Fun Weekends In Ghaziabad, An Emerging Real Estate Destination

It may have earned a name for being an affordable housing option for the middle-class in the National Capital Region of Delhi in recent years, but Ghaziabad is also a quaint city with a million ancient tales arising out of its folklore. Founded on November 14, 1976, it was earlier part of the Meerut city in Uttar Pradesh. The city, also known as the Gateway to UP, is one of the country's fastest growing cities as a flurry of real estate developers have rushed to the city in recent years to launch projects. Named after Ghazi-ud-din, a wazir in the Mughal Empire, Ghaziabad is now the hotbed of real estate activity, malls and hangouts.

Here are some of the places to head to when you are in Ghaziabad:

The quiz starts now

A visit to Ghaziabad will be an interesting way to learn Indian history. Why is Faridnagar, a nagar panchayat in Ghaziabad, named so? After Farid-ud-din Khan, who received the land from Mughal emperor, Akbar! Why is Jalalabad known by that name? One of the many names of Emperor Akbar is Jalal-ud-din. What about Bahadurgarh? It was presented as a gift to Nawab Bahadur Khan by Mughal emperor Jehangir.

How did Dasna come into being? A Rajput king was cured of leprosy after taking a dip into the Ganges. As a thanking gesture, he built the Dasna fort. There is enough left for mythology too. What is the significance of Loni? A demon called Lavansur was killed by Shatrughan, brother of the king of Ayodhya, Lord Rama. These places hold traces of the city's ancient past, making Ghaziabad a history buff's paradise.

Swanky new city

The new and swanky Ghaziabad is built to ensure urban population loves it. What do they love more than malls? Some of these include the Pacific Mall, Shipra Mall, East Delhi Mall, Angel Mega Mall, Shopprix Mall and many more. For party goers who like to unwind at bars, Ghaziabad offers many options. It has a number of lounge bars, the best of them being Lust at Radisson BLu Hotel, Black Lounge Bar, Miaow Lounge and Kashh Hokha Lounge.

The temples

There is an International Centre of Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON temple in Ghaziabad. It offers a break for many office goers who prefer to go there for peace of mind and prayers. The Thakurdwara temple at Ajnara Village too is a must-visit for Hindu devotees.

Township projects

Ghaziabad is a new town in itself now, thanks to all the new townships and buildings. Supertech Livingston is the most popular among all the large projects in Ghaziabad, with as much as 70 per cent of the project area in greenery. Spread across 36 acres, it has vaastu-friendly 2BHK and 3BHK apartments. Right at the entrance of the city is Aditya World City, which offers 1BHK, 2BHK and 3BHK apartments, with ATMs, schools, health clubs and other amenities within its boundaries. Amrapali Green and Amrapali Village also have 2BHK, 3BHK and 4BHK apartments in Ghaziabad, priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1.4 crore. A weekend trip to these places could help a home buyer a great deal.

(Katya Naidu has been working as a business journalist for the last nine years, and has covered beats across banking, pharma, healthcare, telecom, technology, power, infrastructure, shipping and commodities)