Leisure Valley - Chandigarh

It is for a great number of reasons that Chandigarh has earned its title ‘City of Gardens’. The beautiful gardens and many other places of interest of the city make it unique in many ways. One of the many of famous destinations here is the leisure valley which is yet another unique concept that you would find only in the city of Chandigarh.

The leisure valley stretches literally like a garland of gardens- it covers a number of sectors - sector 1 to sector 53.  It is interesting to note that they have made a garden of gardens by connecting up all these beautiful places which are all independently beautiful and attractions in their own rights.

Here’s a virtual tour of the Valley, from the North to the South:

The Rajendra Park
At sector 1, where it starts, it begins from Rajendra Park.  An area that crosses over 400 acres, this open area of land is famous for magnificent trees with round canopies. This was designed by none other than Le Corbusier, the great French architect of the city. The garden was commissioned in the year 1954 and hosts many an event including the horse shows, from time to time. This area is widely used by the people for long strolls, fitness workouts, yoga and other such activities.

The Bougainvillea Garden
From here the leisure valley continues to the famous Bougainvillea garden of sector 3. This garden spreads across a total area of over 20 acres in all. Like the famous rose garden of the city, this garden is dedicated to the bougainvillea and one would find hundreds of species of this plant in this garden. This garden was commissioned in the year 1976.

Physical Fitness Trails
From the Bougainvillea garden, the leisure garden moves crosses over to sector number 10. At sector 10, the garden takes form in the famous Physical Fitness Trails, which were developed for enjoying the physical exercises in the midst of the warmth and lovely sights of Nature. This is the right place for exercises, long strolls and runs and other physical workouts.

The Rose Garden
From here, the leisure valley moves over to the famous Rose Gardens at sector 16. The rose garden is also named Zakir, after the former President of India, Dr Zakir Hussain. This garden was commissioned in the year 1967 through the expertise of the ex Chief Commissioner of Chandigarh, Late Dr MS Randhawa. The garden spreads over a total area of over twenty-seven acres and boasts of more that seventeen thousand plants in about one thousand six hundred different varieties of rose plants. Coexisting with these lovely plants are a great number of medicinal trees many of which are rare and unique. The beautiful combination of these plants and trees make this garden a real treat for any lover of nature. This is also the place where the annual ‘Festival of Gardens’ is organized yearly, in February. This is an important event and has its place in the ‘National Calendar of Events’. For more on the Rose Garden , Click Here

The Shanti Kunj
From the Rose garden, crossing the Madhya Marg or middle road, the valley moves into the ‘Shanti Kunj’, an area developed with the aim to recreate a Japanese style atmosphere. This again falls in the same sector 16 and comes between the Rose Garden and the Cricket Stadium. An area absolutely noise free with a whole lot of beautiful undulations, a natural stream runs across this garden. This divides Shanti Kunj into five different areas. These areas portray different varieties of trees. They are vertical shaped trees, shade giving trees, medicinal plants; flower bearing trees and environmental areas.

The Children Traffic Park
From here, the valley moves into the sector Sector 23 along a curvaceous turn. This is where you would find the Bal Bhavan and the sector also has the famous Children Traffic Park. Here, you would find the miniature version of a running road with traffic lights. The place is meant to teach the children traffic rules and to create in them an awareness of rules to follow for traffic safety. The area also has an open-air theatre, which is used for a variety of entertaining programs.

The Hibiscus Garden
From the Bal Bhavan, after crossing the Dakshin Marg, the valley moves into the sector 36 of the second phase. This area is also called the hibiscus garden and though still under development, you would find a great deal of over 40 types of Hibiscus shrubs planted to decorate the area with colour around the year. This is again a total area of over eight acres.

The garden from here moves into sector 42, where a garden of rare plants is under development. Once this is complete, it is expected that many of the horticulturists of the country would flock into this area, for taking a glimpse of plants that you would not find anywhere else.

The Charm of Leisure Valley
The Liesure valley charms its visitors in many different ways. Apart from the scenic beauty and the great variety the valley offers to the visitors, along the long and beautiful stretch, the valley also instills in one the feeling of nature encapsulating him throughout the long stroll.. It is a feeling one has to feel to understand and something you would not probably find any where in this large subcontinent of ours. 
 
The Leisure valley is indeed one of the most beautiful and popular tourist attractions in Chandigarh. This garland of gardens has added immense value to the tourist potential of the city and has also made the lives of the millions residing in city much more meaningful. The city owes much of its name and fame to this lovely stretch of open area. Indeed remarkable is the vision of the creator of the city who had foreseen the importance of having reserved such a large area in a city in a country where we have almost every major place suffocating for a fresh breath.