DESTINATIONS ASIA | INDIAN CITIES
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I’m metres from India’s border with Pakistan, waving a tiny Indian flag and watching a much larger version slide down the flagpole. No visit to the northern city of Amritsar is complete without seeing the flag-lowering ceremony, which takes place every day at the Wagah border, a 30-minute drive from Amritsar and the only place on the India-Pakistan border that the Foreign Office excludes from its travel advisory. The biggest attraction is the pre-party, when 40,000
spectators fill stadium-like seating, vendors dish out popcorn and India’s fearsome Border Security Force lead the crowd in singalongs to Bollywood classics. For deeper (less jovial) insights into partition, visit
Amritsar’s Partition Museum for a harrowing account of the run-up to the split and the ensuing chaos. Cyril Radcliffe, who drew the dividing line, relied on outdated maps and had never visited India. Equally harrowing is the nearby Jallianwala Bagh memorial. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, when Colonel Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to fire on 10,000 locals. The
The Golden Temple
site is now a strangely beautiful garden, complete with crouching topiary soldiers. Amritsar, which has a population of just over one million, is the most important city for Sikhs thanks to the presence of the Golden Temple, part of an enormous complex built around a huge body of water. Follow the marble walkway, dodging dripping locals – Sikhs come from all over the world to bathe here – to reach the world’s biggest communal kitchen, staffed by volunteers, where 40,000 people eat for free every day. You can wander through the enormous dining hall and food prep area, and even help roll out a few rotis en route. Finally, it’s a common myth that Amritsar is an alcohol and meat-free city. Although it’s hard to find either near the temple (though you might stumble across the world’s first vegetarian McDonald’s), Amritsar has a number of fantastic breweries, mostly on Ranjit Avenue. The largest is Brewmaster, a huge pub with live music and cheap, self-dispensing towers of beer. And there are plenty of options to soak up the alcohol. For traditional Punjabi cuisine nothing beats Makhan Fish, founded in 1962 by S Sucha Singh and now run by his grandsons.
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Exodus Travels’ 16-day Mountains, Temples & Hill Stations tour spends two nights in Amritsar, with an evening ceremony at the Golden Temple, a visit to Jallianwala Bagh and a heritage walk around the city. Prices start at £2,179 including flights, transport, accommodation, breakfasts and two lunches.
exodus.co.uk
Cox & Kings’ The Heart of India is a 14-night private tour that begins with two days in Mumbai. Prices start at £3,575 including flights, accommodation, local transfers and a guide.
coxandkings.co.uk
Amritsar 60 23 MAY 2019
travelweekly.co.uk
PICTURES: Shutterstock; Aniruddh Kothari
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