Amritsar

Harmandir Sahib, the gilded heart of Sikhism, rises from a sacred pool and never closes, so pilgrims circle the causeway even at dawn. Visitors hand in their shoes and cover their heads, borrowing a scarf at the entrance if needed.

The Golden Temple's free community kitchen, where anyone of any faith sits in rows on the floor and is handed roti and dal. It feeds tens of thousands a day, and guests are welcome to join the volunteers peeling garlic or washing up.

Here in 1919 British troops fired on a crowd gathered for a meeting; the walls still show bullet holes, and the well people leapt into is preserved. The Golden Temple is minutes away, and after dark a light-and-sound performance runs.

Every day at sunset, soldiers of India and Pakistan lower their flags at the Attari crossing with high, stamping kicks. The stands fill early, so arrive about two hours ahead; bags cannot be carried in.

A museum in the old Town Hall gathering the testimony and belongings of people uprooted when India and Pakistan were divided in 1947. It is closed on Mondays.

A pedestrian street from the Town Hall to the Golden Temple entrance, its facades matched in red sandstone tones and dotted with statues of Sikh warriors and Punjabi dancers. Pilgrims pass until late at night, so the lights never go off.

A Hindu temple built in a pool in the image of the Golden Temple, also called the Silver Temple for its silver-plated doors. It draws far fewer pilgrims than the Golden Temple, so the causeway can be walked slowly.

A brick fort of the 18th century, enlarged by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, long held by the army and now a cultural venue for Punjabi history displays and shows. After dark a projection show plays across the ramparts.

A nine-storey octagonal tower south of the Golden Temple, honouring Baba Atal Rai, son of Guru Hargobind, who died at nine. The storeys stand for his age, and murals of Guru Nanak's life survive on the inner walls.

A pilgrimage site about 11 kilometres west, where tradition holds that Valmiki wrote the Ramayana and Sita gave birth to twin sons. Temples ring a large tank, and pilgrims make a full circuit of the water on foot.

The garden palace where Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh kingdom, spent his summers. A drum-shaped hall in the grounds holds a panorama of his battles painted all 360 degrees round. Walkable from the city bus stand, it pairs with the Golden Temple.

A Sikh college founded in 1892, its Indo-Saracenic main hall with brick walls under white domes facing the highway to Attari. The wide front lawn makes it a frequent backdrop for films and music videos. It is a working campus; ask at the gate first.

A Sikh shrine about 25 km south, founded by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru. Its holy pool is counted the largest of any gurdwara. Pilgrims pour in on every new-moon day, so avoid that date if you want it quiet.

A Hindu temple to a 20th-century woman saint, its inside a maze of caves, tunnels and mirrored rooms. You crawl through low passages and wade barefoot through ankle-deep water. Many women come here to pray for a child.

The shopping street that leads through the British-built Hall Gate into the old city. Shops for phulkari, Punjab's embroidered shawls, and pointy-toed leather jutti shoes cluster here. It runs toward the Golden Temple, so it fits the walk back.

A pavilion and bathing tank from Ranjit Singh's day, left in the fields near the Attari border. The name keeps the tale of a bridge he built over a stream for Moran, the dancer he favoured. It makes a short detour en route to the border ceremony.