurriedly got up thinking we still have to reach Delhi by night. Then we proceeded to the Sec-17 Market.

This market is just like the South Ex Market or any other posh market of Delhi. It is spread accross the vast open space.It is the main shopping and commerical centre of Chandigarh. Though we were completely tired , but still the market was a pleasant change for us. The market has everything – Government Emporia, innumerable shops, eateries, coffee houses, bars & pubs , Showrooms , Departmental stores. We ate some evening snacks as we knew we would reach Delhi midnight.

Finally after refuelling the Silver queen , we left Chandigarh at around 7:30 Pm. I was really tired but we had to reach Delhi the same night. We reached Karnal at 10 pm. Stopped at Oasis again. The best Oasis on the whole NH-1 is at Karnal. Took a little tea break again resumed the drive. Finally reached Delhi at 12:30 AM .

Silver Queen at Sec-17 Market , Chandigarh – Thinking for its next venture

It was a very tiring day. Starting from Shimla , then whole Kasauli , then whole Chandigarh. Really a day well deserved. So the whole four day trip came to an end. I gave a special thanks to the Silver Queen for crossing some of the rugged harsh terrain and bringing us back safe and sound.

SNAPSHOTS –

1. Avg distance per litre = 19 Km/L
2. Total Distance Covered = 1020 Km
3 . Total Amount of Fuel Consumed = Rs 3500
4. Vehicle – Hope you all know :-)

A smiling flower for all of you

Thanks for reading :)