Despite suffering from the first stages what was going to be a dose of dysentery, there was no way I was going to miss going to the Rock Garden. I tried to fit it in 2 years ago, but there was not enough time. A couple of Imodium and it was off for the early train from Delhi, arriving in Chandigarh just over 2 hours later.
We spent 10 minutes trying to find the tiny and cunningly disguised ticket office set well back into the wall, but once in, we knew this was R10 well spent. A fantasy garden built out of waste materials, it is the work of a retired Public Works official called Nek Chand. He started building it in 1965, and it now covers just over 12 acres. Fortunately, when it was discovered (although how it was a secret beats me!), the authorities decided that the illegal construction was, in fact, a work of art and should be preserved. Quite right, too.
It is just amazing. There are walls built out of ceramic electricity circuit breakers, statues made out of broken bangles, whole armies of animals that were once bits of bathroom suites, and enormous waterfalls made out of hardened bags of cement all stacked on top of each other. You can forget about any concept of a sense of direction, as all the labyrinthine paths are flanked by really tall walls with trees towering overhead and it's impossible to get your bearings. Not that this really matters, as you just follow the paths until you arrive at yet another open area full of remarkable things. Each open area has a different theme, so some places there are row upon row of animals, and in another place, there are figures made of broken pots all carrying pots on their heads. Some of the path walls are mosaic, others are made of pebbles and arranged into elaborate patterns, and still others are more basic and just made out of old bags of hardened cement.
The garden is obviously very popular with Indian tourists, as well as local courting couples. We only saw a handful of foreign tourists, and many of the Indians stopped to ask us where we came from, how we liked the garden, and if we'd like our photo taken. The only disappointment (and maybe I'm just being a bit picky here) was an area of the garden mysteriously called Phase Three. It was a huge open area that was evidently still under construction, and, to me, it was just like walking into the Parc Guell in Barcelona. I felt the style was less Nek Chand and more Gaudi, especially the covered market area that looked like it was going to house shops and a café. Nevertheless, it is a great place, and children would love it. On leaving the garden, there is another entrance in the wall leading to a café that has a limited menu and a slightly grumpy waiter, but it offers a good value for the tasty food.