|
|
Punjab is
a land hallowed by saints and scarred by battles, an ancient
land yielding archaeological treasures, a land of palaces
and museums. A visitor to Punjab can see the Golden Temple
at Amritsar, the sword of Hazrat Ali at Anandpur Sahib,
the world's highest straight gravity dam at Bhakra, Indias
Steel City Gobindgarh, and the worlds biggest
grain market at Khanna. No one has ever gone back from Punjab
without leaving a part of himself behind and taking part
of Punjab with him.
Access:
Punjab is easy to reach by road, rail or air. From Delhi,
Chandigarh, the state capital is 246 km and Amritsar, the
northernmost city of the state is 446 Kms.
 |
By
road:
The total road mileage in Punjab is 35,501 Kms
of state roads and rural link roads. In addition,
the length of national highways is 964 Kms. All
the 12,342 villages in the state are linked by
all-weather roads and major towns of all adjoining
states are connected by national highways. One
can drive from one extreme end of the state to
the other in six hours. Road travel time from
Delhi is about four hours
All
districts and sub-divisional towns have direct
bus services to the state capital, Chandigarh.
All villages have bus services linking them with
the sub-division and district headquarters towns.
In addition, there are excellent deluxe bus services
between New Delhi and Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar,
Amritsar and Chandigarh. Air conditioned luxury
buses ply at almost hourly intervals between New
Delhi and Chandigarh. Taxi services between various
towns and Chandigarh and to New Delhi are dependable
and comfortable.
|
 |
By Rail:

All major towns and district headquarters have excellent
rail links for both passenger and goods traffic.
Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ferozepur and Jalandhar
are on the main line and have excellent daily train
services to New Delhi including convenient overnight
trains. Super fast Shatabdi Express trains connect
Delhi to Chandigarh (a comfortable three-hour trip)
and Delhi to Amritsar via Ludhiana (equally comfortable
and just a little less than six hours). The Shan-e-Punjab
train links Amritsar and New Delhi, the Himalayan
Queen links Chandigarh and New Delhi and there are
numerous trains from Jammu / Amritsar, linking these
towns as well as Ludhiana and Jalandhar with New
Delhi For more information of various trains and
availability schedules, click through the
Indian
Railway WebSite |
 |
By
Air:
There is an international airport at
Amritsar
located in Rajasansi which is about 11 kilometers
from the main city. Outside the aiport, you would
find cabs that are not necessarily painted yellow
and black. The word ‘Taxi’ would be written on
each cab.
There is also a car rental facility available in
front of the International Arrival Hall.
Other domestic airports are located at Chandigarh
(12 kilometers from the city), Ludhiana, Pathankot.
For more information on flight schedules,
availability and book tickets online, go through
websites of
Air
India Site,
Jet Airways
or
Air
Sahara. |
Major
Cities:
 |
Amritsar:
This is a city with a hallowed history. The present
city dates back to the 15th century but its
association with Indias national epic, the
Ramayan, shows that its sacred heritage
must be measured, not in centuries but 
millenniums. The holiest shrine of the Sikh faith
the Golden Temple is located in
heart of Amritsar and no visit to the city is
complete without a glimpse of the temple. In terms
of industry and commerce, Amritsar is a city famous
for woollen mills and textile processing.
|
 |
Jalandhar:

a town of great antiquity. The most important
town of area is known as the 'Bastis' (Basti Bawa
Khel, Basti
Guzan, Basti Danishmandan and others) tell the
story of the domination of this place by Pathan
rulers. Jalandhar known for its sportsmen as well
as its sports industry is a growing industrial
town having steel and iron re-rolling, rubber
goods, electric goods, automobile parts and sewing
machine factories. Handloom products are also
manufactured at Jalandhar.
|
 |
Ludhiana:

Ludhiana an important industrial city, is Known
as the Manchester of India. It is famous the world
over for its hosiery goods. Woollen garments produced
here are sold in prestigious shopping centres
from Moscow to Montreal and Bangkok to London
and New York. The famous Punjab Agricultural University
patterned after the land-grant colleges of America,
is situated on the outskirts of the city. Rural
Olympics of Qila Raipur, Chhapper Mela and Kissan
Mela at PAU attracts lakhs of visitors every year.
|
 |
Patiala:

This city was once the capital of a princely state
and traces of royal grandeur are still plain to
see here. From the imposing fortress, Qila Mubarak,
that occupies the centre of town, to the 19th
century palaces, Moti Bagh and Sheesh Mahal at
the edge of the city, the
wealth, imagination and typically Punjabi sensibilities
of old Punjab are on display. The people of Patiala
consider themselves the torchbearers of Punjabi
language and culture.
Patiala has long been a centre of trade and commerce
but in recent years it is also developing rapidly
as a manufacturing city producing a wide range
of goods
Patiala
online |
Entertainment
and Recreation:
 |
TV
& Cinema:
The entire Punjab is on the TV map of the
country. The southern districts near Kasauli receive
telecasts from New Delhi. The central, northern
and south-western districts are serviced by the
Jalandhar Doordarshan Kendra and the relay stations
at Amritsar and Bhatinda. All India Radio stations
at Chandigarh and Jalandhar, apart from organising
programmes, like the TV station at Jalandhar,
also relay the National Programme. Cable television
has also reached to the farthest corners of the
state. The state has over 200 cinema houses and,
like the rest of the country has been touched
by the video revolution.
|
 |
Clubs:
Almost all the district headquarters have
excellent clubs; Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana,
Jalandhar and Patiala have outstanding clubs offering
all standard facilities of a club in any metropolis
such as tennis and squash courts, libraries, card
rooms, entertainment, billiards and bar. Many
of them have reciprocal membership arrangements
with well known clubs in other towns of the country.
|
 |
Sports
Facilities:
Almost every district town offers facilities
for tennis but a few like Patiala, Amritsar, Jalandhar
and Chandigarh have resources for track/field,
squash, horse-riding, indoor sports and swimming
pools. There are golf courses at Chandigarh, Patiala,
Jalandhar and Amritsar.
|
 |
Trekking:
Being close to the hills, Punjab is an ideal
base for treks in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal
Pradesh. For the less adventurous, the hill stations
of Shimla and Dalhousie are within driving distance
from any part of Punjab.
|

Hotels and Restaurants:
Hotels offering three or four star facilities are
available at Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar.
Smaller towns like Patiala, Ferozepur or Bhatinda offer
two to three star facilities while in very small towns like
Hoshiarpur, Sangrur and Ropar, it would be advisable to
either depend on the facilities of the Tourism Corporation
or the Government Dak
Bungalows.The bigger towns have
noteworthy restaurants and caterers. The Punjab Tourism
Development Corporation has developed picnic spots at Ropar, Neelon (near
Ludhiana), Ludhiana, Kartarpur (near Jalandhar), Sirhind
(near Patiala), Pathankot and operates well-run restaurants
on the Grand Trunk road and other highways as part of its
highway tourism facilities.
|
|