The India travel specialists · London
Golden Temple Tour — 6 nights through Delhi, Amritsar and Chandigarh.
The Golden Temple is not a monument you look at from behind a rope. It is a working gurdwara, busy from before dawn until late at night, and the marble walkway around the pool is full of people who have come to pray rather than to take photographs. You leave your shoes at the gate, cover your head and walk round with everyone else. Behind the complex the langar, the free community kitchen, feeds anyone who sits down, in the tens of thousands of plates a day, and nobody asks who you are or what you believe.
This trip has a simple shape. Two days in Delhi, a morning train north through the Punjab, two nights in Amritsar, then Chandigarh and a day out to Anandpur Sahib. You have the same chauffeur-driven car the whole way with a local English-speaking guide joining you in each city, so the only timetable you need to know is the Swarna Shatabdi, which leaves Delhi at 7.20am and reaches Amritsar at 1.25pm. Six nights is not long, Day 5 is about five hours in the car, and the Wagah ceremony means a late finish on Day 4. None of that is hidden in the small print.
Private car and driver throughout, with the Swarna Shatabdi Express from Delhi to Amritsar. The Chandigarh to Delhi flight on the last day is quoted separately.
A working gurdwara rather than a sight, open from before dawn and busiest in the early morning. You go round the pool barefoot with your head covered, at the pace of the crowd. The langar behind the complex serves free meals to anyone who sits down.
The daily flag-lowering drill at the Indian-Pakistani border, performed by both sets of border forces and watched by a crowd in the thousands. It is theatre as much as ceremony. It also means you get back to Amritsar well after dark.
One of the five Takhts, the seats of Sikh temporal authority, 85 km from Chandigarh. The excursion takes most of the morning and the middle of the day. Few short itineraries from Delhi go this far.
Nek Chand built it out of industrial and household waste, piece by piece, in a city Le Corbusier had planned in concrete grids. The contrast between the two is the point. It takes an hour or so and sits alongside the Rose Garden and Sukhna Lake.
October to March. The Punjab is cold enough in December and January for a proper coat, especially first thing. April to June is very hot and July to September brings the monsoon.
Arrive Delhi
You are met at the airport and taken to your hotel. Check-in is from 2pm and the rest of the day is yours, which after a long flight is usually enough.
Delhi
full day with guide
Jama Masjid first, then Chandni Chowk on foot or by rickshaw through lanes the car cannot get down. Humayun's Tomb and the Qutub Minar after that, with the Red Fort, India Gate and the President's House seen from the car as you pass.
Delhi to Amritsar
Swarna Shatabdi Express, departs 0720, arrives 1325
An early start for the train north in air-conditioned chair car. You are in Amritsar by half past one with the rest of the day at leisure, and after a 7.20am departure you will probably use it.
Amritsar
full day, late finish at the Wagah border
The Golden Temple in the morning, shoes off and head covered like everyone else. Jallianwala Bagh, the memorial to the 1919 massacre, is nearby and the visit is a short and quiet one. Late in the afternoon you drive out to the Wagah border for the Beating Retreat, the daily flag-lowering drill performed by the Indian and Pakistani border forces in front of a very large crowd.
Amritsar to Chandigarh
about 5 hrs by road
A morning out of the Punjab by road. In Chandigarh you have the Rock Garden, the Rose Garden, Leisure Valley and Sukhna Lake, which is about as much walking as anyone wants after five hours in a car.
Chandigarh, excursion to Anandpur Sahib
85 km each way
Out to Gurudwara Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib at Anandpur Sahib, one of the five Takhts, with your guide. You are back in Chandigarh with the rest of the time free.
Chandigarh to Delhi
by flight
A short flight back to Delhi for your onward connection. That flight is not in the tour price, so we quote it alongside your international tickets rather than leaving you to find it.
We price the land arrangements and your flights together, then come back with one number. No deposit is taken on the call and nothing is booked until you say so.
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No. The price is for the land arrangements only. We quote your UK flights separately so you can see what they cost, and we do the same for the Chandigarh to Delhi flight on Day 7, which the operator does not include.
Yes. British passport holders need an Indian visa before travelling, and it is yours to arrange and pay for. Apply well ahead of departure rather than in the last fortnight, and tell us if you hold a passport other than a British one, as the requirements differ.
Both are active places of worship. Heads must be covered by men and women, shoes and socks come off at the entrance, and you wash your feet on the way in. Cover your shoulders and knees, and do not take tobacco or alcohol into the complex. Scarves are available at the gate if you have not brought one.
Yes. The langar is a free community kitchen and it serves everyone, visitors included. You sit on the floor in rows and are given a simple vegetarian meal. There is no charge and no expectation on you beyond behaving as the people around you are behaving.
It is a flag-lowering drill carried out every evening by the Indian and Pakistani border forces, watched from stands by thousands of people, and it is loud and patriotic rather than solemn. It means a late return to Amritsar. Timings shift with the season and the border can close at short notice, so your guide confirms it on the day.
October to March. The Punjab is cold enough in December and January for a proper coat, especially early in the morning, and April to June is very hot. July to September brings the monsoon. We can price any month, but we will tell you honestly what the weather is likely to do.
Prices shown are the supplier’s published “from” price for the land arrangements only, per person on a twin-share basis, and vary by date, hotel grade and party size. International flights are quoted separately. The route map is an illustration of the order of stops, not an accurate map. Patel Travel is ATOL 74904 and IATA accredited. Tours are operated by our ground partner in India; your confirmation will state who is responsible for your booking.
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