Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, Anandpur Sahib

Anandpur Sahib, founded by the ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1665, is one of the five Takhts (seats of temporal authority) of Sikhism and the place where the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, established the Khalsa Panth on Vaisakhi 1699 (13 April 1699). On that day, Guru Gobind Singh initiated the Panj Pyare (Five Beloved Ones) and inaugurated the distinctive Sikh identity — the Five Ks (Kesh, Kara, Kanga, Kachera, Kirpan) and the warrior-saint code. Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, the central gurdwara, holds the original weapons of Guru Gobind Singh in its inner sanctum — the khanda used for the Amrit ceremony, his katar, and the chakra. The Hola Mohalla festival, held the day after Holi, is the major annual gathering — Nihang Sikh warriors display gatka (martial arts), horsemanship, and mock battles. The Virasat-e-Khalsa museum, designed by Moshe Safdie and opened in 2011, sits adjacent to the gurdwara and tells the story of Sikhism through immersive exhibits.