My Visitors Guide to the Golden Temple of Amritsar, India

The stunning Golden Temple of Amritsar

My Visitors Guide to the Golden Temple of Amritsar, India

The famed Golden Temple of Amritsar is the Sikh religion’s most sacred temple. It’s located in the Indian state of Punjab, homeland of the Sikhs, in far northwest India bordering Pakistan.

The stunning Golden Temple is set in the middle of a large square pool, giving it the allusion of floating on water. The magnificent, intricately-carved and entirely gilded temple is the centerpiece of a larger white marble temple complex built around the pool. Referred to as the ‘Pool of Nectar’, the water is believed to have divine healing powers. Many pilgrims visit in order to immerse themselves in the holy water.

Sikh guard at the Golden Temple helping a visitor

The Sikhs welcome everyone in the world to visit their holiest temple. Regardless of religion, gender, occupation or station in life, all are invited. Tens of thousands of pilgrims and visitors flock to the temple every day, even more on weekends.

The Sikhs are so welcoming in their invitation that they offer free accommodation and round-the-clock meals to all visitors. Anyone can partake of room and board, bathe in the holy water and soak in the serene ambiance of their marble and gilded complex.

For western tourists, the Golden Temple is a very easy place to visit. So easy that I’ve included it in my travel tips 10 Easy Destinations In India.

Several factors make it so enjoyable and uncomplicated. For one thing, the temple and Amritsar city are well-accustomed to receiving western visitors. Rickshaw and taxi drivers at Amritsar’s bus and train stations are ready to whisk English-speaking visitors to the Golden Temple (though you’ll have to bargain hard on the price).

Secondly, the Golden Temple maintains a free foreigners-only dormitory, guarded night and day by temple staff. No Indians are permitted entry. Visitors are welcome to stay 1-3 nights.

Because of the free on-premises dormitory and the nearly 24-7 temple meals, you can spend your entire visit inside the temple complex without venturing out into chaotic Amritsar city, unless you choose to.

Finally, and most significantly, the Golden Temple complex is a serene oasis within the noisy, chaotic city. More over, there’s lots to keep guests intrigued during their allotted 1-3 day stay.

Here are 9 activities I recommend doing while visiting Amritsar’s Golden Temple. Following the recommendations, I give some general tips about visiting.

kitchen tour is included in a guide to the Golden Temple

a visit to the vast kitchens is included in the free guided tour

Things to do in the temple:

1. Join a free guided temple tour

The free guided tour is a fascinating way to visit the temple. The guide will explain the temple’s history and the basic tenets of the Sikh religion. He’ll take you through the massive kitchens and tell you about the many temple activities and charitable involvements. You’ll gain a much better appreciation of the temple and the Sikh religion.

In order to join, go to the temple’s main office and request a guided tour. They’ll set it up for you. Tours generally start at 9:30 am. You’ll need to organize it the day before.

The temple office is located near the main entrance to the temple, though it’s a bit hard to explain where. First you’ll need to check your shoes in at the huge shoe counter outside the main entrance. Then proceed along the long walkway towards the entrance with the usual crush of visitors.

After you cross the foot bath located just before the temple stairs, instead of going inside turn right and proceed down an outer walkway. The office is the first big room on the left. If you can’t locate it, just ask any of the temple guards where it is.

walk clockwise around Golden Temple plaza

2. Walk clockwise around the pool and temple on the wide marble walkway

Most pilgrims to the Golden Temple spend time circumnavigating the sacred pool and temple. Most walk at a leisurely pace, clockwise, often chatting with friends or family as they go.

Be sure to walk the whole way around at least once to get views of the gorgeous Golden Temple from every angle. You’ll also come across many other curious activities happening around the plaza.

one of my photos of Golden Temple of Amritsar India

sit beside the Pool of Nectar and admire the gilded temple

3. Sit along the marble walkway or hallways

Watch what other visitors are doing. Check out their amazing turbans, colorful woman’s ensembles, temple guardian uniforms and the exotic outfits of visiting Sikh holy men. Watch men bathing in the sacred pool. Admire the Golden Temple from different sides and at various times of the day under changing light conditions.

sunrise at the Golden Temple

4. Catch sunrise and sunset at the temple plaza

Try to watch both sunrise and sunset when the colors of the marble temple plaza and the glow of the gilded temple walls slowly change with the sun.

visitors eating for free in the Golden Temple’s massive dining hall

5. Stay a while inside the main room of the Golden Temple itself

When you enter the main room of the Golden Temple, stop and stay a while instead of just briefly passing through as most visitors do. It’s fascinating.

Watch the constant stream of monetary donations flowing as an attendant continuously scoops them to the side. Listen to the talented musicians playing live. Notice what happens with special donations of gilded fabrics and other presents. Examine the incredibly intricate detailing and gilding on the room’s walls and ceiling. Feel the astounding atmosphere.

6. Eat for free in the massive public dining hall

Did you ever sit down to eat with hundreds of other people simultaneously? It’s quite an experience.

