Gurdwara Baba Atal Rai

Among the sights clustered around the Golden Temple, Gurdwara Baba Atal Rai is easy to miss and hard to forget. It is a slender octagonal tower of nine storeys, the tallest religious building in the old city, and it commemorates Baba Atal Rai, the young son of the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind, who is remembered in tradition for his extraordinary spiritual maturity and for dying at a very young age. The nine floors are said to correspond to the years of his life, and the building's pale, tiered form, topped with small domes and kiosks, stands out over the neighbouring rooftops. Inside, each floor can be reached by stairs, and visitors climb through chambers whose walls and ceilings are covered with painted scenes from Sikh history and the lives of the Gurus. The ground floor holds the main prayer hall where the scripture is installed, and the upper levels are quieter, with simple balconies that offer views across the bazaars and back towards the Golden Temple's golden dome. Entry is free, and the atmosphere is calm and unhurried compared to the main shrine.

The gurdwara is close to the Golden Temple complex, a short walk from the main entrance, which makes it an easy addition to a temple morning. Many guided city tours stop here, and the sights tour that includes the Golden Temples and historic sites linked here is a useful way to see several of these places in one outing, with a guide explaining the stories behind the paintings. If you go on your own, ask volunteers for directions, since the gurdwara sits in a quiet pocket reached through lanes.

The experience is as much about the details as the climb. The wall paintings use bright colours and a folk style, with scenes from Sikh history and the legends of the Gurus, and a good guide can decode them. Pause at the landings to look, and keep your voice down, since this is an active place of worship.

The upper floors can be narrow and the steps steep, so take your time, hold the rail and wear footwear that is easy to remove. Visitors with limited mobility may prefer to see the ground floor and the exterior.

The usual courtesies apply. Cover your head, remove your shoes and wash your feet at the entrance, and dress with shoulders and knees covered. Photography is generally accepted in the public areas but may be restricted inside the prayer hall, so follow the signs and ask if unsure. The best time to go is morning, when the light is soft and the crowds are modest, or late afternoon when the tower glows.

The view from the top is not enormous, but it is satisfying to see the Golden Temple, the market roofs and the surrounding streets laid out beneath you. A cup of tea afterwards in the lanes nearby completes a gentle, rewarding hour.

Look out for the offering of prasad at the ground floor, a sweet paste given to worshippers, which you can accept with both hands as a gesture of respect. The tower is often visited briefly and quickly, but those who linger on the upper floors tend to find that the quiet and the views reward the effort, especially in the soft light of late afternoon.