Pinjore

Pinjore is a town in Panchkula district in the Indian state of Haryana. This residential 'township', located close to Panchkula, Chandigarh, is set over 1,800 feet above the sea level in a valley, overlooking the Sivalik Hills. Pinjore is known for Pinjore Gardens, Asia's best 17th Century Mughal garden, and the Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) factory.

The town is named after the five Pandava brothers from Mahabharta, who during the time of their exile had stayed here for some time, hence the name Panchpura which later got corrupted to its current form, Pinjore.

Panchpura baoli, a step well has an inscription. Alexander Cunningham, founding Director general of ASI, decipher the worn out letters of Pinjore Baoli inscription, which mentions that the old name of the place was Panchpura. This inscription in the Pinjore Baoli (‘Baoli’ means "step well") described this place as Panchpura (now known by the shorter name Pinjore).

Neolithic Stone Age (7000 BCE 5500 BCE) find were excavated from the banks of the stream (paleochannel of Saraswati river) flowing through HMT complex, lived in Pinjore region near Chandigarh. Quartzite tools of lower Paleolithic period were excavated in this region extending from Pinjore in Haryana to Nalagarh (Solan district in Himachal Pradesh.

In 1254 CE, Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud (grandson of Iltutmish) captured and plundered the area around Pinjore, as recorded in Minhaj ud din bin Siraj ud din's Tabaqat i Nasiri. In 1399 CE, Pinjore was once again plundered by the forces of Timur on his way back from Delhi.

There is an ancient temple adjoining Pinjore gardens. The temple is named Bhima Devi Temple Site Museum. It consists of various erotic statues of ancient deities. The temple contains some statues of Lord Shiva in his Nataraja form. The temple has been made into an open air museum acceccible to public. No ticket is required for entering the temple. It was constructed between 8th and 12th century AD. It is under protection of Haryana government.

Kaushalya Dam is an earth filled barrage dam on Kaushalya river in Pinjore. It is an important wetland that is home of many endangered migratory birds.

The average temperatures for summers and winters are 35 and 18 degree Celsius respectively, with rainfall concentrated over the summer months of July, August and September.

The Indian Flying Fox can be seen at the Yadavindra Gardens enclosure and entrance. Hundreds of these bats can be seen roosting during the day in the taller trees in the compound. At the border which divides Kalka Pinjore Indian peafowl can be seen in the woods during monsoon season.

Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore is a breeding centre for the critically endangered Indian vulture. It is present within Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary. News article about endangered species of vulture.

Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary present in Pinjore spread over an area of 767.30 hectares (1,896.0 acres). It also houses Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre. It contain a number of animals including Indian leopard, Asiatic elephant, Chital (spotted deer), Sambar deer, Wild boar, Rhesus macaque, Gray langur, Striped hyena, Indian jackal, Jungle cat, Indian gray mongoose, Indian fox and Indian jackal. Pinjore had a population of 35,912. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Pinjore has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 72%. In Pinjore, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The nearest international airport is Chandigarh Airport and Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Chandigarh is a 50 minute flight from Delhi.

Pinjore can be reached by road from Delhi via the Sonepat Bypass. Volvo Coach, Deluxe, Semi Deluxe and Express buses are also available from Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT), New Delhi to Chandigarh and vice versa every hour from 05:00 hrs to midnight. Ordinary buses ply every 10 minutes. Journey duration is 5 hours.

The Chandigarh/Kalka train stops in Kalka, and is a 4 hour journey from New Delhi.