Today we visit the magnificent Golden Temple shining in the morning light, with its large dome surrounded by elegant minarets and splendidly gilded interior panelling. This temple is an important place of worship for devotees of the Sikh faith worldwide.
We also visit the Langar - the largest community kitchen in the world which serves over 100,000 free meals every day. Here you can watch volunteers preparing and serving food to the devotees - an incredible sight..
Afterwards we visit the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Gardens, the site of the Amritsar massacre where on 13 April 1919 British Indian Army troops under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer, fired into a crowd of non-violent protesting men, women and children - killing hundreds of unarmed civilians.
In the evening (around 10 pm) we return to the Golden Temple to watch the daily Palki Sahib ceremony where, to the accompaniment of drums and hymns, a gold and silver gilded palanquin decorated with silk brocades and flowers is used to carry the Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh holy book) from the main shrine to the gateway where it rest overnight. The next morning the holy book is brought back to the temple, but this is not open to the public.
Note: You need to remove your shoes and socks and cover your head when visting the temple. Smoking and the consumption of alcohol is also forbidden.
There are huge queues to visit the inner sanctum of the temple (1.5 to 3-hours, depending on the time and day of the week, so if this is important to you we suggest staying an extra day in Amritsar and visiting the Golden Temple in the afternoon, whilst most people are at the Wagah Ceremony at the Pakistan border. Also try and avoid weekends and festivals, when queues are at their longest.
If you do not wish to attend the Palki Sahib ceremony because it is late at night, please let your guide know so he can plan accordingly.