Aura of India: Cities in Punjab: Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala and More to Visit

The Golden Temple in Amritsar reflected in its sacred pool

Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

The rooftops of Amritsar's walled city on a winter morning, with the gold of the Harmandir Sahib showing between them.

Punjab's cities sit close together on a flat plain, and a train from one reaches the next in an hour or two.

Amritsar and Pathankot in the north

Amritsar is the city most visitors come for, and the second largest in Punjab, with about 1.18 million people in the 2011 Census. Its walled city grew around the Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple, and the lanes around it still hold the bazaars, the Jallianwala Bagh garden and the Partition Museum. It has an international airport, and the Attari border is about 30 km to the west.

Pathankot, about 110 km north, is a junction town where the plain ends. Roads climb from here to Dharamshala, Dalhousie and Jammu. The narrow-gauge Kangra Valley railway also starts here. After a long break, trains to Baijnath-Paprola resumed on 11 October 2026; check the timetable before you go.

Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Ludhiana

Ludhiana and Jalandhar lie on the main line from Delhi to Amritsar, and the Vande Bharat and Shatabdi trains stop at both. Ludhiana is the largest city, about 1.62 million people in 2011, and a working city of knitwear, woollens and bicycle factories. Visitors come to shop rather than to sightsee. Its new civil terminal at Halwara, south-west of the city, opened in February 2026, with flights to Delhi from May; check the schedule. Jalandhar, about 60 km further on, makes much of India's sports goods. The airport at Adampur nearby now bears the name Shri Guru Ravidass Maharaj Ji Airport.

Kapurthala, about 20 km west of Jalandhar, is a small former princely capital. Its Jagatjit Palace of 1908, modelled on Versailles, is now a Sainik School (a military boarding school) and is seen only from outside. The Moorish Mosque, finished in 1930 to a design by a French architect, is open to visitors.

Patiala and Bathinda in the Malwa

The Malwa is the broad region of Punjab south of the Sutlej. Patiala, its old royal capital, is about 70 km from Chandigarh. The Durbar Hall museum in the Qila Mubarak fort and the museum in the Sheesh Mahal palace reopened in February 2026, while the inner palace of the fort, the Qila Androon, is still closed. The town is still known for its turbans, embroidered juttis (slippers) and parandas (tasselled braids).

Bathinda, in the south-west, is a railway junction and a cotton town. In its centre stands another Qila Mubarak, a tall brick fort protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, where Razia Sultan was held in 1240. Talwandi Sabo, one of the five Sikh takhts (seats of religious authority), is about 30 km away.

Mohali and Firozpur, at the two edges

Mohali, officially Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, is a planned town on Chandigarh's western edge. It had about 176,000 people in 2011 and has grown fast since, with IT offices, hospitals and the international airport that also serves Chandigarh. Chandigarh itself is a union territory and the capital of both Punjab and Haryana; see Chandigarh.

Firozpur, on the Sutlej in the far west, is a cantonment and district town. About 1 km from the border at Hussainiwala is the National Martyrs Memorial, where Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were cremated in 1931. A smaller flag-lowering ceremony than the one at Attari takes place at the border post each evening; times change with the season.

Across Punjab by train

The main line from Delhi to Amritsar is the easiest way to see several cities. The morning Shatabdi from New Delhi reaches Ludhiana in under four hours, Jalandhar City about an hour later and Amritsar after about six hours. The afternoon Vande Bharat from Old Delhi follows the same line, and both run on most days of the week; check the current timetable.

Bathinda and Firozpur are further from Delhi and better reached by road or by slower trains. A loop of four or five days can take in Amritsar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana and Patiala, ending at Chandigarh's airport. For the gurudwaras, festivals and food, see Punjab.

Cities to know

Ludhiana (Ludhiana): the largest city, knitwear and bicycles, about 1.62 million in the 2011 Census.
Amritsar (Amritsar): the Golden Temple and the walled city, about 1.18 million.
Jalandhar (Jalandhar): sports goods and a rail stop for Kapurthala, about 874,000.
Patiala (Patiala): fort museums and the old royal bazaars, about 446,000.
Bathinda (Bathinda): a brick fort and the road to Talwandi Sabo.
Mohali (S.A.S. Nagar): Chandigarh's neighbour and its airport.
Pathankot (Pathankot): the gateway to the Kangra Valley and Jammu.
Firozpur (Firozpur): the Hussainiwala memorial on the border.
Kapurthala (Kapurthala): a palace town with a Moorish mosque.

Punjab's cities are made for work, and the visitor finds the old Punjab in their forts, their gurdwaras and their bazaars.

Plan your visit

Best season	October to March. December and January are cold and foggy, which can delay trains and flights. April to June is very hot, and the monsoon arrives in July.
How to reach	Amritsar and Chandigarh (in Mohali) have international airports; smaller airports at Adampur (for Jalandhar) and Halwara (for Ludhiana) have a few domestic flights; check which are running. Fast trains run from Delhi to Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar.
Getting around	Trains on the Delhi-Amritsar line; Punjab Roadways and PRTC buses between all district towns; auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws in the cities.
Where to stay	Amritsar near the Golden Temple; Patiala near the old city; Mohali or Chandigarh for the south-east; Jalandhar for Kapurthala.
How long to spend	Two nights in Amritsar, a day each for Kapurthala and Patiala, and one night in Bathinda or Firozpur if you go west.

Open Amritsar, Punjab in Google Maps

Questions people ask

Which is the largest city in Punjab?

Ludhiana, with about 1.62 million people in the 2011 Census, the last completed count. Amritsar and Jalandhar come next. The 2027 Census is under way.

Is there an official list of the most developed cities in Punjab?

No. Rankings of 'developed' cities on the web are not official. This guide simply describes each city for a visitor.

Is Chandigarh in Punjab?

Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and of Haryana, but it is a union territory run by the central government, not part of either state. Mohali, on its western edge, is in Punjab.

Can I see a border ceremony other than Attari?

Yes. The Hussainiwala border near Firozpur holds a smaller retreat ceremony each evening, about 1 km from the National Martyrs Memorial. Timings change with the season, so check locally.

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Cities in Punjab: Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala and More to Visit