The residential township is located near tri-city in Haryana State also known as Yadavindra Gardens has one of the 17th century beautiful Mughal Gardens. Besides this, the city also has HMT (Hindustan Machine Tools) factory.
The flora underlies at the foothills of the lower Shivalik ranges and stands as a viable sample of the Mughal Garden style. Extend over an arena of 100 acres and also serves as the venue for the annual Mango Festival. As per the Hindu Mythology, the Pandava Brothers rested here during their exile. If I talk about climate, the average temperatures for summers and winters are 35 and 18 degree Celsius respectively, with rainfall concentrated over the summer months of July, August and September.
The Pinjore Garden was abandoned just seven years after it was built, for a very unusual reason. According to folklore, the local king, the Raja of Bhawana, dreaded the coming of the Mughal Court to Panchkula and feared that he would lose more land to the Mughals.
History of Pinjore
The design of the garden is similar to the classical Charbagh pattern and introduced a central waterway in the area. The Architect of the garden was designed by Nawab Fidai Khan a cousin of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and the Governor of the province at that time. He planned both sides of the waterway to be planted with the patches of green bordered with flowers, along with covering the entire place with a number of trees, like traditional palm, cypress, and magnolia.
Later the zone fell primarily under the rule of king of Sirmaur and finally, in 1775 AD, under Maharaja Amar Singh of Patiala. Then, latter consolidated Pinjore to his lands. He has had a big liking for the attractiveness engulfed in the garden and utilized it to tour the place frequently. Maharaja of Patiala has credited it to improve the garden manifold. In 1966, Haryana was declared as an independent state and Pinjore Garden was handed over to it, till today the garden continues to be one of the prime attractions of Haryana.
Features and other tourist attractions
Pinjore Garden is built in the typical Mughal manner. It has a slanting ground and is jeweled with fountains and impressive pavilions. However, it varies from the other Mughal Gardens in the respect that the seven terraces at Pinjore, instead of ascending, descend into a distance, develop a sorcerer’s sight. The garden is full of different species of graceful, fragrant flowering plants, big trees, mango orchards, litchi orchards and several shrubs. The garden presents cool, shady walks and flagged pathways, which run to the reaches of the creeper-covered walls.
Besides the greenery and nature, one can find separate affinity inside the Garden such as a mini zoo, historic places, Japanese garden, nursery, and a number of picnic spots. The inside gardens are brilliantly lighted at night. There is a Jalmahal within the garden, which is presently utilized as a restaurant. The garden is open from early morning to the late night. The entry ticket for the garden is very low.
Bhima Devi Temple
The outside stone fence of the temple was decorated with the sculptures of the Gods and Goddesses. A vast figure of sculptures portraying Shiva and Parvaati, Agni, Varuna, Surya, Vishnu, Ganesha, Kartikeya was also found on this site. Some other decorative patterns included social performances, floral designs, animal motifs, musicians and erotic scenes etc. A few notable stone inscriptions have also been found at this site linking it with the name of Raja Rama Deva, possibly a local king of repute, who patronized this temple.
There is an ancient temple adjoining Pinjore gardens. The temple is named Bhima Devi Temple Site Museum. It consists of various erotic statues of ancient deities. The temple contains some statues of Lord Shiva in his Nataraja form. The temple has been made into an open museum accessible to the public. No ticket is required for entering the temple. It was constructed between 8th and 12th century AD. It is also under the protection of Haryana government
It is an earth-filled barrage dam on Kaushalya River in Pinjore. It is an important wetland that becomes home to many endangered migratory birds.
This is the first plan, which never materialized, for a dam on Ghaggar river was first proposed by the British people in the mid of 19th century to provide drinking water to Ambala Cantonment.
The proposal was revisited only in the 1960s to construct a dam on Ghaggar river at Gumthala near Chandimandir to provide water to Chandigarh and control floods in Punjab, India, this plan was abandoned in 1999 as it would have submerged over 4,000 acres of land resulting in the relocation of a large number of people.
In 2005, the revised plan to build series of smaller dams on the tributaries of Ghaggar river was approved by the Government of Haryana and the construction of the Kaushalya dam commenced in 2008 which was completed in 2012.
Sheesh Mahal and Rang Mahal
The Royal residence in the premises of the Mughal Gardens is a bewitching sight to behold. It was where the women would reside during their visit to the garden. The view of the garden from the Sheesh Mahal spans throughout, starting from the gates towards the boundary wall. At the next level is the Rang Mahal— residence of the Maharaja of Patiala. This too has a landscape view of the garden and the orchard surrounding the hill. It only becomes more spectacular under the moonlight.
Fair and Festivals
Special programs are organized in the garden during festivals, like Baisakhi and Mango Festival, which attract visitors from all over the country.
Stay options
Hotels within the multiple price range are available from 2 stars to 5 stars.
Location
By road-The Pinjore Gardens are 20 km from Chandigarh and 42km. from Shimla. Taxis and buses ply regularly between Pinjore, Kalka, and Chandigarh.
By air- The nearest airport to Pinjore city is Chandigarh international airport and Mohali national airport, which make it easy to reach from all over the world by air conveniently.
Accessibility
Bus Services, Cabs which makes it easily approachable by road.
Contributed by Harneet
