Amritsar in 3 days: what to see, in what order

The holiest gurdwara of the Sikhs: a gold-covered temple in the middle of a large pool, the Amrit Sarovar, reached by a marble causeway. Hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib are sung inside all day. Around the pool are the Akal Takht, the seat of Sikh authority, and the Central Sikh Museum. The langar, the free kitchen, serves a simple meal to tens of thousands of people a day, whoever they are, and you can sit on the floor and eat with everyone else.

The walled garden where, on 13 April 1919, British troops under General Dyer fired on a peaceful crowd with no warning, killing hundreds of people. The only way out was a narrow lane, now the entrance. You can still see bullet marks in the walls and the Martyrs' Well, where many jumped to escape. A tall red stone memorial stands in the middle, and galleries tell the story.

A museum in the old red-brick Town Hall about the 1947 Partition of India, when Punjab was cut in two and millions of people crossed the new border. It tells the story through letters, suitcases, photos and the recorded voices of people who lived through it. Amritsar was the first big city on the Indian side, which is why the museum is here.

A Hindu temple to Lakshmi and Narayan, also called the Lakshmi Narayan or Silver Temple. Like the Golden Temple, it sits in the middle of a large tank and is reached by a bridge, and its domes are gilded. The silver doors carved with Hindu stories give it its other name. Near it are the Bada Hanuman temple and the Sita Mata temple.

Ram Bagh is a large garden laid out by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of Punjab, with his summer palace inside. The Panorama is a round building with a huge painted scene of his battles all the way round, with life-size figures in front, and a sound track that tells the story of his rule.

An 18th-century brick fort that Maharaja Ranjit Singh made strong enough to hold the Koh-i-Noor diamond in its treasury. The army used it until 2006; it is now a living museum with a coin museum, a Toshakhana (treasure house), Punjabi folk dances, food stalls and a 7D film on Ranjit Singh. In the evening a light and sound show tells its story on the walls.

A temple to Lal Devi, a woman saint of the 20th century, built like the cave shrine of Vaishno Devi. You walk through low tunnels and caves, sometimes ankle-deep in water, past shrines to many goddesses. Many couples come here to pray for a child.

The place where the sage Valmiki is said to have had his ashram, and where Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush. A large new temple to Valmiki, finished in 2016, stands beside a big tank with old shrines round it. A fair is held here in November.

A small heritage village a few kilometres from the border, where Maharaja Ranjit Singh stopped to rest on his way to Lahore. He built a bridge, a pool for bathing, a baradari (an open pavilion), a temple, a gurdwara and a mosque, side by side. A memorial nearby remembers the soldiers who fought here in the 1971 war.

Every evening Indian and Pakistani soldiers lower their flags at the border in a loud, high-kicking parade, with crowds cheering from stands on both sides. On the Indian side there is music and dancing before it starts. Since May 2025 the ceremony has been shorter: the gates stay shut and there is no handshake between the two sides.

A gurdwara founded by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru, beside what is said to be the largest sarovar (holy tank) of any gurdwara. The temple is three storeys tall with a gold dome, and pilgrims walk round the wide tank. It is busiest on Amavas, the new moon.

A quiet village where Guru Angad Dev, the second Sikh Guru, lived and taught for 13 years and where Guru Amar Das served him. The main gurdwara has a large white marble hall, and Gurdwara Thara Sahib next to it marks the platform where Guru Angad sat.

A town on the Beas river founded by Guru Amar Das, the third Sikh Guru, who made it the first big centre of the Sikh faith. Its Baoli Sahib is a deep stepwell with 84 steps down to the water; pilgrims say a prayer on each step. Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru, was born here.