Guru Ram Das dug the holy pool and the city grew around it; Amritsar holds Sikhism's golden shrine, the garden where the Raj lost its legitimacy, and some of India's best eating.
Two of the Sikh year's biggest days. On Diwali, kept by Sikhs as Bandi Chhor Divas, the temple is lit with lamps and fireworks to mark Guru Hargobind's return from Gwalior Fort in 1619. Vaisakhi in April celebrates the founding of the Khalsa in 1699 — and was the day the crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in 1919.
Diwali falls in October or November; Vaisakhi on 13 or 14 April. Expect very large crowds and long queues for the inner sanctum. Watch the Diwali fireworks from the parikrama, and book rooms well in advance.
From the 1866 Town Hall through the trading quarters (katras) built by misl chiefs in the eighteenth century — jharokha facades, akharas, papad lanes and Qila Ahluwalia.
Go early, before the lanes fill; guided heritage walks start from the Town Hall.