Important Places
in Haryana
Badkhal Lake
About 9 km. from Suraj Kund and lies the
sprawling Badkhal Lake, nestled within the boulder strewn Aravalli
hills. The place has restaurants, swimming pool. Boating and
sauna bath facilities, air-conditioned rooms and camper huts.
Jungle Babbler (Dharuhera)
Seventy km. away from Delhi on Delhi-Jaipur
Highway, lies the charming tourist complex called the Jungle
Babbler. Situated in the sandy tract bordering with Rajasthan,
the jungle babbler is a real oasis in the desert to delight
you. To a weary traveler the 13 acres of landscape garden here
provides are refreshing stay. The architectural finesse given
to the motel, is something that would at once captivate your
heart. Besides a cafe, air-conditioned rooms, a restaurant,
it has a compact little bar, a nice cozy corner for tete-a-tete
while ice cubes bob on annber liquids. It is really a fun to
sojourn in such serene and bracing environs.
Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary
The Rosy Pelican, bird sanctuary at Sultanpur,
46 km. away from Delhi, on Gurgaon Road, is a quite place where
you arc face to face with a host of your feathery friends like
mallard, pochard, shovellers. tital, gadwell. greylag, barheaded,
geese, flamingo, pelican, cranes, ruddy shelduck, painted stock
spoon hill. white ibis, heron, and lapwing. The lake stretched
in about 400 acres of land virtually becomes a bird watchers
paradise in October- February v migratory birds from as tar
a Europe and Siberia visit the lake. Birds gliding, beaking,
floating, diving, flying. and noosing, on a vast expanse of
water with groves of Acacia, make a very fascinating spectacle.
It is not just a bird sanctuary but a holiday home, too, and
a pick-nicker’s delight. There are camper huts, a guest
house, with air-conditioned rooms right at the water’s
edge, a restaurant and a bar to provide you with choicest drinks.
Sohna
Forth six km. away from Delhi on Delhi
Highway, is the health and holiday resort Sohna, atop Sohna
hill. Sohna in Hindi means gold; in the past, gold used to be
collected from the sands of the streams around the town. From
the hill top you can have a panoramic view of the vast green
fields, and the rugged countryside around. A delightful motel
perched on the edge of the hills, with its luxuriously furnished
rooms and exclusive balconies overlook the town. And the Barbet
huts, artistically designed and tastefully furnished with all
facilities under one roof constitute a heavenly set up for the
tourists.
Hodal
At Hodal, 92 km. from Delhi on Delhi-Agra
Highway, lies another lake resort of Dahehick. Here a scooped
out depression has been fashioned into a beautiful lake, Bottle-brush
and bougain-villea-tumble around, bowing as if to see their
own reflections into the placid waters. You can join there the
lively ducks and test your boating skills.
Tilyar Lake
Seventy km. from Delhi is located another
surprisingly delightful spot for a boating holiday that is as
enchanting as it is surprising. Here the paddle and rowboats
await the traveler to steer him away over the deep waters in
the reign of serenity and silence.
Pinjore Gardens
The Pleasure Gardens of Pinjore, now renamed
as Yadavindra Gardens at the foothills of Shivalik hills, are
20 km. from Chandigarh, and 12 km. from Kalka. The superb scenic
beauty of the place has been a centre of great attraction for
Maharajas, saints and common folks alike. In ancient times Pandavas
came and stayed here during their exile. They built a temple
and bath here. Draupadi is said to have used this same bath.
In the memory of this visit of the Pandavas the village came
to he known as Panchpura. Pinjore is believed to he the currupted
form of Panchpura.
The present garden was built by Nawab Fidai Khan, Governor of
the Punjab during Aurangzeb’s reign. He was so fascinated
by scenic that he at once decided to have a terraced garden
as his pleasure resort. The garden contains seven descending
terraces, with an ornamental waterway flowing down the centre
and flanked by well laid out lawns and gardens. Overlooking
the water courses are the three pleasure places—Sheesh
Mahal, Rang Mahal and Jal Mahal. The Sheesh Mahal’s ceiling
has numerous mirror pieces encased in geometric patterns. Its
windows opening over the waterways offer a beautiful scene of
the garden.
The gardens are open down dawn to late night, and accommodation
is available in the Rang Mahal and Sheesh Mahal or in the Guest
Hoses within the gardens, Adjacent to the gardens, is a motel
with air -conditioned rooms, a banquet hail and a conference
room.
