The Kartarpur Corridor

Kartarpur Corridor is visa-free access to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Pakistan. The Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur is built where the first guru of Sikhism Sri Nanak Dev Ji spent the last 18 years of his life. The structure will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Gurdaspur.

The corridor links the Gurdwara which is four km away from India-Pakistan international border in Pakistan territory, to the historic Sikh town Dera Baba Nanak which is situated along the border in the territory administered by India. The corridor was inaugurated in 2019 on 9th November which is also the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

To commemorate the 550th Parkash Gurpurb (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Sahib, the government of both countries decided to open a corridor in November 2019 for the followers of Guru Nanak, who are based in the Indian union, to provide them visa-free access to the historic gurdwara.

Sri Kartarpur Sahib Pilgrimage

Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak is built on the east bank of the river Ravi in India that is 1 km away from the Indo-Pakistan border. The west side of the river is the town of Kartarpur, Pakistan. Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib is about 4.5 k.m. from the international border.

The Kartarpur shrine, originally known as Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, is among the holiest of the holy shrines and is believed to be the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh religion.

Baba Guru Nanak spent his last 18 years at Kartarpur Sahib. Samadhi and Mazaar were established for the first time when Baba Guru Nanak departed for his heavenly abode on 22 Sep 1539. Kartarpur Sahib is a center of attention today for thousands of followers of Baba Guru Nanak visiting to pay homage on daily basis.

The original abode (Gurdwara) established by Guru Nanak in 1515 was washed away by floods of the river Ravi and later Maharaja of Patiala built the present-day building in the 19th century. After the partition in 1947, Sikh Community migrated to India, and Gurdwara was left abandoned. The Gurdwara was restored in 2004 and the Sikh community has been performing all religious rituals in Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. However, the actual dream of the Kartarpur corridor became a reality in 2019 when Kartarpur Corridor was opened on 09 November 2019.

The building and development of the Kartarpur Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to the International Boundary to facilitate pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur easily without the need of a visa. The 4.2 km long corridor connecting Dera Baba Nanak from Amritsar-Gurdaspur Highway was been constructed at a cost of Rs 120 crore.

Kartarpur Corridor is functioning under an MOU between India and Pakistan. 5000 Indian yatrees are allowed to enter from the Indian side on daily basis but the figure can go up to 15000 on special occasions. Hence, there is no bar on the number of visiting the Sikh community in Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur.

After the inauguration of the Corridor, Sikhs from across the world were able to visit the world’s largest Gurdwara to pay respects to the founder of their faith.

General Instructions for Kartarpur Corridor Pilgrims

All Pilgrims who propose to visit Sri Kartarpur Sahib in district Narowal, Pakistan may register here in advance.
The applicant is required to register himself/herself in advance of the proposed date of travel.
Registration does not confer a right to travel.
Applicants who are granted permission may be informed only 4 days before the proposed date of travel. Therefore, Applicants should make their travel arrangements in advance.
Pilgrims will go in the morning and shall have to return the same day.
Pilgrims shall be allowed to visit only Sri Kartarpur Sahib and not anywhere outside.

Do’s

Eco-friendly material, preferably cloth bags should be used & surroundings should be kept clean.
Currency as per RBI regulations must be followed.
Only one baggage up to 7 kg weight including drinking water may be carried.

Don’ts

Do not carry any item mentioned in the negative list.
Smoking, drinking, and use of tobacco are not allowed inside Passenger Terminal Building(PTB) Complex.
Do not touch any unattended article. Inform about anything suspicious to the authorities.
Playing loud music and photographing others without permission may not be done.

You can find the instruction for filling registration form here

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