The Guru Granth Sahib is installed in the temple every morning and returned at night to the Akal Takhat, the temporal seat of the Khalsa brotherhood. The ceremony takes place at 5am and 9.30pm in winter, and 4am and 10.30pm in summer. Inside the Akal Takhat you can view a collection of sacred Sikh weapons. The building was heavily damaged when it was stormed by the Indian army during Operation Blue Star in 1984. Sikhs rebuilt the tower from scratch.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.06 MILES
The legendary Golden Temple is actually just a small part of this huge gurdwara complex, known to Sikhs as Harmandir Sahib. Spiritually, the focus of…
0.15 MILES
At the southeast end of the Golden Temple Complex is the Guru-Ka-Langar, an enormous dining room where an estimated 100,000 pilgrims come to eat every day…
Golden Temple Interpretation Centre
0.13 MILES
Hidden beneath the marble square outside the clock-tower entrance to the Golden Temple, this fascinating multimedia museum tells the story of Sikhism and…
0.41 MILES
Housed in the beautifully restored 19th-century Town Hall, this unique museum (the only one in the world dedicated to Partition) offers a poignant and…
0.09 MILES
Spiritually, the focus of attention within the Golden Temple Complex is the tank that surrounds the gleaming central shrine. Known as the Amrit Sarovar,…
17.83 MILES
Every afternoon Indian and Pakistani border guards meet at the border post between Attari and Wagah to engage in a 30-minute display of military…
1.44 MILES
Credited with fertility-improving powers, this fascinating labyrinthine Hindu temple commemorates the 20th-century female saint Lal Devi. From the main…
0.25 MILES
Reached through a narrow gatehouse leading to an enclosed courtyard, this poignant park commemorates the 1500 Indians killed or wounded when a British…
Nearby Amritsar attractions
0.06 MILES
The legendary Golden Temple is actually just a small part of this huge gurdwara complex, known to Sikhs as Harmandir Sahib. Spiritually, the focus of…
0.09 MILES
Inside the main entrance clock tower of the Golden Temple Complex, the Sikh Museum shows the persecution suffered by the Sikhs at the hands of Mughals,…
0.09 MILES
Spiritually, the focus of attention within the Golden Temple Complex is the tank that surrounds the gleaming central shrine. Known as the Amrit Sarovar,…
0.12 MILES
At the east end of the Amrit Sarovar tank is the Ramgarhia Bunga, a protective fortress topped by two Islamic-style minarets; inside is a stone slab once…
5. Golden Temple Interpretation Centre
0.13 MILES
Hidden beneath the marble square outside the clock-tower entrance to the Golden Temple, this fascinating multimedia museum tells the story of Sikhism and…
0.15 MILES
At the southeast end of the Golden Temple Complex is the Guru-Ka-Langar, an enormous dining room where an estimated 100,000 pilgrims come to eat every day…
0.22 MILES
Just outside the Golden Temple Complex, and with its own ceremonial tank, the octagonal Baba Atal Tower was constructed in 1784 to commemorate Atal Rai,…
0.25 MILES
Reached through a narrow gatehouse leading to an enclosed courtyard, this poignant park commemorates the 1500 Indians killed or wounded when a British…