Things to Keep In Mind If You Are Planning to Visit Golden Temple

Golden Temple is not just a religious spot, it is one of the most iconic tourist destinations in India. It has its own history and it is one of the main factors that attract tourists. An invader looted it 17 times but neither was he able to collect all the gold of the temple nor was he able to understand the devotion and belief of the people. This temple has stood up on its own against all the odds in different eras. It won’t be wrong if I say that it has developed a city around itself.

Everything about the Golden Temple is great but there are certain things which you should keep in mind if you are planning to visit the Temple.

Basics

I will start with the basics. In India, you enter every temple barefoot. At the golden temple, you have to rack your shoes at the counter just outside the temple. Then you have to enter the premises washing your feet at the entrance. As soon as you enter the premises, you need to cover your head.

The premises are huge and the temple is at the centre of it. So you have to cover a good amount of distance on your feet. This is the most important factor if you are travelling with aged people.

Queues

As you try to enter the temple, you will find a long queue outside it. And you should be ready to stand for at least 3 hours in that queue if you want to go inside the temple. It comes down to 2 hours only if you visit the temple between 4 a.m. & 7 a.m.

You will be considered for a special queue i.e. direct entry if you are not able to stand/walk or you are a caretaker of such a person. The other way to get direct entry is to visit with the newborn. If your child hasn’t yet learnt to walk then you as a parent get direct entry with that child. Remember, only one parent is allowed with the newborn.

Food

After offering prayers to God at the temple, people often go & eat Langar. The golden temple offers food 24/7 in their free kitchen to one and all. It is one of the largest free kitchens in the whole world.

The community offers free food on two main conditions. One, you have to accept the food as Prasad and two, you have to eat all you accept on your plate.

In this free kitchen, you sit down on the floor with other devotees and then the food will be served to you. You have to accept the food with open hands as a blessing from god and eat everything you accepted. I have seen people travelling from the other end of the country, landing hungry at Amritsar in the middle of the night and satisfying that hunger at the golden temple.

Mobile phones

There are restrictions on using mobile phones on the premises. Your valuables and the bags will be collected at one place in the temple and you will be allowed to enter the temple only with your phone.

As soon as you join the queue for darshan, you will not be allowed to shoot or take pictures. Even you won’t get enough space to pull your phone out of your pocket. if you are successful to do that then you will be pushed (in the queue) every now and then. Thus, there are high chances of the phone falling out of your hands. I would suggest you, avoid using your phone in the queue.

Apart from the queue, wherever community people ask you not to click or shoot, you should obey them. Otherwise, there can be consequences. They are very strict regarding the rules and you should follow them until you are on the premises.

Surrounding

The golden temple is surrounded by the market and food stalls which stay busy most of the day. And there are chances of the presence of pickpockets in that busy area. Thus, you should take care of valuables and money around the temple.

Apart from that, you can do your shopping and eat some authentic and lip-smacking food around the golden temple.

According to me, these are the main things which you should keep in your mind if you are planning to visit The Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Let me know if you think I missed something and share your experience of your visit to The Golden Temple.