6 days
Easy
The Gandhara Buddhist Trail
Six days from Islamabad to Lahore: the stupas, monasteries and museum of Taxila, the Mankiala stupa and the Fasting Buddha.
Quoted in USD on request
View itineraryTour for international travellers
Sikh Heritage Pilgrimage in Punjab
Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was born at Nankana Sahib and spent his last years at Kartarpur, both in what is now Pakistani Punjab, and Lahore was the capital of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. This private tour, for Sikh pilgrims and for other travellers interested in Sikh history, links the main shrines by road in a week, with a guide and driver from airport pickup in Lahore to airport drop-off in Islamabad.
- Duration
- 7 days
- Starts and ends
- Lahore to Islamabad
- Best months
- October to March
- Effort
- Easy: road travel and unhurried visits, walking barefoot on marble inside the shrines
- Highest point
- About 550 m at Islamabad; the shrines stand on the Punjab plain at 200 to 450 m
- Price
- Quoted in USD
The route
Day by day
- Gurdwara Janam Asthan at Nankana Sahib, on the site of Guru Nanak's birth
- Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, where Guru Nanak lived for about 18 years until his death in 1539
- Gurdwara Dera Sahib and the samadhi of Ranjit Singh beside the Lahore Fort
- Gurdwara Rori Sahib at Eminabad, tied to Guru Nanak and Babur's sack of the town in 1521
- Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hasan Abdal, with the boulder that bears the Guru's handprint
- The Sikh-era buildings inside the Lahore Fort and the Hazuri Bagh
This is a private tour. Dates, pace and hotels are set for your group and confirmed in writing with your quote.
Travel advice, October 2026: As of October 2026 the UK Foreign Office (advice updated 22 September 2026) does not advise against travel to Lahore, Nankana Sahib, Eminabad, Hasan Abdal or Islamabad. Kartarpur is different: the gurdwara stands about 4.5 km from the Indian border, inside the 5-mile zone where the UK advises against all but essential travel, and the exception the UK gives is worded for Sikh pilgrims using the Kartarpur Corridor, which it describes as currently closed for crossings, while Canada lists the corridor as an exception to its own border advice. Ask your insurer in writing whether Day 4 is covered, because it may not be, and if you would rather not go we replace it with a second day in Lahore. Check your own government's current advice before you book.
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Day 1
Arrive in Lahore
We meet you at Allama Iqbal International Airport, about 15 km from the centre of Lahore, and drive you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free. In the evening your guide goes through the plan and the dress and entry rules for the shrines.
Overnight: Lahore
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Day 2
Gurdwara Dera Sahib and the samadhi of Ranjit Singh
Gurdwara Dera Sahib stands opposite the Lahore Fort, next to the Badshahi Mosque, on the site associated with the death of Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, in 1606; the gilded dome dates from Ranjit Singh's reign. Beside it is the samadhi of Ranjit Singh, begun in 1839 and finished in 1848, where his ashes rest in a marble urn shaped like a lotus. We then walk through the Sikh-era parts of the fort, including the Ath Dara pavilion and the havelis of Kharak Singh and Mai Jindan, and the marble pavilion of the Hazuri Bagh. If it is open, we also visit the gurdwara in Chuna Mandi bazaar that marks the birthplace of Guru Ram Das, the fourth Guru.
Overnight: Lahore
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Day 3
Nankana Sahib
Nankana Sahib is about 76 km west of Lahore, roughly an hour and a half each way. Gurdwara Janam Asthan stands on the site of Guru Nanak's birth; its present building was completed under Ranjit Singh in 1819 to 1820, and it was the scene of the killing of Sikh reformers in February 1921. The town has several other historic gurdwaras, among them Bal Lila, Patti Sahib, Kiara Sahib, Mal Ji Sahib and Tambu Sahib, each tied to an episode of the Guru's childhood and youth, and we visit as many as time and their opening allow. We return to Lahore in the late afternoon.
Overnight: Lahore
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Day 4
Kartarpur Sahib
Kartarpur is in Narowal district, about 110 km north-east of Lahore, and the drive takes 2 to 2.5 hours each way. Guru Nanak settled here, farmed, ran a community kitchen and lived for about 18 years until his death in 1539. The main shrine was built in 1925 and the complex was enlarged to 42 acres in 2018, with a courtyard, museum and library. The gurdwara is about 4.5 km from the Indian border, so read the advice note below before you confirm this day.
Overnight: Lahore
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Day 5
Rori Sahib at Eminabad and the drive to Islamabad
Eminabad is about 57 km north of Lahore, an hour by road, and about a dozen kilometres from Gujranwala. Gurdwara Rori Sahib, built in Ranjit Singh's reign, marks the place where, in Sikh tradition, Guru Nanak stayed on a bed of broken pebbles (rori) at the time Babur sacked the town in 1521. If they are open we also visit the smaller shrines of Chakki Sahib and the well of Bhai Lalo in the town. From Eminabad it is about 240 km to Islamabad, around 4 hours.
