The City of Passion and Religion

In Gurbani, which is related to Sikh religion(Guru + Bani: Words from Guru/ God's disciples.), "Amrit" and "Amritsar" words often come in that. "Amrit" means "the drink of God" and "Amritsar" means the place where Amrit is found. Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India and has most religious sikh's shrine.

Major attractions of Amritsar:

Golden Temple:

This is the heart of Amritsar and the most religious place for Sikhs. It is the home to the spiritual and the cultural center for the Sikh religion, Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple). This Sikh shrine attracts more than 0.1 million visitors on weekdays itself and on weekend, the number is even bigger(sometimes more than 3-4 times the visits happen on a weekday). The number of visitors visiting this shrine is more than the number of visitors who visits one of the seven wonders of the world, "The Taj Mahal". Golden temple is the most visited destination of NRIs(Non-resident Indians).

Jallianwala Bagh:

No Indian can forget the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh which happened on "April 13, 1919", on the festival of "Vaisakhi"(Start of the new year for Sikhs, also known as birth anniversary of Khalsa).

On that day, the troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer shot 1000s of people including non-violent protesters and along with Baishakhi pilgrims, who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab. Total 1650 rounds were shot. The stampede and Gunshot left Jallianwala bagh with 379 deaths(an official figure, the actual death toll was ~1000 ) and thousands of injured people.
People who visit this place can still see the marks of the bullets in the walls and an old well where many people jumped to save their lives from bullets and died. This place also has a museum which consists of very rare and few banned articles and books along with the artistic presentation of the massacre. In the name of these martyrs, "Amar Jyoti"( an immortal flame ) is being placed in Jallianwala Bagh which never stops burning.

Wagah-Atari border parade ceremony:

Wagah is a village's name in Pakistan which serves as a transit terminal for import/export for India and Pakistan through road and railway path. To improve the relationship between India and Pakistan, the soldiers of both countries do a 15 minutes parade every day, 2 hours before the sun sets.
Now, Indian BSF(border security force) has included women commandos as well into the parade which gives a respectful position to women the military as well. The ambience during the ceremony is full of patriotism with many patriotic songs being played and sang by fellows of both countries. Many thousand people sit and witness this incredible ceremony every day. You will see a sign of "Lahore 23 Kms" from this border and will be able to see people sitting at another side of the border.

Other attractions in Amritsar:

Ramtirth temple:

It is situated at Amritsar and believed to be the Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki who is the writer of Ramayana. This is the place where Goddess Sita gave birth to Lava and Kusha, sons of Lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram.

Durgiana Temple:

This temple is known as Durga tirth and mostly visited during the navratre festival. The temple is built in the middle of a sacred lake which seems similar to the Golden temple architecture.

Amritsar market

What can you bring for your loved ones from Amritsar?

• Holy water of Golden temple
• Amritsar papadum and Badi ( edible products )
• Cheap clothes and accessories etc.

How to reach to Amritsar??:

All major mode of transportation can be used to reach to Amritsar including:

Rail:

Amritsar is well connected by rail to almost all of the major cities of India. To be a ticket to Amritsar "irctc.co.in" can be used. To reduce the travel time to Amritsar, the Indian government is working on a high-speed rail project also.

Road:

Amritsar is situated on Grand trunk road (First Indian highway) which connect Delhi to Lahore and further to Peshawar in Pakistan. So, this place is very well connected through road as well. Different buses or taxi services can be availed to commute from here.

Air:

There is an airport in Amritsar which makes it easier for people to reach here who commutes from a very long distance.

And there is a free bus service available to Golden temple from Railway station and Bus stand of Amritsar.

And why should we travel?:

• Wisdom can be achieved by gaining knowledge.
• Knowledge comes from information
• Information becomes possible because of Data.
• Data comes to us through observations.
• We become more observant when we travel and gather information. Hence it's one of the paths to gain knowledge and step towards wisdom.

Keep Travelling

Authored by: @qagiri