Wagah Border
When in Amritsar, you can’t miss visiting the iconic Wagah border to see the Wagah-Attari border ceremony. Located 32 km away from Amritsar city, the geographical border between India and Pakistan is one of the main attractions for the tourist. Every day in the afternoon, the Indian Army performs the ceremony with high enthusiasm, precision and high voltage drama.
The crowd, which includes civilians and tourists sing along and dance to the most patriotic songs that play to cheer the crowd. The highly disciplined parade showcased by the Indian Army is one of the highlights of the ceremony.
I absolutely loved the way the army motivates and encourages people to participate equally from their respective seats. It is quite amazing that everyday the stadium is filled with crowds. The high pitch slogans, fluttering Indian Flags in the air and a documentary that is played on the large LED screen certainly contribute to create the aura.
The “Beating the Retreat” ceremony performed by India and Pakistan army from both sides of the gate, is a sheer spectacle. The way they march towards the border gate in perfect synchronized manner, taking down the Indian National Flag and closing the border for the night, is something one should witness in person. It surely gives you Goosebumps.
Location: Attari border
Entry: Free
Timings: 6:30 am to 7:30 pm; every day
Partition Museum
Visiting the Partition Museum is one of the top experiences you should certainly indulge in. It takes you back to the days of partition times when shattering painful partition narratives became part of our history. The museum is one of the top places to visit in the city of Amritsar. Each photograph, videos, and audio provides you everything that you need to know about the partition that two nations had to go through in 1947.
Whether it is the political scenario of that time, the plight of people from both sides of the border, the mass migration of people on foot, horror stories of atrocities, separation tales of loved ones, forced conversions of religion to survive or tales of those who survived the dark phase of the partition, I became numb while actually living those days through audios and videos inside the museum. More than 20 million people were affected due to the partition of India and Pakistan.
You can go through the multi-media experience in the museum through audio video stations set across the 14 galleries. You will see Refugee Artifacts, Oral history, virtual gallery, Art pieces and Archival Material in the museum. This is the world’s first partition museum and is highly recommended for everyone to visit it at least once.
Location: Hall Road, Town Hall, Katra Ahluwalia, Amritsar
Timings: 10AM to 6 PM (Tues to Sun), Closed on Mondays
Entry Fee: Indian Nationals: INR 10/- , Foreign Nationals: INR 250/- . ENTRY FREE FOR Children (5 years and below) and Partition Survivors
Gobindgarh Fort
The Gobindgarh fort is one of the must visit places in Amritsar. Originally known as the Bhagian da Qilla, the mud fort was built by Gujar Singh Bhangi in the 18th century and hence the fort was named after his name. Later, Maharaja Ranjit Singh renamed the fort as Gobindgarh Fort after Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Guru of the Sikhs in the 19th century. The fort was opened to civilians on 10th February 2017 as a live heritage museum. While visiting the Gobindghar fort, don’t miss the Light and Sound Show named Whispering Walls.
Duration: 30 minutes everyday
Language: Punjabi and English
Timings: 7:15 pm (Punjabi); 7:45 pm (English)
The Fort houses museums, bazaars, café, dhaba, etc. One of the attractions of the Fort is the famous Pagdi Museum, where different kinds of turbans from allacross Punjab are on display for visitors. The Fort also has a7D show directed by Ketan Mehta, named Sher e Punjab.
Location: Old Cantt. Road, Vijay Chowk
Timings: 10:00 am to 10:00 pm; every day
Entry Fee:
- INR 150 to 649 per head for Indians depending on the attractions you want to include in the package.
- INR 250 to 1000 per head for foreigners.