Pathankot

Pathankot Pathankot
Population  (2007)
• Total	139,000

Pathankot (Punjabi: ਪਠਾਨਕੋਟ, Hindi: पठानकोट [pəˈʈʰaːnkoːʈ]) is a city and a municipal committee in Gurdaspur district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was a part of the Nurpur Princely state ruled by the Rajputs prior to 1849 A.D. It is a meeting point of the three northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Due to its ideal location, Pathankot serves as a travel hub for the three northerly states. Pathankot is the fifth largest city in the state of Punjab in terms of population. It is the last city in Punjab on the national highway that connects Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India. Situated in the picturesque foothills of Kangra and Dalhousie, with the river Chakki flowing close by, the city is often used as a rest-stop before heading into the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir, Dalhousie, Chamba, and Kangra, deep into the Himalayas.

Pathankot is also used as a gateway for Chamba & Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh and for various location in Jammu & Kashmir like Mansar Lake, Srinagar, Udhampur, Holy Cave at Amarnath, Patni Top and Holy Cave of Mata Vashino Devi (Katra) 155 km away from Pathankot.

Near pathankot there is a dam named Ranjit Sagar Dam near jugyal.

Geography

Pathankot is located at 32.18°N 75.42°E / 32.18; 75.42. It has an average elevation of 332 metres (1089 feet).

How to reach

By plane

Pathankot is connected to Delhi . Check Indian Airlines/Air India site for flight schedule.

By train

Pathankot is a major railroad junction. Lines from Amritsar (2 hrs) and Delhi (8 hrs) merge here, and all services to Jammu (2 hrs) pass through. In addition to Pathankot station itself, there is a second station called Chakki Bank just 4 km away, which serves some express trains that do not stop in Pathankot station. Nowadays the majority of the Jammu trains stop only at Chakki Bank and not at Pathankot. Unfortunately Chakki Bank is a smaller station with limited facilities.

In addition, Pathankot is also served by the narrow-gauge Kangra Valley Railway (a.k.a. Kangra Toy Train) built by the British, which crawls 128 km through stunning scenery to Joginder Nagar via Palampur and Kangra (near Dharamsala). However, the luxury Kangra Queen services were terminated back in 2003, leaving about 6 departures daily of slow, often packed second class trains, taking over six hours. Bookings for these can only be done locally at Pathankot station. Some of these trains run to Baijnath Paprola and a few to Joginder Nagar.

To Know More about Pathankot Trains & Their Schedule Click Chakki Bank Railway Station Trains & their Schedule & Click Pathankot Railway Station Trains & their Schedule.

By bus

The main bus stand has been renovated. Its close to the railway station. Formerly, there were two bus stations: a small one right next to the train station (for Himachal buses) and the main bus stand a few km away. Public HRTC buses to Dharamsala take 3-4 twisty, turny hours and cost Rs.75, while buses to Amritsar take 3 hours and cost the same. Dalhousie famous destination for honeymoon couples is at just 80 km from Pathankot.

Pathankot is situated at the entry point of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The famous Hindu Pilgrimage Vaishno devi is just 160 km from pathankot.From Chandigarh you can reach here in just 6hrs. It is well connected with bus services from Punjab roadways, Haryana Roadways, Himachal Roadways and J&K transport.

To Know More about Pathankot Bus Stand & Schedule of Buses.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Pathankot had a population of 159,559. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Pathankot has an average literacy rate of 87%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 90%, and female literacy is 83%. In Pathankot, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. In Pathankot, Punjabi, Hindi, Dogri, are spoken .

60% of the population are Hindus, 32% are Sikhs, 8% are Christians, 0.4% Muslim (Tribal and Sunni). Pathankot and its people are very warm and cozy. The city itself reflects the affection of its people.Probably the only city in Punjab which was not affected by the dark period of terrorism during the eighties.

Its one of the city of Punjab's golden triangle i.e. Amritsar, Jalandhar and Pathankot are at a distance of 100 km to each other.

Places of interest & Stay

Places worth visiting near Pathankot include Shahpur Kandi with a hanging resthouse, Ranjit Sagar Dam which is the highest gravity dam in Asia, Madhopur headworks which date back to the Mughal era. Church, Head works of Upper Bari Doab, Shahpur Kandi are the attractions of this area.

There are some caves on the way to Shahpur Kandi which date to the time of the Mahabharata. According to a legend, the Pandavas stayed in those caves for a night during their "Agayatwas". A carnival or mela, called Mukesran da mela is held there each year in the month of April to mark Baisakhi.

The ancient Shiva temple- 'Kathgarh'. is approximately 25 km from PTK, During "Naag panchami" gap between two shiva parvati holy stones reduces and during "shivrathri" the gap increases. There is no clue as to how that happens. But truly it's a magic of its own. To reach there one has to go to Indora (HP), which is 20 km away from ptk. Don't miss this temple if you visit Pathankot.

India's foremost hydraulic research stations is situated at Malikpur which is 7 km from Pathankot, where various models of dams and irrigation canal are made before actual work upon them starts.

There is a fort, called the Nurpur Fort built by the Pathania Rajputs, more than 900 years ago. It was damaged due to the great earthquake which struck this region early in 1905 A.D. 25 km from Pathankot. It is quite famous in North India, and the temple inside attracts tourists from all across. It is 25 KM away from Pathankot.

Shahpurkandi fort is also one of the main attractions of Pathankot city. It was built in 1505 A.D. by a Rajput chief Jaspal Singh Pathania. It was strategically located to have control over the Kangra and Nurpur region. The fort is in ruins, and is famous for its temples and the view it commands over the Ravi river.

