Jalandhar

Understand

Punjab's third largest city with a population of nearly one million has huge historic significance. Nearby flows the Beas River that marks the eastern-most border of Alexander the Great's conquests in 326 BCE. According to Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang or (Hsuan-tsang) who traveled to India between 627-643 CE, Adinapur (the current Jalalabad) was an important Buddhist center with lot of vihara (monasteries). At that time Adinapur was the capital of a powerful kingdom that encompassed a good part of southern Himachal Pardesh. But the city retains almost nothing of its past. Few archaeological relics are to the south, around Nakodar town.

Get in

thumb|300x300px|Gurudwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Travel options from Delhi include train and road travel. Jalandhar is well connected by trains, including a Shatabdi train from Delhi to Amritsar via Jalandhar which runs twice a day with air-conditioned chair car coaches. Jammu Mail, among others, runs in the night from Delhi to Jalandhar.

Apart from trains, Jalandhar is easy accessible by buses plying from all over the North India. There are many interstate buses connecting Jalandhar to the major towns of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan.

Jalandhar is well connected to all the major cities in Punjab by Public and Private buses. There are private buses connecting Jalandhar to the towns in other states but generally they don't have the legal permits and took much time as compared to state owned buses. However, these can be comfortable as compared to state buses depending upon the bus operator. There are air conditioned buses also which generally have valid permits.

There is no airport in Jalandhar but the nearest airport is in Amritsar at a distance of 100 km (90 min). There are many airlines operating from Amritsar Airport connecting it to Europe, North America and the Middle East. However the transport system connecting the airport to Jalandhar is poor, so it is advisable to book a taxi before you arrive.

Get around

Rickshaw (pedicab) Auto-rickshaw Bus City cab (taxi)

Do

Bowling - Prithvi's Planet

thumb|Science City thumb|View Of WonderLand's Water Park

Buy

thumb|Viva Collage Shopping Mall Jalandhar is India's foremost producer of sports goods. Its traditional clothes (salwar suits, sarees etc.), Punjabi jutis (slippers) and jewels are also very famous. There are lot of local jewellers for non-branded jewellery at Phoolan Waala Chowk while branded jewellery are located at Model Town market

Eat

Jalandhar offers a variety of delicious authentic Punjabi food. Some of the "must-eat" dishes are:

Aloo ka paratha, bread stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes. Channa Bhatura, chickpeas cooked in a spicy onion-tomato and served with fried Indian bread called bhatura. Falooda, a cold beverage made from mixing rose syrup, vermicelli, psyllium. Kulfi, frozen dairy dessert served as ice cream. Lassi, refreshing drink prepared by blending yogurt with water and adding sugar and other spices. Makki di roti, a flat, backed bread made from corn flour. It's accompanied with saag or sarson da saag (cooked mustard green leaves).

Go next

thumb|250px|Dakhni Sarai — Once capital of a princely state in British India, the city is renowned for the beauty of its palaces, mosques and gardens — A village surrounded by extensive ruins. Dakhni Sarai and Mughal Bridge are also worth of a visit