Amritsar is home to the Religious Building important to Sikhs - The Golden Temple. Amritsar is an institution by itself. And the Golden Temple is the cradle of Amritsar with the city growing around it nurtured by its divine sanctity. Amritsar is one of the most sacred sikh religious sites in India. 

HISTORY 

Golden Temple, the religious building important to Sikhs has a legacy associated with it. The Amrit Sarovar or pool of nectar has long been associated with Indian legends and Lord Rama's twin sons had supposedly been taught the Ramayana here. How the land was acquired for the construction of the temple has many stories. Some say the Guru bought it, others say it was granted by emperor Akbar. Whatever the story, it is certain the religious building important to Sikhs was built on a revenue free land.

Oral tradition dictates that the Muslim divine Pir Mian Mir of Lahore, at the request of the fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev, laid the temple's foundation stone. However, there is no record supporting this, not even in the biographies of Pir. The recorded account says that Guru Arjun Dev laid the foundation in 1588. The Guru's followers settled down in the neighborhood and a small town called Ramdaspur quickly came up, deriving its later name, Amritsar, from the holy tank that encircles the Hari Mandir, or the Darbar Sahib, now known as the Golden Temple.

The flourishing town that grew around the temple during Guru Arjan Dev's lifetime grew further in stature as the followers of Sikhism grew in number. Things moved fast. The first Sikh Maharaja, Ranjit Singh, made Amritsar his spiritual capital while Lahore was the temporal seat of his newly founded expanding kingdom. Ranjit Singh oversaw the temple's further development, gilding the embossed plates, renewing the pietra dura and embellishing the interior with floral designed, mirrored ceilings.

The Golden Temple is not only a religious building important to Sikhs, it is an eclectic monument that has grown as much of people's devotion as from the guild craftsmen's skills to become Sikmost sacred of the sikh religious sites. Generation after generation has lavished praise on the art and architecture of the golden temple and it is widely regarded as being amongst the most tastefully decorated shrines anywhere.

TOURISTS ATTRACTION - THE GOLDEN TEMPLE

Like other Sikh religious sites in India, the Golden Temple stands there in simple majesty, the gilded splendor of its paneling, dome and minarets shining in the morning light, silhouetted softly in the water and etched gently across the city escape. For the Sikh community the Harmandir Sahib Gurdwara Golden Temple is the final spiritual "vision," journey's end or beginning and, for every other community too, it is a shrine to be visited.

The Golden Temple in Amritsar is the most exalted of all Sikh shrines, drawing pilgrims from near and far fore centuries. The temple's story began some four centuries ago when the third Sikh Guru Amar Das asked Guru Ram Das (who succeeded him) to build a central place for the congregation of the Sikhs. Guru Arjan Dev completed the work started by Guru Ram Das in the 16th century. The gurdwara has four entrance doors, called deoris, in all four directions-symbolic of the new faith that made no distinction between caste and creed. People could enter and bow in any direction they preferred.

As one descends into the temple (unlike most temples, here one actually descends as the structure is built below the level of the surrounding area), one is confronted by the stunningly beautiful sanctum sanctorum glimmering in the water of the holy tank that is flanked on all four sides by spotlessly clean marble walkways and pavements.

The main structure rises from the center of the sacred pool and is approached by a long causeway. The 52-meter, square-based Hari Mandir stands on a square platform, its lower parts marble, and its upper portion fully covered with plates of gilded copper. In the interior, on the ground, the Guru Granth Sahib (holy book of the Sikhs) is placed under a jewel-studded canopy. On the first floor is a small pavilion called the Shish Mahal (mirror room). It is ornamented with pieces of mirrors inlaid in the ceiling and walls. Above is another smaller pavilion. Exquisite murals adorn the walls of the pavilions, but other than that, the emphasis is on simplicity.

If you take a short walk around the Golden Temple, you can visit several other Gurdwaras that trace their links with the Gurus. Gurdwara Baba Atal Sahib and the Shahidi martyr's shrine are important religious centers, each with its own history.

Amritsar played a pivotal role in India's quest for independence, and no national monument has more significance than Jalianwala Bagh, a solemn, grim reminder of one of the bloodiest chapters of India's freedom movement. The 2000 Indians killed and wounded here in the indiscriminate firing by the British on Baisakhi in 1919 was carnage that had nationwide ramifications, shaking and enraging the whole country. Jalianwala Bagh commemorates the martyrs, keeping the tragic episode in its historical context. Today, one finds a small gallery with photos of key personalities involved, the well into which the crowds jumped to escape the murderous hail of bullets and a simple memorial at the site that shaped India's destiny. 

PLACES AROUND AMRITSAR

Within an hour's drive from Amritsar are several Sikh religious sites to visit. Several historical Gurdwaras like Baba Bakala, Goindwal Sahib, Tarn Taran, and Baba Sahib, attract the devout. The drive takes one through the heart of rural Punjab with lush green paddy fields, tiny villages, and robust farmers. 

The Amritsar that greets visitors today is a bustling, busy city with a distinct 'frontier' atmosphere, nestling as it does within breathing distance of the Indo-Pakistan border.
A popular outing is to the Wagah checkpost on the Indo-Pakistan border where crowds throng to see the change of guards ceremony and the flag hoisting and lowering, all done with great skill and precision. 

HOW TO REACH

The ever-improving infrastructure in the city is making it easier for visitors to reach it from different parts of the country.

BY AIR - The Rajasansi airport at Amritsar is well linked by flights from all over India. Recently, it was elevated to an international airport.

BY RAIL - There are direct links from Delhi to Amritsar by train. It is an 8-10-hour journey. 

BY ROAD - Buses also ply regularly between the two cities.