Things to do
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Gobindgarh Fort
Bhangi Sikh chiefs raised this square fort in the eighteenth century, and Ranjit Singh rebuilt it in brick and lime as an arsenal and treasury for the Sikh empire. The army held it until it was handed over and opened to visitors in 2017. It now runs as a heritage park, with a turban museum, a projection show on the walls and Punjabi food stalls.
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Golden Temple
Sikhism's holiest shrine stands on a causeway in the middle of the Amrit Sarovar, the pool that gave the city its name, its upper storeys sheeted in gilded copper by Ranjit Singh. The doors open on all four sides and the building never closes. The free kitchen inside the complex feeds tens of thousands daily. Heads are covered, shoes and socks left at the counter, and the marble walkway is washed constantly.
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Jallianwala Bagh
On 13 April 1919, troops under a British officer blocked the narrow lane into this walled garden and fired on a gathering held despite a ban, killing hundreds. Bullet marks are preserved in the brickwork, and the well into which many jumped is enclosed. The site is a national memorial with a museum and gallery, entry free, and it takes under an hour.
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Partition Museum
Housed in a colonial era town hall that served as a British headquarters and a jail, this museum records the division of Punjab and Bengal in 1947 and the violence and migration that followed, through objects carried by refugees, newspapers and survivor testimony. Allow an hour and a half for the galleries. It opened in 2017 as the first institution devoted to the subject.
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Wagah Border Ceremony
Each evening before sunset, border guards from India and Pakistan lower their flags at the Attari crossing in a drill of high kicks, shouted commands and a closing handshake. Stands on both sides hold thousands, and seating is first come. The site lies about half an hour west of Amritsar; bags are not allowed through security, and arriving two hours ahead is normal.