Gurudwara Shri Kartarpur Sahib, Pakistan

Before sharing the insights of the travel, a heartfelt thanks to the “ghummakad” Varun Vagish (Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/varunvagish/) by igniting the travel spree in me and guiding the journey throughout

REGISTRATION

The pilgrimage to Gurudwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib, Pakistan is done officially via registering oneself on https://prakashpurb550.mha.gov.in/kpr/. This is the official website of MHA for pilgrimaging Kartarpur Sahib.

You just have to click on “apply online” and follow the instructions as you proceed by providing all the relevant correct information. The best part is one can easily choose the travel date suitable as per one’s comfort. One can choose the nearest dates as the 14 days from the date of registering, by default. The only pre-requisite is the Indian Passport (or the OCI Card for NRI’s). Once the registration process is done, the final ETA (Electronic Travel Allowance) will be processed and the same will be confirmed to you just 4 days prior your selected date of travel.

Need to remember the below mentioned things before/ during the visit:

1. Passport is a necessity.

2. Need to carry just 2 documents throughout. Passport and ETA.

3. A fee of $20 (INR 1400/-) to be submitted at the Pakistani immigration side.

4. Indian currency not more than Rs 25000/-.

5. Weight of the baggage shouldn’t exceed 7Kgs.

6. You are allowed to exit Gurudwara premises latest by 3 PM.

7. Photography/Videography is allowed (in sensitive areas after seeking permission from the authorities).

8. No arms/ammunition.

IMPORTANT NOTE: THE ETA WILL BE AN E-VISA, ALLOWING YOU TO TRAVEL AND PILGRIMAGE THE GURUDWARA AND ITS PREMISES. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO VISIT ANYWHERE ELSE IN PAKISTAN. YOUR PASSPORT WILL SERVE AS THE SOLE ID FOR BOTH INDIAN AND PAKISTANI OFFICIALS AND WON’T BE STAMPED BY EITHER OF THEM. ONLY YOUR ETA WILL BE STAMPED BY THE IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES OF BOTH THE SIDES.

TRAVEL:

One can easily travel to Kartarpur Corridor, Gurdaspur District, Punjab from all the nearby states and cities as the Indian side of the corridor is well connected by road.

Since I’ve travelled from Delhi>Amritsar>hwuywhe>Amristar>Delhi, so I’ll be sharing my insights as per that.

The best to travel from Delhi to Kartarpur by halting at Amritsar City. I preferred to travel from 12013- Amritsar Shatabdi, departing Delhi at 16:30hrs and arriving in Amritsar at 22:30 hrs, costing around 950/- per pax.

I stayed at a friend’s residence in Amritsar, but one can easily book hostels starting at Rs 280/- per night per pax . You can choose from a variety of Hostels and Hotels depending upon one’s own comfort and book them via booking.com or trivago for a best deal.

DAY 1:

I, along with a friend of mine, preferred kickstart our journey by paying a visiting the Shri Harminder Sahib Gurudwara, fondly known as the Golden Temple. I last visited this place dated back in 2012. Now in 2020, I can proudly say that this place has immensely turned itself into an explorer’s den. The Heritage Walk connecting Warrior’s Museum via Jallianwala Bagh to Golden Temple is love. Surrounded by the must visit shops offering the best of Amritsar’s lassi, naan, chai to name a few, this walk lit quite gloriously when visited in evening hours.

For those, just like I did, who wanted to explore Wagah Border’s retreat ceremony can book a desi auto just near the Jallianwala Bagh by paying just Rs 200/- per pax to and fro (you’ll find Auto Drivers shouting while calling people to book and travel). You can also book a taxi or an Ola/Uber depending upon one’s comfort ranging from Rs 1500/- to Rs 2000/-. Since the retreat ceremony starts at 4:30 PM till 5:00 PM, one can easily manage their schedules as per that in order nit miss out on the march past and the heroic gallantry feeling that arouses one’s goosebumps while cheering for one’s nation in front of their most talked about strained neighbor.

Later, you can spend the evening hours by either exploring the foody city by foot or experiencing the Golden Temple’s beauty in the lighting. The area wakes up till at 10 PM in night.

