Welcome to Amritsar - The Lake of Holy Nectar!

For the time being we will leave Delhi but surely to come back for more adventures and fun. Now we will be heading toward Amritsar, in Punjab, the Holy City of the Sikh Community. The Golden Temple, the Akal Takht, Jallianwalah Bagh, Durgiana Temple, Gurudwara Ramsar Sahib and Maharja Ranjit Singh’s Museum are the major attractions of this Sikh pilgrimage. The Golden Temple is the sacred place of Sikhs communities but respected and visited by people from all communities. The four gateways lead to the Darbar Sahib. You can get to see the Akhand Path (continuous recitation of Guru Granth Sahib) there. The Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors), the golden dome (constructed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh) and the Darshini Darwaza (entrance to the temple complex) are some of the important features of the temple.

A wide passage made of marble is used for Parikrama, which has 68 holy points for stopping while doing parikrama. Some of these stops are, the Dukh Bhanjani Ber Tree (where people take a dip in the holy Amritsar Sarovar), the community kitchen or the langar hall was started by Guru Amar Das. The Jubbi Tree is 450 years old and was the place from where Baba Buddhaja would look into the building of the temple. The ber tree where Sukha Singh and Mehtab Singh killed Massa Rangar, the place of slaying Baba Deep Singh, the gurudwara Baba Atal Rai, the Central Sikh Museum are all places that are of great historical significance.

The Akal Takht is the place where members of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee meet for discussing on political matters. The Guru Granth Sahib is moved from the Golden Temple to the Akal Takht at night and taken back to Harmandir Sahib in the morning with great pomp. This is a procession worth watching.

The Jallianwalah Bagh is notorious for the massacre of the brave sons of India by General Dywer during the British Rule in India. The Durgiana temple is devoted to Lord Durga. There are shrines for other deities too. The Gurudwara Ramsar Sahib is the temple where the Granth Sahib was composed.

Another point of attraction is the Wagah border just 32 kilometers away from the city. It shares a border with the neighboring country Pakistan. The evening retreat is a great event to watch.

There are many hotels in Amritsar for your stay ranging from the luxurious ones to the budget ones. You can go on excursions to nearby places of tourist interest. You can go on shopping sprees. There are a lot of trains from Delhi. Airline travel is, of course, the fastest and the most convenient way to reach Amritsar. An air traveler can choose discount flights from Delhi, UK, Turkmensitan and Uzbekistan. The Jet Airways Flights, Air India, Tuirkmenistan and Uzbekistan flights can fly you at discount airfare during the off season.