A Sunday Road trip to Indo-Pak Border in Ferozpur

This historical city of Punjab located on the bank of river Sutlej is not a well-known tourist destination. This city is the witness of the Anglo-Sikh war. Firozpur was the largest British Garrison in India. It is only 13 km from the Indo-Pak border where every evening there is a retreat ceremony just like the Wagah Border.

Days required– 1 day trip from major cities of Punjab.

Nearby places to go – Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh

Best time to visit – from October to February and also during monsoon.

How to reach

By air- City doesn’t have an airport. The nearest airport is Amritsar airport.

By train- It has Ferozpur Cantt. Railway Station and is well connected to Delhi and other cities of Punjab.

By road – Most common and convenient way is by road. Buses are available from major cities like Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Ludhiana.

How we travelled – We did a road trip from Ludhiana. It was a 2-hour journey.

Where to stay – We didn’t stay at Firozpur. There are no 4 or 5-star accommodations for a stay but few decent hotel options if you want to spend a night there.

How to go around – You can hire an auto-rickshaw to explore the city and also book it for the day for a complete tour.

Places to visit –

1. Hussainiwala Border – Less popular and less crowded version of Wagah Border Ceremony. Retreat ceremony takes place here before sunset daily by BSF soldiers and Pak Rangers. Timings differ in different seasons.
2. National Martyr’s Memorial – Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru’s dead bodies were cremated here secretly at night after being executed in Lahore. Every year on 23rd March, a fair is held here in the memory of these freedom fighters. It is adjacent to Parking area of Hussainiwala Border.
3. Saragarhi Memorial Gurudwara – It was built to commemorate the martyrdom of 21 Sikh soldiers of 36 Sikh regiment during the battle of Saragarhi. It is considered as one of the greatest last stands in war history. On 12th September, every year, people gather here to pay tribute to the heroic soldiers and celebrate Saragarhi Day.

Where to eat – You can try at Sher-E-Punjab and Chawla restaurant. As we didn’t stay there so we only had lunch at Chawla’s.

Itinerary –

It was raining on Sunday and I decided to go for a road trip to this place as it was just 2-hour journey from our home and we could come back the same day after attending the Retreat ceremony. We reached Firozpur by 3 pm and first searched for a restaurant for lunch. Luckily we found Chawla’s(I didn’t expect it here but now I know that Chawla’s is everywhere in Punjab). After a delicious vegetarian lunch, we asked directions for Saragarhi Gurudwara. It was just 5min away from the restaurant. We offered prayer there, clicked a few photographs and headed for Hussainiwala which was 13 km from the city. On the way, we also found a board stating –“End of the Northern Railway”

We reached the border check post by 4 pm and parked our car. There was an unexpectedly huge crowd there. It may be because of Sunday and very pleasant weather. Our mistake was that we didn’t take the token and went to see the memorial first. There we saw an old Railway track that was remnant of the first railway line introduced in Ferozpur.

When we went back to get the entry token, we were shocked to see a long queue there. There were approx. 1000 people waiting to enter the premises. Luckily, there was a separate line for women and my wife got tokens for both of us.

We entered the amphitheatre and saw Pakistani people sitting at a distance of 50metres. This was the major difference between Wagah and Hussainiwala. Here we could easily see the Pakistani side. Within 30minutes, both sides of amphitheatres were fully packed and many people were standing. People from both sides were dancing and singing patriotic songs. Retreat Ceremony started at 6 pm and finished at 6:30 pm with the lowering of national flags of both countries. It was a wonderful experience to witness this kind of exercise between the armies of both nations.

We reached Ludhiana at 9:45 pm.

Quick tips for fellow travellers –

1. Reach here 1-2 hours before the ceremony so that you can park your vehicle and take entry token for the ceremony. Parking is available nearby. Carry your Govt. approved photo ID card.
2. Border entry point and National Martyr’s museum is just a walk away. Collect the entry token for ceremony first as later there will be a long queue and then visit the memorial.
3. There are canteen, washrooms and water cooler for the visitors near the ceremony amphitheatre.

Ratings (it is subjective and my personal opinion)

Destination overall rating 7.5/10 – I liked Hussainiwala ceremony more as it was a smaller gathering than Wagah and you can have a better look at Pakistani side of the ceremony.

Travel Expense 1/10 – other than lunch and parking, we didn’t pay for anything else.

Travel ease 8/10 – Very easily reachable for people from Punjab and Delhi by road.

Food 8/10 – I didn’t try a lot there but the food served at Chawla’s was tasty as always.