After completing a hard week at work, meeting deadlines, long hours of meeting, a break is a must for the one who is working in 9 to 5 jobs. Following such a monotonous schedule, life at times appears dull and requires a change! And in order to bring in the change, a corporate outing will always prove to be the ideal way of encouraging the team members and boosts them up. It is like breaking the ice between the associates and bringing them together along with their families and get to know them more by taking them to a corporate trip far away from the otherwise obvious life of homes and offices. Be it a metro city, or a tier-2 city, life in a corporate is the same everywhere. You chase the targets, deliver the results, fulfill the goals, and keep repeating the same for the rest of the year! So it becomes really important to rejuvenate and detox yourself.
Often we look in for some peaceful places to visit during such a time, something that would give us some feeling of tranquility and restfulness away from the commotion of our daily routines. We at City On Pedals understand such a dilemma and so we have curated some peaceful, enjoyable and knowledgeable things to do in Amritsar – the Holy City.
- Religious Activities
- Patriotic Activities
- Cultural Activities
- Rejuvenating or Entertaining Activities
- Interactive Sessions
1. Religious Activities
Golden Temple
The one place where everyone is familiar with and wants to visit when in Amritsar is the most revered Golden Temple. Arguably referred to as the World Headquarter for Sikhism, the place attracts many tourists from around the globe. Apart from being the central religious place of the Sikhs, it is also a symbol of human brotherhood and equality. Everybody, irrespective of caste, creed or race can seek spiritual solace and religious fulfillment without any hindrance. It also represents the distinct identity, glory, and heritage of the Sikhs. To pen-down, the philosophy, ideology, the inner and outer beauty, as well as the historical legacy of Sri Harmandir Sahib is a momentous task. It is a matter of experience rather than a description. It would be a great thing to kick start a harmonious trip after long working hours with this serene Temple where amidst the sounds of Gurbani – (Verses from Holy Book) the spirits get charged and one can take a holy dip in the Amrit Sarovar which has the power to purify and motivates your mind and soul completely.
Langar Hall – Biggest Community Kitchen
Since the Temple hosts the Biggest Community Kitchen of the World, one can enjoy the Satvik food of the place which is served and cooked by a cadre of volunteers including senior citizens, youngsters, and kids at times. The place is even much visited by our guests with our very own Golden Temple Walking Tour. As an activity, we as a team can participate in various volunteer activities like serving food, learning how food is cooked inside the hall, also one can learn the amount of discipline observed inside the community hall which actually is the essence of any corporate culture. A feeling of gratitude, selflessness, and dignity of labor is what one feels when they have been served by their colleagues and then they help in washing up in the kitchen later. If this is not the best team-building exercise, then what is?
2. Patriotic Activities
Wagah Border
Experiencing the valor of India’s First Line of Defence, the open border between India and Pakistan which is an avid example of patriotism combined with entertainment. Every day of the year, just before sunset, a flag-lowering ceremony takes place there as the border is closed for the day. The spectators shout the Slogans of Jai Hind during the ceremony. The ceremony aims to evoke patriotic fervor among the crowd. Some Indians wave the Tricolour, while others dance to Bollywood songs that blare through speakers. This side trip from Amritsar in Punjab has always been a favorite tourist attraction be it National or global. A glimpse of teamwork is purely evident from here.
Jallianwala Bagh
Another memorial of national importance can be visited here where the Amritsar massacre took place after the orders of acting Brigadier of 1919 – General Reginald Dyer – to the troops of the British Indian Army to fire a crowd of unarmed civilians on the day of Baisakhi 13th April 1919. It is not certain how many died in the bloodbath, but, according to one official report, an estimated 379 people were killed, and about 1,200 more were wounded. This 7-acres of historical garden depicts the predicament of all those people and houses a museum, gallery and a number of memorial structures. The Jallianwala Bagh site in Amritsar is now a national monument. We can have a session of approx. an hour here amidst the greenery of the park and then a team leader would probably make us familiar about the place and its importance by taking us through the pictures of our leaders and the people who sacrificed their lives thereat.
3. Cultural Activities
Village Tour
If you are in Amritsar, a city which is probably called the Heart of Punjab, and you have not tasted the rich and age-old heritage of the land, you would probably miss out on something. These old customs and traditions are well observed in the older areas of a city. So for this, we can visit a real village where we can have a lecture of approx. an hour again to boost up your team further surrounded by greenery. Nest we can take up certain activities like roti making, observe the farming and other village activities. Collectively, we can take part in the traditional folk dances of Punjab like Gidha and Bhangra wearing a Punjabi attire. This will be a nice idea to mingle in the culture of the land and rejuvenate your spirits at the same time.
