About Rupnagar City
Places to see in Rupnagar
The district of Rupnagar is named after its district headquarters, the town of Rupnagar. Formerly known as Ropar, the town of Rupnagar is said to have been founded by a Raja called Rokeshar, who ruled during the 11th century and named it after his son Rup Sen. The town is of considerable antiquity. Recent excavations and explorations conducted at Rupnagar indicate that the first civilized folk to settle here were the Harappans, who apparently reached the upper Satluj towards the close of third millenium B.C. District was carved out on Ist November , 1966 at the of re-organization of the State. The District has rich historical and religious significance behind it.
Places to Visit
TAKHAT SRI KESHGARH SAHIB
After Breakfast Drive to Anandpur Sahib, visit Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib is situated at Anandpur Sahib. It is the birthplace of the Khalsa. The order of the Khalsa was founded here by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Some of the weapons of Guru Gobind Singh are displayed here. The most precious of these is the actual Khanda (double edged sword) used by Guru Gobind Singh to prepare amrit used in the first Khalsa initiation ceremony.
Anandpur Sahib
The birthplace of Khalsa, Anandpur Sahib, is located on the left bank of the Sutlej river, 40 kilometers from Rupnagar town. The town was founded by Guru TegBahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru who purchased the land from the Raja of Bilaspur.
Guru Gobind Singh came to this town in 1674 when he was only eight years old and he spent about 25 years, the major part of his life in Anandpur Sahib. Gurudwara Keshgarh Sahib is the most important of the shrines as it is here that Khalsa was created by him in 1699 on the day of Baisakhi (13th April). Also, it is at this historical spot that the Kashmiri Pandits approached the 9th Guru, Shri Teg Bahadur to save them from oppression by the Moguls.
Other important Gurudwara are Keshgarh Sahib, Manji Sahib, Sis Ganj Sahib, Bhora Sahib, Anandgarh Sahib and Gurudwara Mai Jito associated with the ninth and tenth Gurus of the Sikhs.
Bhakra Nangal Dam
Bhakra Dam which is situated at about 10 kms from Nangal, is one of the highest straight gravity concrete dams in the world. The construction of the dam started in November, 1955.In its rear is formed a beautiful lake 'GobindSagar' named after Guru Gobind Singh. It is 96 km in length with a gross storage capacity of 7.8 million acre feet of water. On the downstream, the dam is flanked by two power houses, one on either side of the river satluj, each fitted with 5 generators, capable of producing a total of 1050 MW of electricity.
Cafeteria has been provided at the top of the dam and also about 1 km upstream of the dam. Water sports in GobindSagar have been added to make it a good tourist resort. A motorableroda to link Bhakra with Shimla and Kulu valley via Naina Devi temple and Bilaspur has been constructed and this has opened the interior of Himachal Pradesh to tourism.
There is a subsidiary dam known as Nangal Dam which is 1000 feet long and 95 feet high and is meant for diverting water into the NangalHydel Channel. In this way, the Nangal Dam holds up the water of Satluj River coming from Bhakra Dam and forms an artificial lake of 6 km length. The NangalHydel Channel including Nangal Dam were constructed prior to 1954.
Gurudwara Parivar Vichhora Sahib
Gurudwara Parivar Vichhora Sahib is situated adjacent to the canal near village NangalSirsa, at a distance of about 14 Km from Rupnagar. It has a lofty flight of 84 steps leading upto the top. Guru Gobind Singh along with his family and followers came to this place leaving the Fort of Anandpur Sahib; He had not yet reached the bank of the Sirsa River, 15 Km to the east when he was attacked by a strong contingent under Wazir Khan, the Governer of Sirhind. When the Guru was heavily engaged, another detachment of the Mughals delivered an assault on the first batch halting on the river bank. A fierce battle took place here in which most of Guru's followers lost their lives. It is the place where Guru was separated from his family and then preceded towards KotlaNihang along with his two elder sons and 40 followers. The Guru's mother and his two younger sons were taken by Gangu, an old domestic servant of the family to his native village, Saheri near Morinda. Mata Sunderi and Mata Sahib Devi, the wives of the Guru were taken to Delhi in the guise of rustic women. A Gurudwara called Parivar Vichhora Sahib marks the site where the family of the Guru was separated. The construction of the Gurudwara was started in 1963 and completed in 1975. A big fair lasting for three days is held here annually in the month of December.
Distance from nearby major places:
Rupnagar nearby places
| Amritsar | 183kms |
| Chandigarh | 45kms |
| Pathankot | 191kms |
| Gurdaspur | 195kms |
| Ludhiana | 75kms |
| Jalandhar | 104kms |
| Hoshiarpur | 93kms |
| Faridkot | 193kms |
| Kapurthala | 125kms |
| Moga | 141kms |
| Patiala | 78kms |
| Sangrur | 133kms |
| Fatehgarh Sahib | 41kms |
| Shimla | 116kms |
| Manali | 265kms |
| Dharamshala | 202kms |
| Dalhousie | 280kms |
| Jammu | 298kms |
| Delhi | 276kms |
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Punjab's Forestry and Wildlife
The Unique eco-system of the Shivaliks is spread over a geographical area 9448.97 Sq. km, and lies in the north-eatern part of the state extending from north-west to south-east along the Himachal Pradesh Border. It is spread across the eastern part of the districts of Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar and Rupnagar