Holiday in Punjab

Off-peak, budget rooms in Punjab start around $12 to $18 a night for a clean double with attached bath. The cheapest beds are near Amritsar Junction railway station (lanes off Queens Road and Cooper Road) and around Ludhiana Bus Stand on Gill Road. Mid-range business hotels sit at $35 to $60, and heritage stays in Kapurthala or Patiala run $70 to $110.

November to March is peak, with clear 18 to 24 degree days and Amritsar hotel rates jumping 40 to 60 percent around Christmas, New Year and Lohri (13 January). May and June are brutal at 42 to 46 degrees and rates crash — a $45 room drops to $25. July and August monsoon is cheap but humid. October and late February are the sweet spot.

For a first visit, base yourself within 1 km of the Golden Temple in Amritsar — Heritage Street and the Katra Ahluwalia lanes put you five minutes from langar. Chandigarh Sector 17 or 22 suits business travellers and families who want wide roads and malls. For Partition history and old-city food, stay in Jalandhar Model Town or Patiala near Qila Mubarak.

The Shatabdi Express links Delhi to Amritsar in 6 hours 15 minutes with fares from $10 to $22. Amritsar to Chandigarh by road is 4.5 hours, or by train on the Amritsar-Kolkata Mail. Local Ola and Uber run in Amritsar, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar — a 5 km ride costs $2 to $3. A car is useful only for Anandpur Sahib and rural Malwa; skip it in cities.

The Wagah-Attari border ceremony is free but Indian passports and foreign passports enter through separate gates — arrive by 3.30 pm in winter, 4.30 pm in summer. Also, alcohol is not served inside the Golden Temple complex or in most hotels within 500 metres of it, and 26 January, 15 August and Guru Nanak Jayanti are dry days statewide. Amritsar hotel rates triple during Baisakhi (13 April).

It varies. Budget rooms at $12 to $22 almost never include breakfast — expect to pay $2 to $4 for a paratha-and-chai plate at the hotel or a nearby dhaba. Mid-range three-star hotels at $45 to $95 (Hometel Chandigarh, Park Plaza Ludhiana, the Ranjit Avenue business stays in Amritsar) usually bundle a buffet breakfast, but always check whether the rate is EP (room only) or CP (with breakfast) before you book, since the same hotel often lists both. Heritage properties at $110 to $180 almost always include it. As a rule, if a plan is a few dollars dearer and says CP, it is worth taking — a standalone buffet costs $6 to $10.

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You need a passport valid at least six months beyond arrival plus an Indian visa — most travellers apply online for an e-Tourist Visa at indianvisaonline.gov.in, which costs $10 to $40 depending on validity and is emailed within three to five days. Carry a printout and a hotel booking confirmation, since immigration at Amritsar (Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee airport) and hotel check-in desks both ask for them. Every hotel logs your passport, visa and a photo on Form C, so keep them handy. The Wagah-Attari border ceremony needs no permit for the viewing galleries, but the crossing into Pakistan is closed to tourists. Anandpur Sahib, Amritsar and the rest of Punjab are open with no inner-line permit. Keep digital and paper copies of your passport and visa separately in case one is lost.

Most hotels include breakfast, check each listing

Most hotels outside the city centres have free parking, each hotel page says.