The Golden Temple is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever visited in my life. I remember I arrived in the night to its entrance and when I crossed its doors and walk down its stairs hearing the music and watching the incredible temple surrounded by water I stayed staring at it speechless.
I visited the Golden Temple as part of the schedule of a volunteer project in which I participated (you can read more about my project’s experience in the post How to participate in the volunteer project “The Himalayan Beauty” in India). As a team, we were staying in Dharamsala so we went to the temple during a weekend. Let me share with you how to get there, which is the temple’s history and main characteristics, and other recommendations on what to do during your visit.
1. How to get to The Golden Temple
The temple is located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India (near the Pakistan border).
As I mentioned before, I was in Dharamsala before going to the Golden Temple so as a team we rented a minivan which took us there. Depending on the place you are located, you will have several options to get there, but I’ll explain how to get there from New Delhi because most probably you’ll find yourself visiting the capital of India if you travel there. The websites www.makemytrip.com and www.rome2rio.com are good options to plan your trip, you can go:
- By airplane: it takes around 1 hr. to fly from Delhi (DEL) to Amritsar (ATQ). A one-way ticket price varies across the year from $35 to $160 USD, and when you get to the airport in Amritsar you’ll need to take a taxi that will take you to the Golden Temple in about 15 min. for $4 – $6 USD.
- By train: it takes around 6 hrs. to take a train from New Delhi (NDLS) to Amritsar Junction (ASR). Prices vary between $13 to $20 USD and you can book your tickets on the IRCTC website.
- By bus: it takes around 8.5 hrs. to travel by bus from Delhi to Amritsar for $9 – $13 USD and the Golden Temple is 2.2 km away from the bus station. You can book your tickets in Red Bus.
- By car: it takes around 6.5 hrs. to travel by car from Delhi to the Golden Temple. You can rent a car in Rentalcars website.
2. Opening hours and fees
a. Opening hours
The Golden Temple is opened every day of the year 24/7, you can even stay to sleep on the floor (I know it sounds weird but let me tell you my experience sleeping on the floor in the next paragraphs!). Just beware that the Hari Mandir closing ceremony takes place at 11 pm and the sanctum (the temple) is reopened at 2 am. You can see the schedule here.
b. Fees
FREE! You don’t have to pay any fee to enter. In fact, the temple brings a lot of hospitality to all its visitors. Any person that enters the temple will receive food and water and can also stay to sleep as mentioned before.
You can find more information about the Golden Temple on the official site.
3. History and main characteristics
History
Was founded in 1577 by the 4th Sikh guru.
Food
The Golden Temple has the world’s largest kitchen serving up to 100,000 people every day for free. You enter a big room where people sit in line and receive plates, then glasses, then food, then water and when people finish eating and leave, lots of other people coordinate to clean the floor and make a human chain to clean the dishes.
A place to stay to sleep
The Golden Temple receives thousands of people to sleep and accepts people from any religion, color, age or gender. We were a group of nine people from all around the world, we took our own space and kept an eye on our stuff and on each other. That was the first time I slept on the floor but surprisingly I spent a good night (till the cleaners woke us up to clean the floor). The good part is that I woke up to see my friends and have a great time.
Rules
Upon entering the premises you have to remove your shoes and wash your feet in a pool of water provided. Also, your full body must be covered (no shorts), and you have to wear a head covering (there are head scarves for visitors at the entrance that you return when you leave).
4. Recommendations
Food
If you are not in the mood for eating traditional vegan Indian food you can also find fast food as McDonalds and Subway outside the temple.
Clothing
It’s super hot! wear something light and don’t bring a lot of luggage.
Souvenirs
Take some time to walk through the city, it’s full of nice buildings and stores with souvenirs.
You can watch the following video I took inside the temple to understand the mysticism of the place and its atmosphere!
Are you interested in traveling around the world? In the Travel Section you can find detailed travel guides for different cities, touristic activities, recommendations, tips, and much more!
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Wow!! Lovely post… I miss India too. Great work!!Mysore coorg tour
Very interesting and informative article. Thank you.
It looks beautiful. I’m going to visit India one day and will have to refer back to this post for ideas
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Great Saidah! I’m glad you are planing to visit India, hope the post is useful and makes your journey easier! 😀
Great to know you enjoyed every bit and moment there! The name of the article itself explains how you felt tgere
Author
Thanks Nidhi! Yes, I enjoyed it completely, such an awesome place! 😀
Wow..I am glad you liked golden temple. As an Indian I am proud of it. I visited it some 6 years back on Diwali.
Author
Awesome Deepa! I love India, you have such an amazing country full of culture and history! 🙂
This looks like a truly amazing place and journey! Thank you for the thorough post. I pinned this for future reference; India has been on my bucket list for a couple years now.
Author
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s a unique place, I hope you can visit India and see it live, you’ll feel its magic! 😀
The Golden Temple looks beautiful and lovely pictures! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Author
Thanks to you Alicia! 😀
The golden temple looks amazing! So exotic indeed! Proves that the best things in life are free!
Author
Thanks for your comment, so true, the best things in life are free… I think this is by far one of the best experiences I’ve had traveling abroad and I didn’t had to pay!
Wow! I have never heard of anything like this! What an amazing experience. I will definitely look up more information on the Golden Temple. And 300,000 people served food daily for free? Whoa!
Author
Thanks, yeah I know, it’s such an amazing place! Hope you visit and see it for yourself! 😀
Wow! Such gorgeous pictures! I’ve always wanted to go to India.. looks like you had a wonderful time.
Taiwo | http://www.madeinnigeria89.com
Author
Thank you very much! Yes, I had a great time in India, such an interesting and unique country! 😀
Very interesting. I’ve never been to India but hear lots of great things about this temple. Hopefully I’ll get there one day 🙂
Author
Thank you very much! I loved it, unique experience! Hope you can make plans to go there soon, you’ll love it too! 😀
That temple looks amazing! I would love to visit India one day. It seems blogs these days are giving me too many good ideas on where to go!
Author
Thanks Court! the Golden Temple is indeed awesome, I definitely recommend you to go, it’s one of those places you have to see before you die! And yes I agree with you, now a days blogs are super useful to find great places to visit 😀
What a lovely commentary! The pictures you shared are beautiful! I love architecture and this place looks incredibly beautiful and magical!
Author
Thanks a lot! I loved the Golden Temple, hope many more people go and see it! 😀
Wow!! Lovely post… I miss India too. Great work!!
https://figmentsofimaginationwordpresscom.wordpress.com/2017/05/30/wandering-lust/
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Thank you very much Daisy! Yes, India is amazing, hope to go back soon!