Heritage Walking Tour
The Heritage Walk is a guided tour deep inside the narrow lanes and bye-lanes of the 400-year old city of Amritsar. One gets to see Katras, Akharas, Bungas, Havelis, and Hattis - the vocabulary of traditional town planning and architecture. The walk takes you back in time as you witness traditional trades and crafts being practised in the same place and in the same manner, as has done for centuries. It is, however, the famous intricately carved wooden facades that will take your breath away.
The walk
There are fourteen specific points where the walk takes a traveller, starting from the Town Hall and ending at the iconic Golden Temple. I was a part of a guided group, but did the walk away from the crowd and with Neelima. As a result we got lost many times and also explored lanes and by-lanes which were not even a part of the walk. It was really hot and sunny, but I loved the walk nevertheless.
Here is a list of these fourteen specific points:
- Town Hall - built by the British in 1866, the historic Town Hall is the centre of the Amritsar's local administration
- Gurdwara Saragarahi - this is dedicated to he the twenty one soldiers of the 36 Sikh Battalion who lost their lives bravely defending their posts on Spetember 12, 1987
- Qila Ahluwalia - the fort once belonged to Ahluwalia Misl whose famous leader Jassa Singh Ahluwalia played crucial role in repelling foreign invasions during the 18th Century
- Jalebiwala Chowk - located in the heart of Amritsar's commercial sector, it is a gastronome's delight
- Udasin Ashram Akhara Sangalwala - founded in 1771, it was originally known as Nirban Akhara after its founder
- Chitta Akhara - it is also known as Ganga raam Akhara after its founder Mahant Ganga Raam and it was established in 1781
- Darshani Deori - this marks the spot from where Sri Guru Arjun and Sri Guru Hargobind would stand to view the Golden Temple
- Baba Bohar - in the middle of the road neat the end of the Bartan Bazaar, they is a large banyan tree which is considered scared
- Thakurdwara Dariana Mal - entering the courtyard of the Thakurdwara is like stepping back in time, shedding light on the beautiful colonial style architecture that has influenced much of downtown Amritsar
- Chowrasti Atari - Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib, the sixth of the ten Gurus, built the Chowrasti Atari complesin the 1600s, with four passages and thirty-two shops
- Taksal (mint) - located in Katra Hari Singh, this is Amritsar;s first mint, where Sikh regime coins were once minted
- Thakurdwara Raja Tej Singh - it was built in Jamadar Haveli in 1851 by Raja Tej Singh
- Crawling Street - this marks Jallianwala Bagh shootout which killed hundreds of Sikhs on orders of General Dyer
- Ancient Passage - this ancient passage is a typical archway between various mohallas and katras of old Amritsar, established by Sikh Misls
- The best way to end the walk is at the Golden Temple - India's sacred heart.
