Amritsar is a border town of Punjab; India located just 32 Kms. East of Lahore, Pakistan and 220 Kms. Northwest of Chandigarh. In 2001 the population of the city was 15 lacs inhabitants. The spiritual and cultural center of Sikh religion Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara, Popularly known as the Golden Temple is located here. This most important holy place of Sikhs attracts more visitors than Taj Mahal. The weather in Amritsar is semiarid type the temperature in winters ranges between 5 degrees to 20 degrees and in summers it can rise up to 45 degrees. The average annual rainfall is about 700 mm. Amritsar is known for an awful event of Jallianwala Baugh carnage in 1919 under British rule and Operation Blue Star of 1984 under Prime Minister Ship of Indira Gandhi when thousands of guiltless people lost their lives. The main commercial activities of the city include tourism, carpets, fabrics, form produce, handicrafts, service trades and light engineering. The city is known for its rich culture and cuisine.
The city was founded in 1574 by Guru Ramdas the fourth guru of the Sikhs, and then it was known as Guru Ki Nagri later it came to be known as Ramdaspur.
Places in and around the city: Presently Amritsar is posing as a rapidly growing modern town of Punjab; a high growth in real estate sectors both residential and commercial is seen here. Many multiplexes and malls are coming up, government has declared to set up a special economic zone in Amritsar. Amritsar acts as an education hub for the region. There are many educational institutions ranging from Engineering to Arts. Of late medical facilities and infrastructure have increased here two medical and two dental colleges have come up here.
How to reach Amritsar is connected with rest of the country by extensive rail and road network. There are direct trains to New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore etc. A special train runs up to Wagha (Attari Border) which is the last station in India on the trains journey to Pakistan. There is a proposal to open a high speed rail line connecting Amritsar and Delhi via Chandigarh and Ambala, the train is run at 350 kms/hr and will cover 445 kms distance in 2.5 hrs. The city also provides air connectivity to major Indian cities as well as International cities such as Toronto, Singapore, Dubai, London and others.
Shopping Shop for Carpets, woolens, ladies garments, in eatables buy wadieyans (dried up balls of mixed lentil dough with spices), Aam papads (dried mango strips, sweet as well as sour). Enjoy foods at local dhabas; dont leave out maa ki daal and Amritsari naan.