For all the “dil se foodies” not to miss out grabbing a quick bite at Kulwant da Dhaba, Bhrawan Da Dhaba and Brother’s Restaurant.

As per my experience, a day in Amristar will cost you not less than Rs 1000/- per pax (budgeted travel).

There are various mode via which you can easily reach Indian side of Kartarpur Corridor from Amritsar. I’ve researched, explored and figure out the following modes:

1. By Road: Book a Taxi/Ola/Uber (rental or outstation) to and fro starting from 1600/- to 2500/-, depending upon one’s comfort.

2. By Rail: The nearest railway station to Kartarpur Corridor is Dera Baba Nanak (DBNK). There’s only one direct train that hails from Amritsar Railway Station (ASR) to DBNK, while 3 others operate from Verka Station (8Kms from Amritsar Railway Station, easy connectivity via Auto/Cab) to DBNK Station. Below mentioned are the details of trains to DBNK. The ticket will cost you Rs 15/- per pax.

From DBNK Railway Station, one can easily book a cab/auto to travel and reach Kartarpur Corridor.

3. By Air: Reach Amristar Airport and book a taxi/cab to Kartarpur Corridor costing a minimum of Rs 1200/- one sided.

We, opted to hire a taxi for Rs 1600/- to and fro. The taxi driver, being so much informative guided us so well about Punjab, it’s traditions, the city of Amritsar, the history of Sikhism and about Kartarpur Sahib. I would surely recommend Mr Anshdeep (+91 98884 79830) from Deep Travels for being a perfect city tour guide.

We reached Kartarpur Corridor at around 9:00 in the morning. The fog being so much intense delayed our arrival by almost 40 mins. The corridor is well equipped with ample space for parking for vehicles. The Indian side of the corridor being newly built and still under construction, is equipped with 2 ATM’s and one stall to quench upon your hunger on a sandwich and a cup of tea.

The security procedure is similar to that what you have observed in Airports. Starting with gate security checks, do keep your Passport and copy of ETA handy. The next step is scanning of all the baggage that you’re carrying with you. (not more than 7Kgs). Moving forward, the Health Ministry will make you undergo a polio preventive drop to ensure your immunity against Polio Virus, prevailing in Pakistan. The Health Ministry will stamp on your ETA. Next, is your immigration. The smoothest immigration I’ve been through as of now. The authorities will see your Passport and your ETA. They’ll take impressions of your thumbs and fingers along with an on the spot photograph. STAMPED! The stamp will say your exit from Indian Soil and will provide you with an Indian Yellow ID Card stating you as a YATREE (it is mandatory to wear it above your waist line during your presence in Pakistan). The last one is the customs, before which you’ll have to fill a yellow declaration form, declaring all your belonging such as mobile, amount of cash etc. Once it is being stamped, you are good to exit Indian soil. The battery-operated e-ricks will take you all the way from corridor building to PAKISTAN’S entry gate free of cost.

Here it is. Standing in front of you are the Indian BSF’s jawans in full vigor and enthusiasm. Just beyond them you’ll see tall men, armored with rifles in green colored outfits with “Pakistan Rangers” embroidered on their uniforms guarding the border of their nation. That feeling when you are set to enter the land of Pakistan is unmatchable.

Hand-shakes are being made along with exchange of greeting from both Indian Pilgrims and Pakistani Rangers. Once in a lifetime moment I must say.

From beyond the gates, Pakistani’s e-ricks will be waiting or you to drop you off at the Pakistan’s Terminal Building. Before, you enter the Corridor Building, you’’ find Foreign Exchange counters. It is mandatory to convert INRs to USDs. An entry fees of $20 is mandatory to enter Pakistan’s Kartarpur Corridor. In order to shop for all the offering in Gurudwara and its premises, one can easily exchange Indian Rupees for Pakistan Rupiah and can exchange back while heading back.

