Gurdwara Panja Sahib

The shrine takes its name from the panja, the open hand, and is built around a large boulder in which an impression resembling a handprint is visible. Sikh tradition tells that a local ascetic, angered at Guru Nanak, rolled a rock down the hill at him, and that the Guru stopped it with his palm, leaving the mark; a spring is said to have opened at the same moment. That spring feeds the sarovar, a large tank of clear running water in the middle of the complex where pilgrims bathe, with fish visible in it. The present buildings are largely of the nineteenth century, from the Sikh period, with later additions. The Baisakhi festival in April is the largest gathering of the year, when pilgrim trains arrive and the complex is packed. Hasan Abdal itself sits on the old Grand Trunk Road with other historic remains nearby.

What you actually see

• The handprint boulder - the rock at the heart of the shrine.
• The sarovar - the spring-fed bathing tank with its fish.
• The gurdwara buildings - nineteenth-century structures around the tank.
• Baisakhi crowds - the April festival, the year's main gathering.

When to go

October to March for the weather; Baisakhi in April is the great occasion but the complex is then extremely crowded and access is managed. Weekday mornings outside festival periods are calm and the water is at its clearest.

Honest expectations

Heads must be covered and shoes removed at the entrance. Photography inside is restricted in places. The town around is busy and unremarkable, and parking is awkward. During major festivals the site may be closed to casual visitors for security reasons.

Nearby

Wah Mughal Gardens are minutes away; Taxila lies a short drive southeast.