Heritage Walk To The Old City
To further know the land and its age-old heritage better, we can take a Heritage Walking Tour to the old city and can have a glimpse of can have a view of our generations-old Big Bazaars – (Big Markets) of Utensils, Wedding ornaments, and Jewelry through the twists and turns of the bylanes of the city. Adding to it are stories of certain temples, the oldest Banyan Tree and how it makes its way through the buildings, the idol of Lord Hanuman emerging out of the ground itself and many narratives related to Sikh Community, the bravery of the Sikh Gurus are depicted in every nuke and corner of our old-city. A sight to behold is the amazingly chaotic place with history and glimpses of Punjab’s royal past which is evident in these narrow lanes.
Shopping for Traditional Punjabi Things
Be on a leisure trip or an official trip, this is one thing which no one wants to miss, especially when one is in Amritsar. How can one not shop for Punjabi things and take little Punjabiyat back home? So now it is the best part of the city. On your way to these bylanes and way to Golden Temple, you will come across many vendors selling Phulkari, Punjabi Jutti, Paranda, Papad Warian, paintings and frames of Golden Temple and other very important things related to Khalsa – (Sikhism) which are actually called the souvenirs of Punjab. As a mark of remembrance, you can shop for them and take the flavor of the land along.
4. Rejuvenating or Entertaining Activities
It is very important to know the entertainment part of a city as well. So join up on some of these activities.
Heritage Bicycle Tour
Take a trip to the city with our very own Bicycle Tour which will give us a glimpse of the Holy City in the early hours of the morning where you will actually witness the quiet lanes and lonely roads and will admire the beauty of age-old buildings and artifacts which otherwise is not possible if you are taking a trip during afternoons. This will obviously another activity where along with bicycling with your group of people, you can interact and explore the unexplored places of one of the oldest cities of Punjab – Amritsar.
Street Food Tour
Known as the Culinary Capital of Punjab, Amritsar serves the best food for its world travelers. Be it the Street Food of the city, Be it Vegetarian or Non-vegetarian, Amritsar has a lot of delectable food items for the foodies. Explore these favorite and most famous eating joints of the city and know yourself.
Enjoying the Festivities
We normally prefer to celebrate all the festivals being in our family at our home. But in case you travel with your family to Amritsar during the festival season, you can mingle in the enjoyment of every festival in a true Punjabi way.
Diwali Festival
Starting from the very upcoming Diwali festival, the zeal of the city is worth watching. Glittery buildings, busy roads, the enthusiasm of the city people are on its zenith. The city offers so much to eat and shop at this Biggest Festival of India. One can enjoy this Festival of Lights with our very own Amritsar Special Diwali Tour and enjoy an unlimited 10 hours of celebrations, starting from Harmandir Sahib – Golden Temple where Diwali is celebrated with great pomp and show. After all, it is famous worldwide “Dal Roti Ghar Di, Diwali Amritsar Di.”
Christmas Eve
Amritsar is also home to very famous St. Paul’s Church, the gleam of which is evident during this festival as people belonging to Christianity and many other visits here to enjoy the festival mingling in the spirit of Christianity. Singing Hymns, listening to the stories of Jesus Christ and his marvels for the world, one can spend the evening in a splendid way.
Lohri Festival
The very important festival of Punjab, Lohri is intrinsic to the Punjabi culture and tells you so much about the tradition. Started with Kite Flying in Amritsar, the day ends with singing traditional Lohri songs at the end of the day. Several places host a competition where people participate in great zeal and zest and enjoy the day with their family and friends collectively.
5. Interactive Sessions
We as a team of City On Pedals and Statusbrew host a special program with the name “#Meetup Thursdays” where on this day of the week, we organize meet-ups with our upcoming or the younger generations of aspirants majorly from the IT sector and give them a complete knowledge about one topic every week. This is an open forum that can be attended by anyone or everyone, aspirant to be into this IT Industry. So, we can plan up pre-handedly and can organize such an event where we can have interactive sessions with these aspirants and can share views and ideas collectively.
So this way one can enjoy and charge up the spirits by taking a collective tour to a place and if need be we can always take our tours for such fun-loving and wonderful experiences.
We have also curated the exclusive Amritsar One Day Tour to the city for our guests who are here for a short stay in the city.