India
Golden Temple
Welcome to India! The Golden Temple, also called Harmandir Sahib, is the most sacred place of worship in the Sikh faith. It shimmers with real gold and sits in the middle of a calm, sacred pool in the city of Amritsar.
Why is it famous?
Its whole upper structure is covered in real gold, so it glows and shimmers in the sunlight, and glitters even more in its own reflection.
The temple floats at the center of a peaceful pool called the Amrit Sarovar, or 'Pool of Nectar,' reached by a marble walkway.
How was it built?
The fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das, began digging the sacred pool in the 1500s, and the city of Amritsar grew up around it.
The fifth Guru, Guru Arjan, designed and built the temple itself, placing it lower than the surrounding buildings as a symbol of humility.
Amazing facts
The temple's four doors facing north, south, east, and west mean it has no 'front' — everyone enters as an equal.
Its free community kitchen, called the langar, serves warm meals to over 100,000 visitors every single day, no matter who they are.
Quick facts
- The temple's four doors facing north, south, east, and west mean it has no 'front' — everyone enters as an equal.
- Its free community kitchen, called the langar, serves warm meals to over 100,000 visitors every single day, no matter who they are.
- The langar has been running nonstop for hundreds of years, making it one of the largest free kitchens on Earth.
- Visitors bathe their feet before entering and cover their heads out of respect for the temple's calm, sacred space.