The city of Amritsar has been on my wish-list for quite some time, and it finally became a reality when I visited this beautiful city during Valentine’s week of 2020. In this article, I will be listing down the places you can visit and things that you can do when you visit Amritsar for just 2 days.

Here is all about Day 1 in Amritsar.

You can also read: Day 2 Itinerary of Amritsar.

For day one, we had majorly traveled by foot or through sharing rickshaws; but be very careful with the rickshaws here. I had mixed experiences throughout and will share them with you. They loot in different ways!

• One major tactic is that they would mention a different amount when you sit and ask for a higher amount when your destination arrives. This happened thrice with us & it was very unfortunate but that’s how they are, so be careful.
• Another route of looting is quoting an extravagant amount. Even if the destination demands for 20 rupees, they will quote 50. You will bargain up to 30-35 and feel good. But in the end, they win!
• Only a few of the guys would charge the general fare without asking if you’re a local or a foreigner!

You can also read: Must Visit Places in Agra,

At 7 am when it was chilling cold we reached Amritsar. Here I almost froze (P.S. I can’t tolerate any amount of cold weather). So, after settling in for a few hours we then started with this beautiful city.

Listing Day 1 in Amritsar Itinerary in detail:

Here are 5 places that you can visit on day 1 at Amritsar. Each of which is mentioned in the same sequence in which I had explored. 

 1. Golden Temple:

The Golden Temple, also known as Harmandir Sahib, meaning “abode of God” is the holy pilgrimage for the Sikhs. The temple is right in the middle of a sacred water tank known as the Amrit Sarovar tank. Here pilgrims bathe or stand in the water to feel clean, pure, and connected to the One. You have to dress fully and mandatorily cover your head before entering the temple. The entrance has a way of flowing water to accumulate. Here you have to cross by putting your feet in the water. This cleanses your feet of all the dirt, making you pure to enter in. There is also a langar open 24*7 (where food is served for everyone free of cost) that you should try for its experience. The entire temple makes you feel positive, peaceful where you can just sit for hours and experience tranquillity.

Note: Photography and Tik Tok recording are prohibited inside the temple. 
Time to explore: 2-3 Hours at max! 
Entry: Free 

2. Central Sikh Museum:

This museum is located within the Golden temple. While facing the golden temple, you can see various doors on your left and right leading to different things. Door no.22 will lead you straight to the Central Museum. You can ask anyone for directions in case you’re lost as it’s a huge place and finding the museum might get difficult with the never-ending crowd. When you enter the museum, there is a lot of information about the History of Sikhs depicted through portraiture, ancient arms & manuscripts. 

For those who have no idea, Maharaja Ranjit Singh was one of the prime leaders of the Sikh empire in the 19th century and you will find a considerable amount of information about his journey and life in this museum. He is a well-known figure in the Sikh community and hence read as much as you can about him!

 Note: Please refrain from touching the portraits or clicking pictures inside.
Time to explore: 1-2 Hours
Entry: Free

3. Shops Outside Golden Temple (Day 1 in Amritsar):

Outside the temple, there is a huge market with shops all around, where most of your shopping can happen. There are fixed-rate shops as well as the ones from where you can bargain. Opt for Fixed shops to not get loot as vendors here charge outrageous rates.

As per locals, history states that this market was created so that everyone lives around in harmony and earns a decent livelihood. Almost the whole area circling the golden temple will be filled with shops! You will be amazed at the kind of rent each shop near the temple has to pay as it’s on the higher side. 

4. Jallianwala Bagh:

The historic and famous Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar is just a 2-3 minute walk away from the Golden Temple. This historic area still holds memories in the form of gunshot marks from the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919. In February 2020, when I was at the Bagh; most of the area was under construction and the place was filled with mud, cement, and construction workers doing their job. So before you could plan to visit this, find out if it’s perfectly done so you can have a great time.

5. Khairuddin Mosque

From here we took a sharing rickshaw for 20 rupees per seat to the hall Gate Market and then walked for an additional 10 minutes towards the “Khairuddin Mosque” which was more of a masjid. Looking for something exciting, then cycling groups start their tour from here in the mornings if you would like to explore the city differently. The masjid is peaceful and calm. There are Vazu Khaana’s to cleanse your feet and hands, sit in peace and remember the almighty.

Time to explore: 30 Minutes
Entry: Free

6. Durgiana Temple:

Once I left the Masjid we walked for a good 15 minutes to reach the famous Durgiana Temple. It also has been called with many other names like Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Durga Tirath, and Sitla Mandir. The mandir is located in the middle of a water body. The shrine is golden and very similar to the Golden Temple, just that it’s quite small and has Hindu deities. There are aarti’s that take place in the evening. They too have a langar facility for the poor. Before you enter, there are proper shoe stands where you need to remove your shoes and get a token free of charge.

Time to explore: 1 Hour
Entry: Free

You can explore these all in one day, and if you’re lucky to still have energy left, then you can also explore The Amritsar fort as it’s just at a walking distance. We ended up exploring it on Day 2 as we were too late and tired too.

You can also read: One-day Itinerary for Delhi.

If you have visited any of these places above, then do not forget to share your favorite place in the comment section below. Happy Travelling!

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