The Sikhs' holiest shrine is the Golden Temple. It is in the middle of a lake called Amrit Sarovar. The Golden Temple at Amritsar is a two-story marble structure that offers an unique combination of beauty and tranquility as four priests chant from the Sikh holy books. The temple is crowned with a gilded dome that symbolizes the lotus flower, a sign of purity for the Sikhs. The temple is open to adherents of any and all faiths.
After the Golden Temple, the second-most sacred place for Sikhs is Anandpur Sahib. In the middle of the 17th century, Sikh Tegh Bahandun was beheaded by the emperor for refusing to convert to Islam. It was here that the Sikh's son founded the Sikh Brotherhood decades later. Since then, Anandpur Sahib has been a pilgrimage destination. The festival of Hola Mohalla marks this anniversary with mock battles, musical performances and poetry readings.
The city of Chandigarh serves as the capital of two states, Sikh Punjab and Hindu Haryana, which were joined together as one state until 1966. Chandigarh is a planned city, divided into self-contained "sectors," and was largely designed by the Swiss-French urban planner Le Corbusier. As well as being well-developed for tourism with numerous hotels and restaurants, Chandigarh's most visited sites are the Rock Garden, the Rose Garden and the artificial Sukhna Lake, according to the New York Times.
The Zakir Hussain Rose Garden in Chandigarh is Asia's largest garden, but it is not devoted exclusively to roses. It also contains a cactus, botanical, bougainvillea and other gardens, encompassing 27 acres. Chandigarh's annual Festival of Gardens is held here.
Near the temple city of Amritsar is the border with Pakistan. Each night when closing the border crossing at Attari, Indian and Pakistani troops put on a pointed display of military posing, complete with goose-stepping, warlike gestures and shouting. These theatrics have their origins in the traditionally tense relationship (including regular border skirmishes and several wars) between the two neighbors. But the presence at the ceremony each night of hundreds of Indian, Pakistani and foreign tourists, watching from specially built stands and cheering on the exaggeratedly bellicose antics of the troops on their side reduces the event to a high comedy.