The world’s largest dining hall serves up daal, chapati and vegetables to tens of thousands of visitors every day, nearly 24-7. In order to accomplish that daunting task, the dining hall staff have perfected their routines down to a science, from handing out food trays to serving meals to cleaning up, all in a never-ending loop. The whole procedure is fascinating.

volunteers washing dishes at the Golden Temple

7. Volunteer to help with temple chores

Everyone who visits the Golden Temple is welcome to volunteer with various temple tasks. You can help wash dishes, chop onions or garlic, polish metal drinking bowls with sand and other tasks. Wherever you see groups of people doing a chore, most of them are visitors like you who have chosen to help out. Jump in and join them if you’d like. If you’d rather not, that’s ok too.

Things to do outside the temple:

8. Join a guided city tour

Just outside the main temple entrance there’s a small rickety shack marked ‘Tourist Information’. It opens about 9-9:30 am. Ask there about the guided walking tour of the old city, which explores the winding narrow alleyways close to the temple. The office has tour brochures showing the walking route and identifying points of interest.

Surprisingly, along those dingy alleys there are many gorgeous old buildings and colorful little temples that you’d never dream of finding there. The tour guide points out and explains them. Alternately, you can explore on your own, but you won’t understand anything about the buildings and maze-like area.

The tour starts at the nearby Town Hall building and costs 70 rp.

* Note that the tour starts before the tourist office opens, so you’ll need to inquire the day before to get currently details.

border closing ceremony at the Pakistani-Indian border

9. Go watch the famous border closing ceremony

Every evening at sunset the Indian and Pakistani border guards enact an elaborate closing ceremony which involves a lot of choreographed marching and high leg kicking. Thousands of spectators mash themselves into bleachers on both sides of the border to cheer on their countrymen.

MCs lead nationalistic chants and songs with everyone yelling enthusiastically. It’s much like attending a professional sports game.

The border is located a mere 30 km from Amritsar. Several companies set up just outside the Golden Temple’s main entrance organize ‘tours’ to the event. Simply sign up at one of the tour counters. Tickets cost 100-120 rp (about $2 US). Tour vans leave about 4 pm to reach the border in plenty of time for visitors to walk the final 1 km to the event and get themselves situated in the bleachers before the show begins.

tuk tuks at Amrtisar bus station

Tips For Visiting:

1. Bargain hard at the stations for tuk-tuks or taxis to the Golden Temple

Drivers are waiting in droves at Amritsar bus and train stations for western tourists to arrive. They will initially quote you very high prices to take you to the Golden Temple. The temple is not far at all from the bus station- less than a 5-minute drive.

Bargain the fare down, but remain pleasant. A fair rate (no pun intended) in 2013 was 40-50 rps for an auto-rickshaw from the bus station to the main temple gate. From the rickshaw drop-off point you’ll have to walk about five minute in to the temple entrance because motorized vehicles are not allowed in.

2. Bed bugs

Be forewarned of potential bed bug problems at the temple’s free foreigners’ dorm. When I visited, all three nights I was pretty much itching and scratching all night long from what I believe to be a combination of mosquitoes and bed bugs.

Very strangely, none of the other people sharing the room with me had any bites at all. Even though different people slept beside me every night, I was the only one bitten. Go figure.

Maybe you’ll get bitten, but maybe you won’t.

3. Distant toilets

The toilets are located quite far from the dorm. You must leave the dorm and cross a massive open-air central plaza to reach them. If you’re prone to toilet visits in the middle of the night or you’re suffering from any intestinal disorders that require frequent toilet runs, you might want to stay elsewhere.

4. Hotels just outside the temple

Several small hotels are located very close to the temple accommodation, all around the temple complex. If you opt to stay at one of them, you’ll essentially be able to spend all your time at the temple, just as if you were staying in the dorm.

I’m afraid I don’t know the hotel rates or conditions. I didn’t inspect any of them, despite my ‘affliction’ at the temple dorm.

Many other budget hotels are scattered around Amritsar city. If you stay outside the immmediate temple area, though, you’ll have to deal with outer Amritsar’s noise, chaos and traffic, which would make you visit much less peaceful.

glorious tandori chicken!

5. Non-vegetarian meals

The Golden Temple dining hall serves only vegetarian Indian Thali (daal, chapati, and possibly a vegetable dish). In addition, the various restaurants located in the vicinity of the temple, within the old Amrtisar city walls, are ALL completely vegetarian as well. That also mean no eggs anywhere, not even for breakfast.

If you want any kind of egg, meat, fish or chicken dishes, you’ll have to venture outside the old city walls to other regions of Amritsar. You’ll probably have to take transportation to do so, not only because of the long distances, but also to find the restaurants.

I had such a hard time finding a chicken meal in Amritsar that it took me three days! Read about that here.

If you can deal with all vegetarian fare for a few days, your visit to the Golden Temple would be a lot easier.

Summary:

So that wraps up my guide to visiting Amritsar’s gorgeous Golden Temple. Your visit will be most peaceful and stress-free if you can spend the entire time within the temple complex itself (aside from taking a nearby city tour). That way you can skip the city’s chaotic, noisy traffic and crowds. Of course that means eating and sleeping at the temple, which could potentially bring its own issues. Then again, maybe that will be just fine for you.

Happy Travels! cheers, Lash

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Photo Gallery: The Golden Temple

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