After an anxious wait of more than 70 years, the newly developed Kartarpur Corridor will finally allow Sikh pilgrims from India and the abundant Sikh diaspora around the world to visit one of the religion’s holiest sites, the revered Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan.

This Sikh temple, Gurudwara Darbar Sahib is believed to be where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, lived and died at the start of the 16th century, and hence finds an extraordinarily special place in the heart of every Sikh devotee.

Kartarpur Corridor is the name given to the road that connects Dera Baba Nana Shrine in Punjab’s Gurdaspur with the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan.

Kartarpur Corridor Project

Guru Nanak established the first Sikh communion here in Kartarpur, and lived here till his death in 1539. Most of his teachings and philosophy was developed and spread from here, and for this reason Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur is perhaps the most important place in the world for Sikhs.

After the blood-spattered partition in 1947, the village went to Pakistan, yet pilgrims were informally allowed to visit it after crossing a bridge across the river Ravi. That bridge was destroyed in the Indo-Pak war of 1965, and since then, there were consistent demands from Sikhs from around the world to find a visa-free way to allow pilgrims from India.

The dream has finally been realized now, in 2019, when Kartarpur Corridor formally opened a few days back to coincide with the 550^th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak on November 12, 2019.

You can read more about the Kartarpur Corridor project at Wikipedia.

Kartarpur Corridor online booking

The online registration process for visiting Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan through the Kartarpur Corridor is now open to all Indian citizens and OCI Card holders. You can register online on the website prakashpurb550.mha.gov.in.

Here are a few important details about the process:

Eligibility criteria for Kartarpur Corridor Booking 

Only citizens of India and holders of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card can register. OCI Card holders should also hold valid passports of their current country of residence. Indian pilgrims must have valid Indian passports. There is a $20 entry fee to cross over from India to Pakistan, levied by the Government of Pakistan.

Documents needed for Online Registration to visit Kartarpur

Citizens of India: A soft copy of their passport size photograph, scanned copies of the first and last page of their passport, and their Aadhar Number.

OCI Card holders: Scanned copies of their OCI Card and a soft copy of passport size photograph.

The registration process is fairly simple and you can register up to 4 more members of your family or group with your registration. You will need their Indian passport numbers and Aadhar card details too, but won’t need to upload their documents.

Once registration is successful, you will receive an email and a SMS confirming your provisional registration and you’ll be provided with a unique ID. Your final status will be informed 4 days prior to the date you chose to travel to Kartarpur.

As the registration works on ‘first-come-first-served’ basis, pilgrims are advised to register as soon as they can. It will do good to remember that there is a cap of 5000 persons per day to visit Kartarpur from India.

Since the window between confirmation and travel is extremely short, may we suggest you to plan your travel to India in advance so you can take advantage of your trip by visiting other attractions in North India, especially the Golden Temple in Amritsar that lies all of 50 Km from the Indian side of Kartarpur Corridor.

Our premier North India package tour shall take you to Amritsar, and we will ensure you have a wonderful time there, and your Kartarpur visit is organized efficiently.

What to expect in Kartarpur

Since there will be no night stay, you can expect to have a hectic day. A dedicated bus will take you from the Indian side to the Gurudwara complex, where you can pay your obeisance and take a tour of the courtyard, museum, library, dormitories, and locker rooms etc., spread across an area of 42 acres.

The langar at Gurudwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur shall also include rotis prepared from wheat from the same fields where Guru Nanak Dev also cultivated crops.

The development of Kartarpur Corridor is truly a momentous occasion for both India and Pakistan, as well as a delightful opportunity for Sikhs to finally realize their dreams of paying a visit to the place where Guru Nanak Dev once lived.

Plan your Indian holidays today… Our premier North India package tour shall take you to Amritsar, and we will ensure you have a wonderful time there, and your Kartarpur visit is organized efficiently.

All images are taken from the Twitter account of Pakistan PM, Imran Khan.

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