Overnight: Islamabad
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Day 6
Panja Sahib at Hasan Abdal
Hasan Abdal is about 65 km from central Islamabad, a little over an hour each way. Gurdwara Panja Sahib is built around a boulder that, in Sikh tradition, Guru Nanak stopped with his hand when it was rolled down the hill by the saint Wali Qandhari around 1521, and a spring behind the rock feeds the large pool in the courtyard. The shrine of Wali Qandhari stands on the hill above the town and is reached by a steep path for those who want the climb. On the way back we can stop at the Taxila Museum, 16 km from Hasan Abdal.
Overnight: Islamabad
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Day 7
Departure from Islamabad
A free morning in Islamabad if your flight is late in the day. Islamabad International Airport is about 35 km from the centre, under an hour outside the rush hour, and we drive you there for your flight home.
The detail
What your quote covers
What is included
- Airport pickup and drop-off in Pakistan
- Private vehicle with an experienced driver for the whole route
- English-speaking guide throughout
- Accommodation on a twin-share basis with breakfast
- Entry tickets, park fees and permits named in the itinerary
- Visa support letter for your Pakistan e-visa
- Applications to the Evacuee Trust Property Board for shrines where non-Sikh visitors need permission
What is not
- International flights
- Pakistan visa fee
- Travel insurance, which every traveller must carry
- Lunches and dinners unless stated
- Domestic flights, quoted separately with your itinerary
- Tips and personal expenses
- Donations and offerings at the shrines
- Extra nights or transport caused by road closures, protests or a shrine being closed to visitors
Good to know before you book
How do I get there and back?
You fly into Lahore and out of Islamabad, both of which have international airports. If your ticket is a return to Lahore, we can drive you back on the M2 motorway, about 375 km and 4.5 to 5 hours, or end the tour in Lahore by visiting Panja Sahib first; tell us when you book.
Who may enter the gurdwaras, and what are the rules?
The gurdwaras are managed by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), a government body, with the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, whose office is at Dera Sahib. Sikh pilgrims are admitted as a matter of course. At Gurdwara Dera Sahib and the samadhi of Ranjit Singh, visitors who are not Sikh need special permission from the ETPB, which we apply for in advance and cannot guarantee. Everyone covers their head and removes shoes, tobacco and alcohol are not allowed, and you should carry your original passport every day; the ETPB also advises pilgrims never to hand their passport to anyone they do not know and to make donations only against an official receipt.
What are the visiting hours, and should I come for a festival?
Neither the ETPB nor the committee publishes fixed visiting hours for the shrines, so we confirm the timings with each gurdwara in the week before you travel and do not print hours here. The main gatherings are Vaisakhi in mid-April, the anniversary of Guru Arjan's martyrdom at Dera Sahib in June (the ETPB's 2026 programme ran from 10 to 19 June) and Guru Nanak's birthday at Nankana Sahib in November. Organised pilgrim groups fill the shrines and their rooms on those days and security is tight, so this tour runs outside them unless you ask to attend, in which case we plan it with the ETPB.
Is Kartarpur open?
The visa-free corridor from the Indian side has been suspended by India since 7 May 2025, and the UK government still describes it as closed for crossings. Visitors who are already in Pakistan do not use the corridor: they approach the gurdwara from the Pakistani side and must carry their passports. The complex was flooded in August 2025, and Pakistan's foreign ministry said in September 2025 that it had been restored and was fully functional. Entry rules and timings at the gate have changed more than once, so we confirm them before your visit, and if the shrine is closed we spend the day in Lahore instead.
What about the visa?
Almost all foreign visitors need a Pakistan visa before arrival, applied for online at visa.nadra.gov.pk; published guides give 7 to 10 working days for processing, and your passport must be valid for at least six months after the date of your application. Travellers of Indian origin who hold British, American or Canadian passports may apply for the e-visa in the same way and should apply early. Indian passport holders cannot use the e-visa: they travel on a pilgrimage visa under the 1974 protocol between the two countries, a single-entry visa valid for 15 days that is applied for at least 45 days ahead, so this tour is designed for travellers holding other passports.
What are the hotels and food like, and how much walking is there?
We use comfortable hotels in Lahore and Islamabad rather than the pilgrim rooms at the shrines. The langar, the free community kitchen at each gurdwara, serves simple vegetarian food, and you are welcome to eat there; vegetarian meals are easy to find elsewhere too. Walking is limited to the shrine compounds, mostly barefoot on marble that is cold in winter and hot in the sun, and the path up to the Wali Qandhari shrine is the only real climb and is optional.
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