Day 18 - Amritsar (first day)

17.10.2022

Day 18

Today is the eighteenth day and probably the halfway mark of our tour. Dharamshala is the highest altitude (approx 1500 meters) and the Northern most point of India we will touch during this incredible journey. 

Today we travel to Amritsar in Punjab State about 200 kms to the West and an approximate travel time of 4.30 hours. Our route takes us through ghat sections as we descend from the high altitude Dharamshala. Thankfully, the ghat section roads were good and only light traffic and we merged into NH154/NH54.

Excitement all around as we are nearing the city of Amritsar the site of Harmandir Sahib the holiest gurdwara, known as Golden Temple. 

Punjab is a state bordering Pakistan, is the land of great saints and fighters. Apart from the Golden Temple, other tourist attractions are the Jallianwala Bagh memorial site, Attari-Wagah border, Partition museum, Punjabi food and Bhangra dance. We have planned two nights halt in this city.

After check in at Ramada by Wyndham in Amritsar we gave our car “Panchali” for servicing and check up. Our local transportation is on electric three wheeler, smaller version of our ubiquitous autorickshaw, in the crowded narrow by-lanes of Amritsar.

First stop - partition museum, but no luck. It is closed on Mondays. We spent couple of hours visiting the crowded markets (and shopping). Lunch was at a local shop for a taste of local flavour.

Jallianwala Bagh massacre memorial was next in our list - to pay respects to the martyrdom of innocent men women and children. 

The massacre, took place on the festival of Baisakhi on 13 April 1919. General R.E.H. Dyer ordered the shooting of people assembled in Jallianwala Bagh who were trapped, as the only exit was blocked by the troops. It is estimated at least 379 were killed (unofficial estimates over 1500) and over 1200 people were injured, many seriously. We paid our respects to the martyred and the tens of thousands who lost their lives during our Independence struggle. 

Our last stop of the day was at Golden Temple, the preeminent spiritual site of Sikhism. The magnificent Gurudwara is the holiest shrine of Sikh community. The complex is a collection of buildings around the sanctum and the pool.

The experience visiting Golden Temple is out of the world. One feels at peace and tranquility. Everyone is a karsevak. Though tens of thousands visit this holy shrine daily, the place

is spotlessly clean. 

We had langar (community kitchen) meal sitting on the floor. Langar operates round the clock serving food to anyone who wishes to eat.

At end of day eighteen - 6324 kms on our tracker.

#fulltankers