Sunehri Masjid Lahore: The Golden Mosque of the Old City

Sunehri Masjid in Lahore, the Golden Mosque, stands on a raised platform above the shops of Kashmiri Bazaar in the Walled City, near Rang Mahal. It was built in 1753 by the deputy governor of Lahore, and its three gilded domes give it its name. It is a small, working neighbourhood mosque, free to enter, and takes about twenty minutes to see as part of a walk from Delhi Gate.

This guide covers its history, including the years it was used as a gurdwara, what to look for, how to find the stairs, and the condition it is in today.

History: built as the empire declined

The mosque was built in 1753 by Nawab Bhikari Khan, deputy governor of Lahore under the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah. His name is also spelled Bukhari Khan, including by the Punjab Auqaf Department. By then Mughal authority in Punjab was failing, and the mosque's modest size is often read as a sign of the times, when a governor could no longer build on the scale of the Badshahi Mosque.

The project was disputed from the start. Shopkeepers objected to a large mosque in an already congested bazaar, and Bhikari Khan obtained a fatwa from local religious scholars before work could begin. His answer to the traders was practical. He raised the mosque on a plinth 11 feet high, kept shops at street level beneath it, and assigned their rents to the mosque's upkeep.

The Sikh period

After Ranjit Singh took Lahore in 1799, Sikh authorities seized the mosque and turned it into a gurdwara, installing a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib in the prayer hall. The stated complaint was that the call to prayer disturbed ceremonies at a baoli, a stepped well, that had been built next door.

In the late 1820s Fakir Azizuddin, the Maharaja's Muslim foreign minister, persuaded Ranjit Singh to return it. The conditions were that the call to prayer be kept low and that the mosque give up the rent from the shops beneath it. The garden behind the mosque is still called Baoli Bagh.

What to look for

• The domes. Three bulbous gilded domes over the prayer hall. They were re-gilded in the 2011 restoration and are best seen from a little way down the bazaar, since you are too close from the foot of the stairs.
• The plinth and stairs. A flight of 16 steps rises from the lane between the shopfronts. The entrance is easy to miss, so look up for the domes and then for the stairway.
• The courtyard. At the top is a small court of 65 by 43 feet with an ablution tank in the middle, which is usually dry.
• The prayer chamber. It measures 40 by 16 feet. The painted decoration inside has been renewed, and a heritage specialist told Arab News in 2026 that it now looks brighter than the original would have.
• The style. The Auqaf Department notes the influence of Sikh-era architecture from nearby Amritsar alongside the late Mughal form.

Do not expect the tilework of Wazir Khan or the scale of Badshahi. The interest here is a complete eighteenth-century mosque sitting on top of a working market.

Where it is and how to reach it

The mosque is in Kashmiri Bazaar, on the main lane that runs through the Walled City from Delhi Gate past Wazir Khan Mosque towards Rang Mahal. The Walled City authority places the Loha Market, the iron market, directly behind it, next to Kasera Bazaar, the lane of metal vessel sellers.

The simplest approach is on foot from Delhi Gate:

1. Enter at Delhi Gate and pass the Shahi Hammam.
2. Continue along the same lane to Wazir Khan Mosque.
3. Keep walking west through Kashmiri Bazaar for a few minutes. The domes appear above the shops.

Cars cannot use Kashmiri Bazaar. Take a rickshaw or ride-hailing car to Delhi Gate and walk, or ask the Walled City of Lahore Authority about its guided walks from Delhi Gate. Our Delhi Gate guide covers parking and the start of the walk.

When to visit

The mosque is open for the five daily prayers and visitors go up between them. There is no ticket office and no fixed visiting hours. A heritage specialist quoted by Arab News in February 2026 argued it should be kept open to visitors outside prayer times in the way Badshahi and Wazir Khan are, which suggests you may find it closed at quiet hours. The surest time to find it open is shortly before or after a prayer.

Avoid Friday around midday, when the mosque is full. On ordinary days about four or five rows of worshippers attend, mostly shopkeepers and workers from the bazaar. In Ramadan it fills completely, traders from the bazaar break their fast there, and some of the surrounding shops stay open until midnight.

Morning has the emptiest lane. In summer the bazaar is hot and airless by early afternoon.

What condition is it in?

Mixed. In 2011 the Punjab government began a restoration costing Rs 5.78 million, funded by the United States Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, which re-gilded the domes and laid new marble floors.

Since then the surroundings have closed in again. Arab News reported in February 2026 that the shops beneath have spread across part of the facade, that ladders and boxes are stacked against the walls, and that tangled electricity wires cut across the view of the domes. Conservation specialists are calling for careful restoration of the mosque and of Baoli Bagh behind it. Go expecting a living building in a crowded market, not a cleaned-up monument.

Visiting etiquette

• Dress modestly, with shoulders and legs covered. Women should carry a scarf to cover the head.
• Remove your shoes before stepping into the courtyard.
• Do not go up during the congregational prayer unless you are joining it.
• Ask before photographing people, and do not photograph anyone praying.
• We could not confirm a separate women's section, so women visitors should go up between prayer times.

What to see nearby

The mosque is one stop on the best short walk in the old city. Wazir Khan Mosque, far larger and known for its tile mosaic, is a few minutes east. Beyond Rang Mahal the lanes lead on towards the fort, and the cloth lanes of Azam Cloth Market are close by. Our Walled City of Lahore guide sets out a full route, and the 13 gates of Lahore explains the layout.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, if you are already walking from Delhi Gate to Wazir Khan, since it is only a few minutes further and costs nothing. It is not worth a separate journey across Lahore on its own. Visitors with limited mobility should know that the only way up we know of is the flight of 16 steps.

Frequently asked questions