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Visit The Land Of The Five Rivers
Punjab is also known as the smiling state of India and is a pure joy to visit. Home to lively, hospitable & dynamic people and characterized with lush farmlands, delightful cuisine and vibrant Sikh culture, it is perfect a winter vacation. Here you will find heroic stories from India’s Independence struggle and the tenets of the Gurus who established the venerable Sikh religion.
Punjab is also designed for road trips. It has a well-maintained road network and each destination is not more than a 4 to 5 hours’ drive. Revel in the yellow mustard fields, pristine rivers and beautiful Gurudwaras (Temples of Sikhs) and indulge in the concept of selfless service as you do Sewa.
Highlights Of the Trip
- Visit the most famous and holiest sites associated with Sikhism.
- Experience rural Punjab and the life of the villagers.
- Enjoy Punjabi hospitality and unique cuisine at a 120-year-old Kothi.
- Get a chance to see the interaction between Indian and Pakistani soldiers at Wagah Border.
- Immerse yourself in Sewa (community service) at the Golden Temple.
- Shop for traditional Phulkari embroidery and the colourful thread work Mojaris in Amritsar.
Itinerary
Our representative will pick you up from your hotel at Delhi. You will be travelling by road to Chandigarh. The road distance from Delhi to Chandigarh is 243 kms which can be covered in about 5 to 6 hours with a quick stop for breakfast.
Alternatively, if you are arriving at Chandigarh directly, our representative will meet you at the Airport.
Check into your hotel and relax.
Post lunch, visit the famous Rock Garden of Chandigarh - a sculpture garden made entirely of industrial and home waste items. Here you will find sculptures made out of broken bangles, bottles, glass pieces, ceramic tea plates etc.
Enjoy a boat ride on the Sukhna lake and watch the sunset over the Shivalik hills. Sukhna lake is known for migratory birds – The Siberian Duck, Storks and Cranes that converge here during winters.
Post breakfast, take a day trip to Anandpur Sahib, one of the holiest places for Sikhs where the 10th and final guru of the Sikhs – Guru Gobind Singh lived for 25 years and founded the Khalsa Path (the warrior community).
Visit the Virat-e-Khalsa, a one of its kind immersive museum showcasing Punjab and Sikh history and culture.
Visit Takht Keshgarh Sahib Gurudwara, one of the five Takhts (spiritual centers of Sikhism). The Khalsa Panth was founded by Guru Gobind Singh at this Takht.
Post breakfast checkout of your hotel and visit the Capitol Complex, listed as an UNESCO Heritage site – this complex houses the Palace of Assembly or Legislative Assembly, Secretariat Building, the High Court plus four monuments (Open Hand Monument, Geometric Hill, Tower of Shadows and the Martyrs Monument) and a lake. Designed by Le Corbusier, the Capitol Complex forms the head of Chandigarh city, the sectors form the trunk, the city centre is the heart, with education as the left arm and industry as the right arm.
Post the tour, leave for Amritsar by road.
Start your day with a visit to Sri Tarn Taran Sahib, a Gurdwara established by the fifth guru of the Sikhs - Guru Arjan Dev. One of the most beautiful Gurudwaras, its pristine white structure topped with a lotus dome has an ornamental gold pinnacle with an umbrella-shaped gold finial. The holy pond or the Sarovar is the largest in any Gurudwara in Punjab.
From here head to Wagah border. The drive takes you through the countryside - villages and fields. Watch the "Beating the Retreat" ceremony at Wagah Border where every evening, just before sunset, the soldiers from India’s BSF and Pakistan Rangers meet at the Wagah border post and put on a 30-minute show of military camaraderie and showmanship. This ceremony includes closing of the international gates and lowering the flags of both countries. The flag ceremony has been conducted by the Indian Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers since 1959.
Visit the Golden Temple, the most famous Gurudwaras of Sikhs and pre-eminent spiritual site of Sikhism. Spend your time here by doing sewa (community service), eat langar (food made in the community kitchen), admire the beautiful architecture and stroll around the courtyard surrounding the Amrit Sarovar.
From the Golden Temple, head to Jallianwala Bagh and Museum. This is the place where the massacre of thousands of peaceful protestors took place on the orders of General Dyer in April 1919. This incident is considered by some historians as the decisive step towards the end of British rule in India.
Spend your evening shopping for Phulkari (traditional hand embroidery of Punjab) and trying some of the culinary delights of Punjab – lassi, kulcha channa, dal makhni, palak paneer at the famous Kesar Da Dhabha.
Post breakfast, checkout from the hotel and leave for the Muketshwar Mahadev Temple. These 3 cave temples are believed to exist from the time of the great Indian epic - Mahabharat. The caves are located on the banks of the Ravi river whose waters are crystal clear.
Leave for Gurdaspur to experience a village stay. Check into The Kothi - a 20th century farm house surrounded by lush fields, orange orchards and dairy farms at Nawanpind Sardarn, an idyllic village near Gurdaspur.
Spend the day strolling through the fields, meeting the villagers (the elders spend their time sitting on charpoys and soaking in the sun, sharing experiences and words of wisdom) and sampling homemade Punjabi cuisine. Learn to drive a tractor and take rides on a bullock cart.
Post breakfast, leave for Chadigarh with a lunch stop at Rangla Punjab Haveli for delicious Punjabi food while being entertained with traditional dances like Gidda, Bhangra and folk music.