[UNVERIFIED CONTENT] One of the highlights of Chandigarh is the Rock Garden designed by local artist Nek Chand.

Flickr Vision

Nek Chand Rock Garden

Top choice in Chandigarh


Chandigarh's Rock Garden is unique: it's the surreal fantasy of the much-missed Nek Chand (1924–2015), a local transport official who, starting in 1957, spent almost 20 years personally creating more than 2000 sculptures using stones, debris and other discarded junk that was left over from the 50-odd villages destroyed in order to build the city of Chandigarh. Today, entering this fantastical, 7-hectare (18-acre) sculpture garden is like falling down a rabbit hole into the labyrinthine interior of one man’s imagination.

Materials used in the construction of the garden range from concrete and steel drums to light switches, broken bathroom sinks, terracotta scrap and bicycle frames. Highlights include a legion of dancing girls made from broken glass bangles and a graceful arcade of towering arches with dangling rope swings. Nek Chand worked at night to begin with, to keep his eccentric masterpiece from the prying eyes of the city authorities, before they eventually realised the worth of his project and came on board, helping him to expand the site to its current proportions. Visit the website for more on the Nek Chand story.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Chandigarh attractions

1. High Court Museum

0.2 MILES

On the approach road to the High Court, the small High Court Museum displays assorted judicial memorabilia including original Le Corbusier sketches, a…

2. High Court

0.29 MILES

The High Court is one of Chandigarh's most iconic buildings from the Le Corbusier era. Executed in reinforced concrete, the massive avant-garde structure…

3. Open Hand Sculpture

0.37 MILES

The tour of the Capitol Complex includes a visit to Le Corbusier’s unmistakably mid-century Open Hand sculpture, the city’s official emblem, signifying…

4. Capitol Complex

0.42 MILES

At the epicentre of Le Corbusier’s planned city are the imposing concrete High Court, Secretariat and Vidhan Sabha, shared by the states of Punjab and…

5. Vidhan Sabha

0.57 MILES

This architectural masterpiece by Le Corbusier is home to the state legislative assemblies of Punjab and Haryana. Tourists can only visit as part of their…

6. Secretariat

0.65 MILES

One of the three definitive superstructures within Chandigarh's main administrative zone, the Secretariat Building is one of Le Corbusier's masterpieces…

7. Bougainvillea Garden

0.66 MILES

Home to an overwhelming population of bougainvilleas, the eponymous Bougainvillea Garden has a thought-provoking memorial to Indian soldiers killed in…

8. Sukhna Lake

0.71 MILES

Fulfilling the leisure objective of Le Corbusier’s urban master plan, this landmark artificial lake is a popular rest and recreation stop for Chandigarh's…