About Amritsar: The holy city of Amritsar in Punjab is home to the magnificent Golden Temple, the most important shrine for Sikhs all over the world. The word Amritsar comes from two words – amrit (nectar) and sar (pool), referring to the sacred water tank at the centre of the Golden Temple.
The city of Amritsar came up in the 1500’s around the Golden Temple. This original part is now called “Old City”, and has narrow winding lanes, busy bazaars, intricate old shops, wooden mansions, small shrines and religious centres. The newer parts of the city have broader roads, sprawling new bungalows, malls and cinemas.
Amritsar is famous for its delicious food - succulent kababs and tikkas, fluffy kulchas, glasses of thick lassi and ghee-rich sweets. Whether it’s a roadside dhaba, a street food vendor or a hearty home-cooked meal, the food in Amritsar never disappoints!
Around Amritsar: The area surrounding Amritsar is rural in nature. Wheat, rice, mustard, sugarcane, vegetables and fruits are grown in the countryside. The Wagah border, a key land border crossing between India and Pakistan, is an hour’s drive from Amritsar. A daily flag ceremony takes place at the border, which is very popular with tourists.
You can also use Amritsar as the starting point to explore Punjab further. There are several sacred sites in Punjab, such as Anandpur Sahib and Tarn Taran. The city of Kapurthala, often referred to as the “Paris of the Punjab” has interesting monuments to visit. Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab is a modern planned city, popular with students of architecture. Both Amritsar and Chandigarh have airports, and are used by tourists to connect to the mountain regions in Himachal Pradesh (Shimla, Manali, Dharamsala, etc).
How to book a tour: Do take a look at the tour menu on the right and let us know which tours are of interest to you. To book a tour, please write to deepa@magictoursofindia.com / magictours@live.com. If there’s a particular place you’d like to visit that isn’t on our menu, please write in! We’d be happy to organize a customized tour for you.