Pinjore Gardens

About 22 km from the city, on the highway toward Shimla, lie the Yadavindra Gardens at Pinjore, a classic 17th-century Mughal garden built by Nawab Fidai Khan, architect to Emperor Aurangzeb, and later restored by the princely house of Patiala.

The garden descends in seven terraces down a hillside: water channels and fountains run along the central axis, with pavilions at the transitions and the Shivalik foothills as a backdrop. After Chandigarh's concrete it reads as a deliberate counterpoint: the older, softer idea of what a planned landscape can be.

In the evenings the terraces are lit up, which is the prettiest time. It's a 40–50 minute drive, easy to fold into a departure toward Shimla or Kasauli, or to do as a relaxed half-day with lunch at one of the highway dhabas.

A Mughal garden day trip