Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpurਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਦਰਬਾਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਕਰਤਾਰਪੁਰ

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, known as Kartarpur Sahib, is the Sikh shrine marking the place where Guru Nanak Dev Ji settled, farmed, and gathered the first Sikh community after his missionary travels. He lived here for the final 18 years of his life until 1539. Located beside the Ravi in Pakistan's Narowal district, it stands among the holiest sites in Sikhism.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Final Years

After decades of travelling across South Asia, Arabia, and Tibet spreading the message of one God and honest living, Guru Nanak Dev Ji chose Kartarpur — then a quiet settlement on the right bank of the Ravi — as his home. He founded the town around 1504, ploughed the fields himself, and established a langar where all who came ate together regardless of caste or creed. Here he gave the three principles that define the Sikh way of life: Kirat Karo (earn an honest living), Naam Japo (remember the Divine Name), and Vand Chako (share what you have).

The Flower Legend

According to popular tradition, when Guru Nanak Dev Ji's soul departed on 22 September 1539, a dispute arose over his mortal remains. His Muslim followers, who saw him as a pir, wished to bury him; his Hindu followers, who revered him as a guru, wished to cremate him. Legend says that when the sheet covering his body was lifted, only flowers remained — and the flowers were divided between the two communities. The town of Dera Baba Nanak, across the border in India, holds the spot where the cremation-site ashes were moved after the Ravi washed away the original location.

The Shrine Building

The white-domed shrine that stands today was built in 1925 with funds of Rs. 1,35,600 donated by the Maharaja of Patiala, Sardar Bhupindar Singh. Pakistan repaired it in 1995 and fully restored it in 2004; the complex was greatly expanded in 2018 with a new courtyard, museum, library, and dormitories across 42 acres. A 500-year-old brick well within the complex is believed to date to Guru Nanak Dev Ji's own time, and many call it the largest gurdwara in the world.

The Kartarpur Corridor

The shrine lies only about 3 kilometres from the Indian border and was long visible from Dera Baba Nanak — a painful distance for pilgrims who could not cross. After decades of Sikh demand, the Kartarpur Corridor opened on 9 November 2019, days before Guru Nanak Dev Ji's 550th birth anniversary, allowing Indian pilgrims rare visa-free access to the shrine in Pakistan. Welcomed by the United Nations and the Sikh sangat worldwide, it is often called the corridor of peace.

Why is Kartarpur Sahib so important to Sikhs?

It is where Guru Nanak Dev Ji lived his final years, where he farmed and preached his core teachings, and where his mortal remains were laid — making it one of the holiest sites in Sikhism.

What is the Kartarpur Corridor?

The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa-free border crossing opened in 2019 that lets registered Indian pilgrims travel directly to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan and return the same day.

What can pilgrims see at Kartarpur Sahib?

Beyond the main darbar hall, the complex holds a 500-year-old well from Guru Nanak Dev Ji's time, a sarovar, langar hall, museum, and the fields where the Guru once worked the land.