The feeling while you enter the Corridor Building of Pakistan is different in its unique way than the one at the Indian side. This side is well polished and maintained. The process states the same of security gate checks, passport and ETA Scanning, immigrations and customs. After scanning the ETA, they’ll issue and stamp their own ticket that’ll state the receipt of your fees and entry into the Pakistani land. They’ll further scrutinize you and ask basic question about your purpose, profession and background. Once you exit the Corridor, Pakistani Low floor buses will fleet you from Corridor to Gurudwara Sahib at a mere distance of 4.5 Kms.

Here it is. The Gurudwara standing tall in white. Gurudwara Shri Kartarpur Sahib.

The moment you are about you enter, a Pakistani Ranger deployed and a Gurudwara official will guide you about the basic dos and don’ts in the Gurudwara Sahib in a very humble and offering manner, after which you are good to go and explore the premises.

The Gurudwara has a huge and an immense presence on land approx. to 42 acres and is being touted as the largest in the world. Entirely clean and well sanitized, one can spot the hard work constantly being done by the authorities while maintaining the cleanliness of the area. The gurudwara is comprised of sarovar sahib, darbar sahib, dewan sahib, museum hall and a langar hall to name a few.

You can easily spot Pakistani nationals. Just like us, they are being provided with an ID which they’ll have to wear while they are present in the premised. The only difference is that their ID’s are red in color while ours is yellow.

It’s such a rare sight where you can see people from both the countries, leaving all the strained thoughts and talks for a while, are engulfed in a state of brotherhood with so much passion and enthusiasm, it seems as if they are the long-lost relatives. I was so much overwhelmed by the gesture of few of the Pakistani nationals especially students who came on their own to talk to us and exchanging greetings. One can easily feel the honor you get after being recognized. It really felt special. People from both the nations are actually sitting together and just talking endlessly for like hours. I even saw a moment where an old Indian woman was crying out her emotions while sitting with a bunch of few Pakistani ladies.

Just besides the langar hall building, few tuck shops can easily be sighted. You can visit and shop souvenirs, gifts, groceries (made in Pakistan) shawls, Multani Soan Halwa, and can even grab a bite of Pakistan’s delicacies by paying an amount as mentioned. I personally felt that the pricing of gits is a way to expensive than it should be. They’ll explain you the pricing in both Indian and Pakistani currency to make you better judge the price.

You can stay and experience the Pakistani soil at max till 3 PM, after which you have to return back to the Indian soil. The same buses that carried you from Corridor to Gurudwara will take you back to the corridor. Again, you’ve to go through the immigration process for all the exit formalities. Do not forget to exchange Pakistani Rupiah to INR. You can keep a ten or a hundred rupiah note for a remembrance.

The e-ricks will drop you back to the Pakistani Border gate, besides which Indian BSF Jawans will be there to welcome you back to India. Indian e-ricks will take you back to the Indian Corridor to carry out all the exit immigration formalities by keeping your ETA with them and allowing you free to head back to your native place.

Once you arrive back at the Indian Side of Kartarpur Corridor, booking an Ola/Uber/Taxi/Auto is a difficulty due to lack of availability in that area as of now. I’ll advice you to book Ola/Uber Rental or Outstation or a local Taxi to and fro Amristar, just the way I did. Or, you can easily travel via rail from DBNK Station to ASR/Verka Station as per the details below:

The last leg of this trip is heading our way back to Delhi. For a smooth travel (both time and cost wise), I booked a Golden Express Volvo bus via Redbus.com coasting 600/-. It departed from Amristar Bus Stand (near to ASR) at 10:45 PM and arrived the very next day in Delhi at 05:00 AM in the morning.

The approximate trip costed me around Rs 4500/- (inclusive of all the things). It can be made a bit more budgeted if I preferred to travel sleeper class instead of Shatabdi and Cabs (in general). But again, depending upon one’s own comfort and feasibility the cost can go up and down.

This one holds a special place in my heart. Not just because it’s in Pakistan and gave once in a lifetime opportunity for an Indian to experience Pakistani soil, but also the planning and execution that was being involved while making this a reality was the most important part.

Imagine the moment when you tell your parents about visiting a neighborhood country that holds such a strange and strained relationship with yours. The same goes for mine.

This was my 10th International Land. Grazing and gearing up for more in coming days. ❤️