INDIA 2025: AMRITSAR'S GOLDEN TEMPLE

November 22, 2025

On our first trip to India we visited the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple in Delhi, which was fabulous, but supposedly it couldn't hold a candle to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. We were intrigued enough to add a detour to Amritsar on this trip specifically to visit the temple.  

Once we were in the historic part of the city, it was easy to spot the temple at the end of Heritage Street, and there was plenty of signage pointing the way for those who are very nearsighted.

It took a bit of walking to get to the Golden Temple, but it was nice of the Sikhs to give us a red carpet to walk on, especially since we had to remove our shoes. We were headed toward a golden dome that could almost be a Gothic Catholic cathedral but is actually the entrance to the Golden Temple complex.

On the other side of the doors is a huge, spotlessly clean plaza paved with marble. It was like walking into the Emerald City, except maybe it would be the Amber City.

The complex is built around a huge man-made pool of water, and the inner sanctum of the Golden Temple--kind of like the Holy of Holies--sits out in the middle of it, connected to the complex by a walkway. This is a pilgrimage site for Sikhs, much like Varanasi is for Hindus and Mecca is for Muslims. Tourists can go inside the temple, but lines were much longer than the time we had to spend there. 

In addition to removing their shoes, BOTH women and men need to cover their heads to enter the complex. Aren't those orange hats cute?

Looking back at the gate from inside:

This twin-towered building at one end of the pond is the Ramgarhia Bunga, constructed in the late 18th century as housing and protection for Sikh warriors and pilgrims and their families.  The two minaret-style watchtowers are 156 feet tall.

We were especially interested in the "Free Kitchen," one of the reasons we wanted to visit the Golden Palace.  It is the largest langar, or community kitchen, in the world. It feeds a vegetarian meal to as many as 100,000 PEOPLE PER DAY FOR FREE. 

We were impressed by how orderly everyone was. A volunteer stood at the top of a ramp, handing out metal plates to people who had come to eat. There was no jostling in line, just an orderly progression to the top of the stairs.

Then those people waited patiently to be called into the dining hall.

This is not a state-funded food giveaway. Everything is paid for by donations. Sikhism stresses charitable giving and selfless service as an obligation to God and humanity. Sikhs donate 10% of their income to charities, which includes this food program.

Then they give of their time as volunteers. It takes a lot of people to run an operation like this. There are a few professionals who are paid, but almost everyone is a volunteer.

And they served joyfully. There was happy chatter and lots of smiles everywhere we looked.

They have an ingenous system for feeding such a large number of people. There are multiple "dining rooms," and at any given time some are filled with people and some are being cleaned. Floors are washed after every group is fed. The place was spotless. 

Meals include  flatbread, lentils, vegetable curry, and sweet rice pudding.

We were able to walk through the kitchen area with our guide. While most of the workers are volunteers, there are a few paid workers in the kitchen. Making food in such huge quantities requires some know-how, even though most of the tools are pretty simple.

Volunteers roll out the dough for the flatbread:

Others chop a gazillion pounds of vegetables:

When they are done eating, the diners take their dirty dishes downstairs to be washed.

MORE volunteers cheerfully and efficiently wash thousands of dishes:

A young volunteer takes a trolley-load of dishes to the entrance to be distributed to the newcomers . . .

. . . and the process begins again. 

Back outside, we had a renewed appreciation for the Golden Temple and the compassion of the Sikhs who worship here.

Many of the marble slabs that make up the walkways are memorial stones that must have been part of a fundraising operation.

There is security at the temple and food kitchen. Traditional spear-carrying guards maintain order and a spiritual atmosphere by managing crowds and ensuring that rules are being met (covered heads, bare feet, etc.) They too are volunteers, but there are also more traditional (and less visible) security guards as well.

Armed Sikh terrorists took over the Golden Temple Complex in early 1984, and in June of that year Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered a military operation to remove them. The seige lasted six days and involved the use of tanks and heavy weaponry, which caused significant damage to the shrine but succeeded in ousting the terrorist group. Gandhi was heavily criticized for the action by Sikhs worldwide, and on October 31, 1984, she was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards.

It was hard to imagine heavy artillery in this beautiful, tranquil place where people bathe in the sacred waters.

Our guide had us pose for these cheesy photos.

Bob and Stan, join the crowd!

We saw this scale model on our way out. It would make a spectacular (and very expensive) Lego set, don't you think?