The famous road/colony that forms the heart of city are 'mission road ', Jodhamal colony, 'green heaven colony' and 'Patel chownk' road. Famous temples are Ashapurni mandir, Kali mata ka mandir, Shani Dev mandir, Hanuman Mandir near railway station, Ramlila ground. Also devotees visit CNI church, Peer baba on Patel chownk. Now new localities are coming up like 'Victoria Estate' and place near 'Doji Raam ki Nursery'. The residential land is decreasing day by day in its vicinity apart from famous 'Victoria Estate', land near 'Doji Raam ki Nursery' that are close to Shahpur Chownk and 'Green Heaven Colony'.

There are many good hotels in the city but no 5 star facility hotels. You can get excellent North Indian delicacies round the clock. few of the renowned restaurants of the city are Hotel Venice, Hotel Woodland, Moti Mahal, Hotel Unite.

One can stop over in Pathankot en-route to Dharamshala (100 km), Dalhousie (70 km), Amritsar (108), Palampur (100 km), Chamba (100 km) & Jammu (100 km), Hoshiarpur (100 km), Kangra (100 km), Jalandhar (108 km) all in different directions from Pathankot.

Make sure you visit Dalhousie in winter(after 25th December) you can catch some real snow. More over when you visit Dalhousie, don't forget to make ur trip to Kahgiar. No wonder they call it an Indian Switzerland (try balloon riding, paragliding for kids, horse riding, take a picture in their traditional dress, and restaurants.) To have your adrenalin flow, drive from Khagiar to chamba, narrow roads with breath taking views will make your adrenaline flow for sure.

For religious trips like Jwalaji (130 km), Chintpurni (130 km) Pathankot becoms an ideal place to rest before heading to the hill route the next morning. A Grand Ranjit Sagar Dam (earthen Dam made of mud and not concrete) is a 100 km water reservoir. This is the latest tourist spot of Pathankot and is in "Must Visit". Chinmayya Temple (Swami Chinmayya Nand) is also un way to Yol Camp (100 km). This is the place where the German Soldiers (POW) were kept in confinement after the Second World War by the British.

Kath Garh Temple: The last destination of the Greek emperor Sikandar. While returning back to Greece, The emperor Sikandar's Army refused to cross this area. hence only Sikandar with his Greek team went ahead leaving the most of army here. A big festible happens in the Kathgarh during the Shivratri as thousands of people come to view visit this place.

The economy of the city is dependent upon the Army, 3-Multipurpose Dams being constructed on river Ravi, as trading & distribution hub for Chamba & Kangra valley and adjoining parts of Jammu & Kashmir. There are lots of crushers in the area whose sand, stones and other concrete material are ISI marked, which is unique in the whole of India.

Transport

Pathankot is well connected by Air, Road and Rail with the rest of the country. Despite being the city of such a strategic importance the road conditions are worse in the city.

Indian airlines have flights from/to Delhi.

It has direct train links with Delhi, Jammu, Amritsar, Jabalpur, Mumbai, Indore and other Indian cities. There are two railway stations in Pathankot City- 1 Pathankot . 2 Chakki Bank.

Except for few trains most of the trains stop at Chakki Bank . The important trains include

• Indore-Jammu Tawi Malwa Express, Mumbai Express (Sawraj Express),
• Jammu Tawi - Kolkata (Sealdah Express),
• Chennai - Jammu (Andaman Express),
• Jabalpur - Jammutavi Express,
• Guwahati - Jammu Tawi (Lohit Express),
• Ajmer - Jammu (Pooja Express),
• Indore - Amritsar Express, Pune - Jammu Tawi (Jhelum express),
• Jammu Tawi - New Delhi

Super fast trains like Jammu Tawi-Mumbai Express do not enter city Pathankot. They stop at outer Railway Station called 'Chakki Bank'. The distance from main Railway station & Chakki Bank is just 4 km. This city also has a narrow line station just next to main city station from where trains to Kangra valley can be caught.

Pathankot is also connected by a vast network of private and public-sector bus services to other cities in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir. Important destinations include Jammu, Shimla, Chandigarh, Delhi, Dharamsala, Dalhousie, and Amritsar.

The domestic airport connects the city with Delhi and Kullu.

Distance from:

• Jammu - 110 km
• Amritsar - 108 km
• Jalandhar - 108 km
• ludhiana- 170 km
• Chandigarh - 269 km
• New Delhi - 485 km
• katra-155;km
• Patni Top-185;km
• kullu manali-285;km
• Indore - 724 km

Educational facilities

Private institutions in Pathankot also serves as education hub for the nearby areas of J & K and Himachal. Many students from rural areas of these states come to study here. It has colleges like SD College, SRPAAB College, RRMK Arya Mahila Mahavidyalaya Ptk etc. Among the secondary schools St. Joseph's Convent School, Air Force School, Arya Boy Sen. sec. School,Modern English School, Tagore Public School, Pratap World School, Montennsari Cambridge school.

In spite of being the fifth largest city of Punjab (population-wise), Pathankot does not have a government college.

External links

• Template:Wikitravel
• To book tickets to/from Pathankot, visit http://www.travelagentspathankot.com
• AMIMT, A & M Institutes - Pathankot City College. http://www.amimt.com
• Unite Hotel - http://www.hotelu-nite.com
• Web Designers Pathankot, http://www.trendsup.com/contact.php
• Abacus Education Franchise , http://www.maxmindindia.com
• Pathankot College, http://www.pathankotcollege.com
• Pathankot Polytechnic College, http://www.pathankotpolytechnic.com