How to Reach Kartarpur | The Shortest Way Possible...

Here’s How to Reach Kartarpur:

To reach Kartarpur, you have to get on Sialkot-Lahore motorway.
From there, get on new Narowal-Lahore road.
After that, take the Shakargarh road which will lead you towards Kartarpur.

The Kartarpur Corridor (کرتارپور راہدار‎) is a visa-free corridor which connects the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to the Indian border. With this Kartarpur corridor, Sikh pilgrims with an Indian passport can easily visit both the Kartarpur shrine and Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak on the Pakistani side of the border.

On 28^th of November 2018, Government of Pakistan laid the foundation of the corridor and on 9^th of November 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor. A ceremony was held in Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Complex, Kartarpur and approximately 12,000 people attended the ceremony. In the inaugurating ceremony of the corridor, Prime Minister Imran Khan said: “Pakistan believes that the road to the prosperity of the region and bright future of our coming generation lies in peace. Pakistan is not only opening the border but also their hearts for the Sikh community.”

Importance of the Corridor

Before this corridor, the Sikh pilgrims from India had to take a bus to Lahore in order to reach Kartarpur. It is approximately a 125 kilometres trip. However, people from the Indian border could see the Gurdwara physically via an elevated platform on the Indian side. With the construction of this corridor, 5,000 pilgrims from India can visit Gurdwara without a visa on daily basis.

MOU Signing between Pakistan and India

Pakistan Foreign Office Director-General South Asia Mohammad Faisal and S.C.L. Das, Joint Secretary Union Home Ministry from India signed the MOU (memorandum of understanding). Under this agreement, each visitor would be allowed to enter Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in the morning but they had to leave Gurdwara in the evening. Also under this agreement, each visitor has to pay $20 as a service charge.

Construction of Complex

The government of Pakistan acquired over 400 acres of land for the construction of Kartarpur corridor complex. The expansion of the complex has made it 10 times larger than the original 4 acres. Now, the complex is built on 42 acres of land. Frontier Works Organization (FWO) constructed 4.7 kilometres long expressways which include an 800-metre long bridge over the Ravi River. To accommodate the pilgrims from different parts of the world, the government of Pakistan has also opened up an immigration office in the complex.

Distance and Route Details

People from different cities of Pakistan can also visit Kartarpur and the route details from three main cities are as follows.

From Islamabad to Kartarpur

The distance from Islamabad to Kartarpur is 456 km and it takes approximately 6 hours to get there. How to get there? Easy! Follow the complete route details given below.

Get on Kashmir highway which will lead you to Islamabad-Lahore motorway M2.
Keep driving on the motorway for 354 km.
After that, take an exit towards Lahore bypass and continue driving on it for a few kilometres.
Get on Narowal-Muridke road after exiting the Sialkot-Lahore motorway M11.
Now get on the new Narowal-Lahore road.
Continue driving on it for a few kilometres.
After that, get on the Shakargarh road which will lead you towards Kartarpur road.
You will reach the Kartarpur complex in less than 6 hours via this route.
You can take a bus or train from Rawalpindi to Lahore and from there you can take a car or hire a cab to get there.

From Lahore to Kartarpur

The distance from Lahore to Kartarpur is 136 km and it takes less than 3 hours to reach Kartarpur. Just follow the route details given below.

Get on Lahore ring road that will take you to Sialkot-Lahore motorway M11.
After that, exit the motorway towards Narowal-Muridke road.
Now get on new Narowal-Lahore road and continue driving on it for few KMs.
Take the Raya Khas road which will lead you towards Shakargarh road.
Follow this Shakargarh road that will take you to the Kartarpur road.
Drive on the Kartarpur road for 2.8 km and you will reach your destination.
You can take local transport as well from Lahore to Shakargarh to reach Kartarpur.

From Karachi to Kartarpur

People who are planning to visit Kartarpur from Karachi can also choose to fly if their budget allows. Otherwise, you can use the road route given below.

Get on Lyari expressway and drive towards Karachi-Hyderabad motorway.
After that, follow the Karachi-Hyderabad motorway towards Indus highway in Jamshoro.
Get on Multan-Sukkur motorway M5 via Indus highway.
Continue driving on it for few KMs.
Exit M5 via Lahore Abdul Hakeem motorway.
After that, take the exit on to the Islamabad-Lahore motorway M2.
Get on the Lahore bypass and take the exit on to the Sialkot-Lahore motorway.
Now take the exit towards Narowal-Muridke road.
Keep driving on it which will lead you to new Narowal-Lahore road.
The new Narowal-Lahore road will take you to Shakargarh road.
After that, get on Kartarpur road via Shakargarh road.
You will reach your destination in approximately 17 hours. The distance from Karachi to Kartarpur is 1,315 km by road.
Taking a train to Lahore is another option. From there you can hire a cab to reach Kartarpur.

These are road routes for reaching Kartarpur from Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. Due to various factors, the travelling time can vary.

To sum up, Kartarpur corridor is a great initiative from the government of Pakistan. It will bring peace and prosperity in the region as well as give a boost to tourism in Pakistan. If this article is of any help then do let us know in the comments.