Patiala district, an erstwhile princely state, and capital of PEPSU is situated in the Malwa region of Punjab. Forming the south-eastern part of the state, it lies between 29°49’ and 30°47’ north latitude, 75°58’ and 76°54' east longitude. It is surrounded by the districts of Fatehgarh Sahib & Rupnagar and Chandigarh in the north, Sangrur district in the west, Ambala and Kurukshetra districts of Haryana in the east and Kaithal district of Haryana in the south. Patiala district has an area of 3625 sq km and a population of 18,44,934. Patiala is famous for ‘peg’, ‘pagri’, ‘paranda’ and ‘Jutti’ (footwear), royal demeanor and aristocracy.

The district headquarter, Patiala city lies just off the National Highway NH-1 (Delhi-Amritsar) and is about 250 km from Delhi. The journey via Ambala takes about 5 hours. You can also drive to Patiala from Chandigarh, via Zirakpur on national highway NH 22.

The climate is typical of North India plain with very hot summers and cold winters. The monsoon lasts three months and the annual average rainfall is 688 mm. The month of May is hottest and January is the coldest.

The rulers of the erstwhile states of Patiala, Nabha and Jind trace their ancestry to one Chaudhary Phul. Apparently the appellation of dynasty 'Phulkian' is derived from their common founder. One of his sons, Chaudhary Ram Singh was baptised by Guru Gobind Singh. His son Ala Singh assumed the leadership in 1714 A.D. Ala Singh carved out an independent principality from a petty Zamindari of 30 villages. Under his successors, it expanded into a big State, touching the Shivaliks in north, Rajasthan in the south and upper courses of the Yamuna and the Sutluj. In 1763 Baba Ala Singh laid the foundation of the Patiala fort known as Qila Mubarak, around 'which the present city of Patiala is built.

Patiala was the first town in this part of the country to have Degree Collage, the Mohindra College, in 1870. The famous printing of Munshi Nawal Kishore was also established here in the seventies of the 19th century. With the active patronage of the erstwhile rules of Patiala, a well established style of Hindustani music called ‘the Patiala Gharana’ came into existence and has held its own up to the present times. This school of music has had a number of famous musicians, many of whom came to Patiala after the disintegration of the Mughal Court at Delhi in the 18th century.

Places to see:

Qila Mubarak was first developed as a mud fort or Kachi Garhi. Baba Ala Singh constructed the Pacca Qila after his conquest of Sirhind. The present Qila is divided into two parts- one, the Qila Androon, the interior portion, was built by Ala Singh. Situated on a mound, it ascends as one moves into it. While the other i.e., between the Qila Androon and outer walls with the secretariat on the left and Darbar Hall on the right, was built by Maharaja Karam Singh. The Darbar Hall is now a mini museum where rare arms and armors including a sword of Nadir Shah known as 'Shikar Gah' are on display. Most precious pieces of art are the rich collection of tree-like chandeliers made of Bohemian cut-glass emitting prism like radiant splendour and sheen. To those interested in guns, a visit to the Cannon Park within the premises of the Qila Mubarak would certainly be a thrilling experience.

Moti Bagh Palace was constructed in 1847 by Maharaja Narendra Singh. The Moti Bagh Palace was designed on the pattern of Shalimar Gardens of Lahore with terraces, water channels, Sheesh Mahal and beautiful garden. It is a four storeyed structure with massive stone-walls, arched openings, filtered and ornamental grills and crowning domes. A large part of the palace now houses the most prestigious Subhash Chander Bose National Institute of Sports (NIS).

Sheesh Mahal Maharaja Narendra Singh invited many painters from Kangra and Rajasthan to paint the walls of Sheesh Mahal. The themes of these paintings embrace mythology, legends, Raga-Ragni, Nayak-Nayika and Bara-masa in Rajasthani style. The museum has a rich collection of miniature paintings of the middle of 19th century. These paintings are based on the Geet Gobinda or Jaya Deva's poetry. The delicate Kangra paintings depict the, Krishan Lila. Besides miniature paintings, there are fine objects of Tibetan art particularly the sculpture of different kinds of metals. Ivory carvings of Punjab, royal wooden carved furniture, and a large number of Burmese and Kashmiri carved objects are also exhibited.

Baradari Gardens is situated in the north of the old Patiala city and built around the Baradari Palace. A large number of rare trees were planted here in the garden. The huge fruit trees, the Fern House and the Rock Garden stand testimony to this fact. The Baradari Palace now houses the Punjab State Archives, a repository of rare documents of historical importance.

Bahadurgarh Fort is situated one and half kilometer from the main gate of Punjabi University, It is named so to commemorate the holy memory of Guru Teg Bahadur who paid visit to this place. The four wails of the fort enclose the village Saifabad located on the left-side of the Rajpura-Patiala Road. The two inscriptions in the fort testify that the village and the mosque were founded in 1668 during the reign of Aurangzeb. As the tradition goes, Nawab Saif Khan was a great admirer of Guru Teg Bahadur. He invited him to spend rainy season here. The Bahadurgarh Fort was constructed by Maharaja Karam Singh during 1837-45. Its circumference is one mile, 536 yards and 2 feet.