Panchkula is a planned city and district headquarter in the Panchkula district, part of Ambala division in Haryana, India. The origin of the name Panchkula came from the place where five irrigation canals meet. It forms a part of an adjoining area to the Chandigarh, Mohali and Zirakpur. It is approximately 4 km southeast of Chandigarh, 105 km southwest of Shimla, 44 km from Ambala and 259 km northeast of New Delhi, the national capital. It is a part of the Chandigarh capital region or Greater Chandigarh. The Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula metropolitan region collectively forms a Chandigarh Tricity, with a combined population of over 2 million.
The city hosts the Chandimandir Cantonment, the headquarters of the Western Command of the Indian Army. In 2011, Panchkula city had a population of 211,355 of which male and female were 111,731 and 99,624 respectively. It is a planned city like Chandigarh, with a sector system.