Tourism in Punjab, India

The Indian state of Punjab is known for its cuisine, culture and history. Some of the main cities in Punjab are Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala. Punjab's public transportation network provides excellent tourist transportation.

Tourists to Punjab can enjoy culture, ancient civilization, spirituality and history. Punjab has a rich religious history incorporating Sikhism, Islam and Hinduism. The royal Punjabi palaces, historic battle sites, shrines, temples and examples of Sikh architecture are notable attractions. Punjabi cuisine includes a wide range of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Due to the scope and depth of Punjab's history there are many places of interest. Tourism is a swiftly expanding sector in Punjab.

Contents 1 Forts and Palaces 2 Mughal Architecture 3 Museums 4 Science and technology 5 Religious Places 5.1 Gurdwaras 5.2 Temples 5.3 Muslim pilgrimage 6 Gardens 7 Wild Life, Zoo, Wet Lands 8 Sports Tourism 9 Archaeological Destinations 10 Fairs and Festivals 11 Tourism sites at Dams 12 Border Areas 13 Eating, Shopping & Amusement parks 14 Photo gallery 15 See also 16 References 17 External links

Forts and Palaces

• Gobindgarh Fort Amritsar^[1]
• Ancient Fort at Bathinda, in Bathinda.
• Faridkot Fort
• Quila Mubarak, Patiala
• Bahadurgarh Fort (near Patiala)
• Anandpur Sahib Fort, Ropar
• Phillaur Fort, Ludhiana
• Shahpur Kandi Fort, 7 km from Pathankot
• Summer Palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1838 AD), Amritsar
• Keshgarh Fort, Anandpur Sahib
• Historic monuments in Nabha and Sangrur
• Payal Fort

Mughal Architecture

• Aam Khas Bagh, Sirhind
• Serai Nurmahal, Nurmahal
• Mughal Serai, Doraha
• Mughal Serai, Shambhu
• Serai Lashkari Khan or RDB Fort, near Doraha
• Coronation site of Mughal Emperor Akbar at Gurdaspur
• Kos Minar
• 800 years old Payal Fort has been built by Maharaja Amar Singh of Patiala RIYASAT located in Payal(PAYAL TEH. PAYAL Dist LUDHIANA PUNJAB) http://ludhiana.nic.in/admin/admin_mc_payal.html with the co-operation of MUGHALS in 1771. After that Maharani Sahib Kaur won the fort from The Mughal Hakumats[1]. This fort is present here today also. Sarai of this fort Sarai Lashkari Khan is present near about this fort in Sri Manji Sahib Kottan ,which is known as RDB(Rang de basanti) fort .At present This historical PAYAL FORT has been handed over to the Archeological Survey of India after removing illegal encroachments and Centre Govt of INDIA

[3]. The interior of the fort is fast crumbling and hues type of Minakari and lots of attractive things present in it.

Museums

• Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum, Amritsar^[2]
• Sanghol Museum
• Angol Sikh War Memorial, Ferozeshah
• Govt. Museum Hoshiarpur
• Rural Museum, Punjab Agricultural University
• Qila Mubarak Patiala, Museum of Armoury & Chaneliers
• Art Gallery at Sheesh Mahal
• Sports Museum, Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports, Patiala
• Guru Teg Bahadur Museum, Shri Anandpur Sahib
• Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex
• Sikh Ajaibghar, Mohali
• Maharaja Ranjit Singh War Museum, Ludhiana
• Shahed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Museum, Khatkar Kalan

Science and technology

• Pushpa Gujral Science City, Jalandhar^[3]

Religious Places

Gurdwaras

• Golden Temple, Amritsar
• Gurdwara Shri Baoli Sahib Goindwal Sahib
• Khadur Sahib
• Baba Bakala
• Dera Baba Nanak,in Gurdaspur district
• Gurudwara Ber Sahib, Sultanpur Lodhi
• Kiratpur Sahib
• Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib
• Gurdwara Jyoti Sarup
• Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib
• Takht Sri Damdama Sahib
• Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib
• Mehdiana Sahib
• Parivar Vichora
• Gurdwara Sri Tarn Taran Sahib
• Gurdwara Manji Sahib, Ludhiana
• Gurdwara Karamsar Rara Sahib

Temples

• Devi Talab Mandir in Jalandhar
• Ram Tirath Temple - Amritsar
• Durgiana Mandir, Amritsar
• Kali Devi Temple, Patiala

Muslim pilgrimage

Rauza Sharif, Sirhind

Gardens

• Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar
• Bansar Garden, Sangrur
• Ram Bagh Garden, Amritsar
• Shalimar Garden, Kapurthala
• Bara Dari Garden, Patiala
• Rock Garden, Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab

Wild Life, Zoo, Wet Lands

• Hari-ke-pattan, Amritsar, Ferozepur (National Wetland & Wildlife Sanctuary)
• Kanjli Wetland, Kapurthala
• Satluj Water Body Wetland, Ropar
• Zoological Park, Chhatbir
• Tiger Safari Ludhiana & Deer Park at Neelon
• Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh

Sports Tourism

• Rural Olympics, Kila Raipur^[4]
• Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, SAS Nagar
• Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports, Patiala

Archaeological Destinations

• Indus Valley civilization site at Ropar^[5]
• Ancient Buddhist and Hindu archeological sites at Sanghol in Fatehgarh Sahib and Dholbaha in Hoshiarpur district respectively.

Fairs and Festivals

• Lohri^[6]
• Maghi Mela/Muktsar Fair
• Bhatinda Virasat Mela and Heritage Fesivals at Patiala, Rupnagar, Kapurthala, Amritsar
• Punjab Heritage Vintage and Classic car Drive
• Holi
• Hola Mohalla,Anandpur Sahib
• Baisakhi
• Rauza Sharif Urs
• Baba Sheikh Farid Aagman
• Diwali, Golden Temple
• Harbhallabh Sangeet Festival, Jalandhar
• Shaheedi Jor Mela, Fatehgarh Sahib

Tourism sites at Dams

• Ranjit Sagar Dam
• Bhakra Dam, Nangal
• Madhopur headworks, near Pathankot

Border Areas

• Wagah Border, Amritsar
• Husianiwala Border, Ferozpur
• Pul Kanjri, near Amritsar

Eating, Shopping & Amusement parks

• Haveli, Jalandhar, Phagwara
• Bharavan the Dhaba, Amritsar
• Kesar da dhaba, Amritsar
• West-End Mall, Ludhiana
• Hardy's World (Amusement park), Ludhiana
• Ansal Plaza Mall, Phagwara
• Viva Mall , Jalandhar, Phagwara
• Floating Restaurent, Sirhind

Photo gallery

See also

• Punjab, Pakistan
• History of the Punjab

References

1. ^ http://www.punjabtourism.in/forts.html
2. ^ http://www.punjabtourism.in/museums.html
3. ^ http://punjabgovt.nic.in/tourism/Pushpa.htm
4. ^ http://www.tourism-of-india.com/punjab.html
5. ^ http://www.punjabtourism.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=163&Itemid=137
6. ^ http://www.punjabtourism.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=13

External links

• Places of tourist interest in Punjab Report in Summer Program in Punjab Studies by University of California, Santa Barbara
• Department of Museums, Government of Punjab
• Department of Tourism, Government of Punjab

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