Day one
Arrive by lunch. Check into The Kikar Lodge (30 minutes out, $85) or Hotel Holy City (in town, $35). 2pm Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib, the birthplace of the Khalsa, allow 2 hours including langar. 4:30pm Virasat-e-Khalsa museum — Moshe Safdie's crescent buildings are architecturally the most important structure in Punjab, and the multimedia halls need 3 hours.
8pm dinner in town, walk back through the illuminated gurdwara complex. The night silhouettes of the takht against the Shivaliks are the trip's photo.
Day two
6am sunrise from the Naina Devi ridge — 30-minute drive, 40-minute hike up. 9am breakfast at the langar. 10am the other four takhts nearby: Anandgarh Sahib, Lohgarh Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib, and Holgarh Sahib. Each is a 10-minute walk apart. 1pm lunch. 2pm the museum's second half if you did not finish yesterday. 4pm drive to the Bhakra Nangal viewpoint (40 minutes).
Total cost, 2 nights and all meals and one hired driver: $110–140. This is the Punjab weekend most guidebooks miss.
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