10 Unforgettable Things to Do in Amritsar Beyond the Golden Temple
Here's the thing about Amritsar: everyone comes for the Golden Temple. And they should — it's one of the most powerful spiritual sites in the world. But if the Golden Temple is all you see, you're missing a city that serves the richest food in India, hosts the world's most theatrical border ceremony, and carries the weight of partition history with remarkable openness.
Stay two days. Do all ten of these.
1. Eat the Langar at the Golden Temple Kitchen
Yes, this technically involves the Golden Temple. But the Langar (community kitchen) deserves its own entry because it's not just food — it's the largest free kitchen on Earth.
Fifty thousand to 100,000 meals served daily. Free. To anyone. You sit on the floor in long rows, and volunteers serve chapati, dal, sabzi, and kheer. The chapati comes off griddles the size of car hoods. The dal has been simmering in pots that hold 500 liters.
I've eaten at Michelin-starred restaurants. I've eaten at hawker stalls in Singapore. The Langar didn't outperform them on flavor. It outperformed them on meaning. Sitting cross-legged on the floor next to a businessman, a farmer, a foreign tourist, and a child — all eating the same meal, at the same level — that's a revolutionary act disguised as lunch.
Cost: Free. Time: 15-20 minutes including the queue.
2. Watch the Wagah Border Ceremony Go Completely Unhinged
The evening flag-lowering ceremony at the India-Pakistan border is the most chaotically patriotic thing I've witnessed. Indian and Pakistani soldiers face off across the border gate, performing synchronized high-kicks, dramatic stomping, and gate-slamming that generates genuine wind.
The crowd — 15,000+ on the Indian side — chants "Hindustan Zindabad" (Long Live India). Bollywood music blasts between the chanting. A designated hype man with a microphone runs up and down the stands getting people to scream louder.
It's absurd. It's moving. It's both of those things simultaneously.
Free entry. Get there by 3:30PM for a good seat. The ceremony runs 1.5 hours before sunset. Shared auto from the Golden Temple area: 100-150 INR ($1.20-1.80).
3. Walk Through Jallianwala Bagh in Silence
Four hundred meters from the Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh is the walled garden where British Brigadier General Reginald Dyer ordered troops to fire on a peaceful gathering on April 13, 1919. Official estimates say 379 people died; Indian estimates run much higher.
The site preserves the bullet holes in the walls. The narrow entrance — the only exit, which Dyer positioned his troops to block — is still the only way in. The Martyrs' Well, where people jumped to escape the gunfire, is marked and covered.
The renovated museum (opened 2019) uses light-and-sound displays to tell the story. Allow 30-45 minutes. Free entry.
This isn't a tourist attraction. It's a site of remembrance. Walk through it with the gravity it deserves.
4. Destroy Yourself with Amritsari Kulcha at Bharawan Da Dhaba
Amritsari kulcha is the city's signature dish — leavened bread stuffed with spiced potato, paneer, or a mix of both, cooked in a tandoor until blistered and charred, then drenched in butter. Served with chole (chickpea curry) and a side of pickled onions.
Bharawan Da Dhaba near Town Hall has been making this since 1912. The kulcha here has a crispy exterior that shatters when you tear it, a soft interior, and enough butter to constitute a cardiology warning.
A plate of two kulchas with chole: 100-150 INR ($1.20-1.80). You will not need to eat again for approximately 6 hours.
Alternative: Kulcha Land near Crystal Chowk makes a paneer kulcha that's slightly less famous and slightly better.
5. Visit the Partition Museum
The Partition Museum in the Town Hall building tells the story of the 1947 Partition of India — the largest mass migration in human history, which displaced 14 million people and killed up to 2 million.
Amritsar, being on the border, was ground zero. The museum uses personal testimonies, letters, photographs, and artifacts donated by survivors and their families. A pair of shoes. A train ticket. A wedding photo where half the family ended up in Pakistan, half in India.
The museum is excellent — sensitively curated, non-partisan, and devastating. It's one of the best museums in India.
6. Drink Lassi That Defies Physics at Ahuja or Giani
Amritsari lassi is not the thin, drinkable lassi you get in Delhi. It's a thick, almost solid mass of churned yogurt, cream, and sugar served in a clay cup. You eat it with a spoon. Or try to drink it and fail.
Ahuja Lassi near the Partition Museum: 40-60 INR ($0.48-0.72). The lassi arrives with a thick layer of malai (cream) on top that you have to break through.
Giani Di Hatti near Katra Jaimal Singh: falooda — rose syrup, vermicelli, basil seeds, and kulfi (Indian ice cream). 80 INR ($0.96). It's dessert, drink, and meal replacement in one glass.
7. Walk the Heritage Street at Dawn
Heritage Street connects the old city to the Golden Temple entrance. It was renovated in 2014 with restored facades, period lighting, and pedestrian-only access. At dawn, before the shops open, it's a beautiful walk — the architecture glows in early light and you can see the Golden Temple dome at the far end.
By 10AM, it's packed with pilgrims and shoppers. Dawn is the window.
8. Take a Punjabi Cooking Class
Several homes and small operations offer cooking classes focused on Punjabi cuisine. You'll learn to make butter chicken, dal makhani, aloo paratha, and possibly paneer tikka.
Chef Jugnu's Cooking Class (book through your hotel or online) runs 3-4 hour sessions for 1,500-2,500 INR ($18-30) including a market visit and full meal. The market visit alone — navigating the spice stalls in Katra Jaimal Singh — is an education.
9. Overnight Stay at the Golden Temple Guest House
The temple offers free accommodation for up to 3 nights in the Niwas (guest house). Rooms are basic — shared dormitories with beds and fans, communal bathrooms — but clean and well-maintained.
Registration is at the information office near the main entrance. First-come, first-served. Bring your passport. The experience of sleeping within the temple complex, waking at 4AM to the kirtan (devotional singing) broadcast over speakers, and walking to the Amrit Sarovar in pre-dawn darkness is unlike any hotel stay.
If the free accommodation is full, budget guesthouses near the temple start at 500-800 INR ($6-9.60) per night.
10. Eat Dal Makhani at Kesar Da Dhaba at 11PM
Kesar Da Dhaba has been operating since 1916. Their dal makhani is slow-cooked overnight — literally. The lentils simmer on low heat for 12-18 hours, absorbing butter and cream until the consistency is closer to gravy than soup.
Go late. 10PM or later. The dhaba is open until midnight, and the late-night crowd is a mix of truck drivers, families, and tourists who heard the right rumor. A thali (plate with dal makhani, chapati, and raita): 200-250 INR ($2.40-3).
The dal is so rich it's almost obscene. Every spoonful coats your tongue with buttery, smoky, deeply savory flavor. If you eat dal makhani at Kesar Da Dhaba and then eat dal makhani anywhere else, everywhere else will disappoint you.
That's both a recommendation and a warning. Continue your Rajasthan journey to Jaisalmer for desert forts, or head north to Leh-Ladakh for high-altitude monasteries.
