Nankana Sahib

Nankana Sahib is the birthplace of Guru Nanak, and the reason most yatris make this journey at all.

Guru Nanak was born here in 1469, in the village then called Rai Bhoi Di Talwandi. The town that grew around the site now carries his name. Gurdwara Janam Asthan stands on the spot where tradition places his birth, and it is the largest and most visited of the shrines in the town — a broad white complex with a gold-domed sanctum, wide courtyards and a sarovar, able to hold the tens of thousands who arrive for Gurpurab.

Nankana Sahib is not one shrine but a cluster of them, each tied to an episode from the Guru's early life: Gurdwara Bal Lila, associated with his childhood; Gurdwara Patti Sahib, where he is said to have confounded his teacher; Gurdwara Kiara Sahib, remembered for the field left untouched while the buffaloes grazed; Gurdwara Mal Ji Sahib and Gurdwara Tambu Sahib. Yatra groups usually walk between several of them in a single visit.

The town is at its fullest in November for Guru Nanak's birth anniversary, when the main jatha arrives from India across the Wagah border and the sangat swells into the tens of thousands. Nagar kirtan moves through the streets, and langar runs continuously.

Nankana Sahib is around 80 km south-west of Lahore, and Konnect Yatra groups reach it by coach from their Lahore hotel. Our team travels with the group, and the visit is arranged so there is time to sit in the darbar rather than only pass through.

What a visit involves

Most groups give Nankana Sahib a full day, and it needs one. Gurdwara Janam Asthan is the centre: shoes off and heads covered at the entrance, then the darbar, the parkarma around it, and time sitting in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib. Many yatris do sewa in the langar hall, and langar runs continuously at Janam Asthan and at Mal Ji Sahib.

The other shrines — Bal Lila, Patti Sahib, Kiara Sahib, Mal Ji Sahib, Tambu Sahib — lie within the town, close enough that groups walk between several of them. That walking is what first-time yatris underestimate: the sites are spread across a working town, not gathered inside one compound.

Before you go

• Bring a head covering you are comfortable wearing all day. Cloth is available, but your own is easier.
• There is a great deal of walking on hard ground. Tell us before you travel if that is difficult and we will plan the day differently.
• November, for Guru Nanak's birth anniversary, is extraordinary and extremely crowded — tens of thousands of sangat, nagar kirtan through the streets, and accommodation across the district full. Book a Gurpurab departure well ahead.
• Vegetarian food only, here and throughout the yatra.

Getting there from your hotel

Nankana Sahib is roughly 80 km south-west of Lahore, around two hours by road. Konnect Yatra groups travel by private coach from the Lahore hotel with our own staff, and the day is built so there is time to sit in the darbar rather than only file through it. Groups from the United States normally reach Lahore after the Islamabad leg, so Nankana Sahib falls in the second half of the trip, once people have found their feet.