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Anandpur Sahib

Anandpur Sahib

pilgrimage site · Punjab

Anandpur Sahib — the 'Holy City of Bliss' — matters as much as anywhere in the Sikh faith outside Amritsar.

State
Punjab
Type
Pilgrimage Site
Best season
Spring
Things to do
2+

Anandpur Sahib — the 'Holy City of Bliss' — matters as much as anywhere in the Sikh faith outside Amritsar. It sits in the foothills of the Shivalik range on a loop of the Sutlej in Punjab, and its skyline is a run of white-stone gurdwaras built like fortresses. The town is a centre of theological study and of Sikh martial tradition. Its heart is Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, one of the five Takhts, the supreme seats of temporal authority in Sikhism. Behind it stands the Virasat-e-Khalsa museum, designed by the Israeli architect Moshe Safdie, which lays out 500 years of Sikh history and the region's cultural traditions in careful detail.

When to go

October to March, with the martial festival of Hola Mohalla in March.

Why visit

This is where the Khalsa was founded in 1699, and Keshgarh Sahib is one of the five Takhts. The Virasat-e-Khalsa museum below it, by Moshe Safdie, is the best-designed museum in north India — allow two hours, not twenty minutes.

Cultural notes

Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, founded the city in 1665. On Vaisakhi in 1699 Guru Gobind Singh initiated the Khalsa Panth here, the community of baptised Sikhs, and forged the identity of the saint-soldiers: a turning point for a whole civilisation.

How to reach

The multi-lane National Highway 503 runs to the town, 85 km from Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Chandigarh. Anandpur Sahib has its own railway station with direct trains from Delhi, and regular deluxe bus services.

Anandpur Sahib guide & itineraries

Popular attractions

The places in Anandpur Sahib most people come for.

Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib

Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib

Attraction

Virasat-e-Khalsa Museum

Virasat-e-Khalsa Museum

Experience

See all attractions

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