Wagha Border - Attari

India 2008 - Attari Border

The closing of the gates and the lowering of the flags ceremony at the India Pakistan border is well worth seeing. Wagah, the town where the Atari border crossing is located, hosts a highly entertaining ceremony each evening. Border security forces from both nations, dressed in uniforms fit for any Monty Python movie, mimic a standoff of cockerels as thousands in stadium seating rally their teams on. This delightful event, with marches approved by the Ministry of Silly Walks, lasts about an hour. Eat your heart out, John Cleese! Enjoy the video below.

Wagha Border - Attari

Wagah is an army outpost on Indo-Pak border - between Amritsar and Lahore. I had the opportunity to witness a ritual of 'madness' at this border post recently.

Our journey began from Amritsar, on the Indian side of the border. As you drive in one of the specially run buses or taxis, which do this trip routinely, you see some of the most fertile land and prosperous rural areas of Punjab.

Wagah Border is situated at a distance of 28 kilometers from Amritsar Punjab. Wagah Border is the only border crossing between India and Pakistan. Wagah Border is an army outpost to keep check intrusion from Pakistan and prevents any Indian from going to Pakistan. Unique buses and taxes from Amritsar city take the tourists to Wagah Border. Way Wagah the tourist chance upon seeing some of the lushest lands of Amritsar Punjab.

At the Wagah border outpost there is a complex of buildings, roads and barriers on both sides. At the entrance of this outpost, there is a sightseeing gate with a dedication "Swarna Jayanti". From this a panoramic view of the scenery is seen. There are electrified barriers with 66,000 volts of electric current. Person visit Wagah border to see "Beating the Retreat" observance performed by the soldiers in evening. Soldiers from India and Pakistan make a flag march. The flags are India and Pakistan is brought down. Then the gates between India and Pakistan are opened. Soldiers make some drills and then the complex is illuminated. The whole service takes about half an hour.

We present you holiday, leisure tour, business tour and pilgrimage tour. Travel to Amritsar city has a memorable experience of staying in best hotels in Amritsar along with a visit to nearby religious places. You must visit historical place like Jallianwala Bagh and Ram Bagh etc.

Only Travel Guide enhances your knowledge about Wagah Border and presents online trip for Amritsar Punjab, India. The Wagah border is the only border that crosses India and Pakistan from the cities of Amritsar of Punjab and Lahore respectively.

The crowd fell silent, drained of energy. What it left behind in the minds was sure to last a long time. What was the purpose of the entire proceeding ? It bred nothing but intolerance between two neighbours who could surely do without more animosity. Two peoples who have been brothers till recently are separated by artificial borders and daily events like these are only helping those wanting the relations to remain sour. It is time for sane persons in both countries to put a halt to the madness in these 'showdowns' held daily at sundown.

Sunset experience
Wagah, an army outpost on Indo-Pak border - between Amritsar and Lahore, is an elaborate complex of buildings, roads and barriers on both sides. The daily highlight is the evening "Beating the Retreat" ceremony. Soldiers from both countries march in perfect drill, going through the steps of bringing down their respective national flags. As the sun goes down, nationalistic fervour rises and lights are switched on marking the end of the day amidst thunderous applause.

Outlook Traveller Tip
If you plan to visit the Wagah Border for the changing of the guards ceremony, leave Amritsar early to be at your seat by 5.30-5.45 pm. Hold your cab for the return journey; you don't want to Attari to find a bus.

Though travelling by car is the best option, you can also take a bus to Attari from Amritsar and then catch a rickshaw/ autorickshaw for the last 2 km. For the return trip by bus, remember that the last bus to Amritsar leaves Attari by 6 pm.

Border Timings: Open 10 am-4 pm.

Hans Raj Hans sings for India-Pak peace at Wahgah-Atari border

Attari Border Ceremony

Just a few clicks west of Amritsar, via one helluva crowded public bus, sits Attari, a small village situated right at the India - Pakistan border!


No, it's not as dangerous as you're thinking; I've been to the DMZ between North and South Korea, and this is nothing like it. Actually, Attari is a functioning border during the day, hundreds of visa holders passing to either side. The expected India - Pakistan heat turns on only at border closing time, when both sides participate in a bombastic bout of choreographed goosestepping known as the Attar Border Ceremony.

It's a spectator sport, don't you know. Plopped in the concrete grandstands, I even had an India visor and mini-flag, plus a bag of popcorn! As the crowds assembled on the respective sides, Hindi/Urdu language pop hits blared with visible delight to the dancing (see: bouncing, sweaty) throngs. Would have joined in, but was land-locked by elderly French tourists in the bogus "VIP" foreign tourist seating. Intermittently, music gave way to a rousing voice at the microphone, prompting the crowd for an impassioned, rallying cry of "Hindu-stan! Hindu-stan!", a curious term in how it emphasizes the religious divide between the two nations.


It was all in good fun, though. The goosestepping routine, which seemed Monty Pyton-inspired, drew as many laughs as cheers. The prancing finished, representatives slowly lowered the two flags at the same intense rate, culminating in the Clang! of the shutting gate. Border closed, show over!

Amritsar: Attari Border Crossing

If you are travelling to Wagah Border for the Flag Down ceremony ,then first of all do check the timings with the hotel staffs.Since the timings tend to change,therefore it would be best on your part to go prepared.Would recommend that you should hire a rental car.It is around Rs 500 for the day.Since the border is quite far from Amritsar Golden temple area so it will take about 40 mins to an hour to reach that place from Golden Temple Area.As you reach there you will see a huge serpentine line to the gate.As and when the gate is opened all the people rushes to the security check area.So you better run to get to the front of the line.There would be two lines for checking.One for men and another for women.After the metal detector checking there would be a manual frisking. Food and beverages are not allowed.Try and get a seat as front as possible.Since there would a large number of people so being in the last row wont help you ! There would be flag down ceremony on the both sides and you can really witness the competition among both the sides to outperform each other.The soldiers picked for the job are quite tall,seems like the tallest ones were chosen for the job on both the sides !! The march past and the ceremony is quite unique and you wont witness the normal marching by the guards.It is quite a ceremony to watch with the crowd cheering on top of their voice.One can imagine the atmosphere when around 4 to 5 thousand people are cheering and rooting for the soldiers and the nation.A unique flag down ceremony to witness.The ceremony lasts for about 45 mins.There would be music and you would see that people are dancing to the music after the ceremony is over.