Dec 27, 2008 11:25 AM
16255 Views
Amritsar is one of the most important spiritual and cultural center of the Sikh religion. We visited Amritsar in the weekend and our main places of interest were Golden Temple, Wagah Border and Jallianwala bagh. We took chattisgarh express from Delhi. This train is very slow and stops on every 1/2 hr(almost) stations. We stayed in one of our friends house which is very close to Golden temple. But in Amritsar hotel stay is also not much costly. It ranges from Rs 500-1000 in budget hotel and 1200 and above in good 3 star hotels. But I recommend people to stay in Gurdwara.
Golden temple
This is most important sikh worship place located in the middle of the Amritsar city. It was made by Guru Ram Das who is the fourth guru of sikhs. The wall and dome of the main temple is all gold plated. The main temple is surrounded by lake having beautiful fishes. It is very close to the railway station. To reach Golden temple you can take shared auto from railway station which takes Rs 10 - 15 or else or you can also board Golden temple bus which is of yellow color and takes passenger for free from station to temple. It runs in every 20 minutes. We visited Golden temple in the morning and after offering our prayers we had "Langar". The Langar consists of Roti, Dal, Matar-paneer and finally kheer. It was very tasty. The Langar system is much organised and there no chaos of any sort.
*Jallianwala bagh
*This place is very close to Golden temple and famous for April 13, 1919 massacre by British Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer on an unarmed gathering of men, women and children. Being one of the main important tourist spot this place is completely modified. You can find bullet marks on the walls which are preserved and the well where many people jumped to escape from bullets is also surrounded by a small building complex. You can see the well through the windows of this building complex.
*Wagah Border
*Wagah is the road border crossing between India and Pakistan. Its is around 20 km from Amritsar city. Every evening there is "lowering of the flags" ceremony done by both the coutries. In India it is done by BSF and in Pakistan by Pakistan Rangers soldiers. You will find large crowds daily shouting for their countries. The atmosphere here is terrific. This parade starts at 5 pm. But I recommend people to reach this place before 4 pm so that you can have a better view of the events. You can also buy some souvenirs and CD(Rs 15) and DVD(Rs 30) of the Parade from here.
Punjab Village Experience
We visited one of our friends house in a small village Chabhal. Chabhal is around 20 km from Amritsar city. To taste the Punjab village food they prepared punjabi veg food which includes Makke ki roti, Sarson ka saag, Daal maakhani, Chach and Salad. The food was prepared in traditional chulha instead of gas and it created different flavor to all the food items.
*What and where to eat?
*If you are non vegetarian and like fish then you can try Amritsari fish tikka. For this you can visit "Punjab Dhabha" located near Gol Hatti Chowk. You can also taste the famous Amritsari Kulcha with Chole. Don’t forget to try lassi/hot milk sold on the road side shops.
What and where to purchase?
You can purchase shawls, sweaters and cotton items from BR Shawls shop in Karmo Gali in Amritsar. We found shawls and sweaters in Amritsar to be much cheaper than Delhi. Don't forget to purchase Amritsari Papad, Achar and Dal Bari also.
