Sarson ke Khet, Lassi, Kulcha and Jutti – pretty much all of these are probably no longer adjectives, but synonymous to this historical town. Read on to know more on how to plan your trip, must do activities and must try eateries!
🗓️ High Level Plan
- Day 1: Land in Amritsar, Jallianwala Bagh, Golden Temple at night
- Day 2: Golden Temple Darshan, Wagah Border
- Day 3: Shopping, Gobindgarh Fort, Partition Museum
Round trip from Delhi would cost one around INR 15,000 per couple for a 3 day trip including travel, food and stay.
🍜 Food
- Kesar da Dhaba
- Bhai Kulwant Singh Kulchian Wale
- Gurdass Ram Jalebian Wala
- Big Brother’s Dhaba
📝 Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Land in Amritsar, Jallianwala Bagh, Golden Temple night visit
Landed in Amritsar and checked in to the Madpackers Amritsar hostel, which is located quite close to the Golden temple.
Freshened up and headed to Jallianwala Bagh which was at a walking distance from the hostel. For those of us who have studied Indian history in the 8th/9th grade, Jallianwala Bagh is a monument which we would all have wanted to visit at least once in our lifetimes. What was a normal park for conducting peaceful events has today turned into a monument which is testament of the horrifying massacre during India’s independence struggle. It will take you around 1 hour to explore all the exhibits and read the history and testimonials put up at various places. We could see the bullet marks on the walls, the well in which people jumped to escape from the shooting and lost lives. Even imagining what could have happened on that day gives one the chills.
We came back to hostel and rested till evening.
We then went to Kesar da Dhaba to have early dinner since this place is known to get quite crowded in the peak times. Thali with shahi paneer, dal makhani was really good. Phirni is a must try!
Around 8PM, we went to see the golden temple in the night. It looked spectacular. We would recommend one to visit the Golden temple at both times – during the day and at night and for the Darshan, night for the views and the calm atmosphere of the Keertans playing in the background and Darshan during the day – preferably reach early in the morning to avoid long waiting time in the queue. The average wait time is however, 2-2.5 hours.
Day 2: Golden temple in the morning, Attari-Wagah border in the evening
Visited the Golden temple early in the morning for Darshan. Would recommend to reach as early as 6AM, else you will have to stand for more than 3 hours in the queue. Post Darshan, we explored the temple area – visited few smaller shrines located within the temple area, had langar which is provided round the clock – simple healthy prasadam, went to the museum dedicated to Sikh gurus and rulers that one can visit.
We walked around the streets outside golden temple for sometime – stopped for breakfast at Bhai Kulwant Singh Kuchian Wale located at a walking distance from the temple. They are one of the oldest establishments and have been serving yummy Kulchas for over 50 years. We then went to Gurdass Ram Jalebian Wala and had freshly prepared hot Jalebis. Went back to hostel and rested a bit.
For lunch, we decided to go to Big brothers Dhaba and tried the Kulcha Thali there.
At around 1PM we headed for the Attari-Wagah Border tour. You will need to book tickets online in advance to have a smooth entry process there. We went with a group tour which was organised by the Hostel itself. However, you can book taxis/ Tuk Tuks on your own as well, but you would need to negotiate the price.
Do note that not all vehicles are allowed till the gate, some of them stop near the town of Attari (around 4-5 kms from the actual border gate) and ask you to take a separate Tuk Tuk from there. So remember to enquire this when you book the tour.
The drive is also a pretty one with mustard fields lined on both sides of the road. There are also some other landmarks and monuments – India Gate, War Heroes Museum, which one can cover if you start your day a bit early. You will also be able to spot some bunkers once you approach the town of Attari.
No matter how much of a non-believer of patriotism one is, a visit to the Wagah border is good enough to awaken that feeling in you. The fervour, the aggression, the ceremonial theatrics and above all, the atmosphere of the crowd sets the perfect tone for the beating the retreat ceremony.
The actual ceremony starts at 4.15 pm in the evening and goes on for about 45 mins. However, there are some cultural programmes for around 30-45 mins before the start of the ceremony which is also a spectacle in itself. Women spectators are also called upon to dance on the road for sometime to some patriotic music, which again is a great experience.
The entry opens at around 2-2.30 pm, so make sure you reach by then to ensure you get good seats since it is a stadium with a capacity of around 50,000 people and leave 5 mins before the ceremony ends so that you exit the parking before traffic builds up. One point to remember, no belongings except your phone, wallet and water bottle are allowed inside. If you have something, you would have to deposit at the lockers. So it is best to not carry anything.
Day 3: Shopping
We had breakfast again at the Kulwant Singh Dhaba and then headed for shopping. Amritsar is known for its Juttis and Phulkari (a type of embroidery with floral patterns) embroidered dupattas and Salwar suits.
There are 3 major markets where one can shop for salwar materials and Juttis – Hall Bazaar, Katra Jaimal Singh Bazaar and Guru Bazaar. You will get extremely good quality dresses and shoes at near wholesale prices in these markets. Do make sure you have some extra space in your luggage since you will end up buying more than budgeted 😋
Do not shop at the market near the Golden Temple since the products will be overpriced.
The markets only open post 10.30 am. So plan your day accordingly.
Came back to the hostel, freshened up, checked out and headed to the airport for our flight back home.
Gobindgarh fort has been recently opened up for tourists which one should visit. Since we did not have the time, we had to skip, however, if you have a spare day, do plan to visit this. Partition museum and Khalsa College (est. 1892, a heritage building) are other place one should plan to visit.
Roamantic Affair 