It’s becoming more and more popular – and easier – for travellers to cross the Wagah border from India to Pakistan. But the next question is about travel in the opposite direction. Can you cross back over to travel from Pakistan to India?
Pakistan and India work well as a traveller for two countries to visit together. And the chances are if you are interested in one you will be curious about travel in the other. They have many similarities and obviously a proximity, which just makes sense. But because of past tensions and a tumultuous brother-like relationship, travel between the two is not clear cut.
However, it IS POSSIBLE to travel from Pakistan to India.
Here is everything you need to know for travel from Pakistan to India and from India to Pakistan.
- Options from travel from Pakistan to India
- About the Attari-Wagah border
- Am I allowed to cross?
- e-Visa for India (IMPORTANT!)
- e-Visa for Pakistan
- Travel from Pakistan to India
- Lahore to Wagah
- Exiting Pakistan
- Entering India
- Getting to Amritsar
- Things to know
About travel from Pakistan to India. What are the options?
Travel in Pakistan and India is obviously different. Albeit there are many similarities, India has much higher tourist numbers and infrastructure that is tried and tested and set up for tourism. Pakistan on the other hand is newer to the tourism game. Although it was certainly popular back in the times of the Hippie Trail, it’s changed, and tourism is only in a growth stage again now.
But it is this lesser-travelled facet that gives Pakistan allure. It is somewhere to get further off the beaten track and to experience culture that bit more untouched.
So, tourist numbers in Pakistan are lower. And the relationship between Pakistan and India isn’t great, making it consequently trickier to travel between the two.
There are currently no flights operating directly between Pakistan and India.
To travel from Pakistan to India by air the most straightforward option is to fly via the Middle East and connect with a flight to India.
But the other option for travel from Pakistan to India is by land crossing over the Wagah Border.
About the Attari-Wagah Border and travel from Pakistan to India
The Wagah border is the only land border and crossing point open for foreigners to travel from Pakistan to India and from India to Pakistan.
Prior to partition in 1947, the two countries of India and Pakistan were under the rule of the British. And the border came into existence as the country was divided into Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India.
Relations between the two countries have been tense throughout history. But the Wagah Border is indeed open to travel from Pakistan to India and from India to Pakistan.
Can I cross the land border from Pakistan to India? Am I allowed to cross overland in that direction?
This is the question we first had too. Traveling from India to Pakistan is more talked about. And we did it this way the first time. But we next wanted to know if we could travel on foot, by land in the other direction and re-enter India overland from Pakistan.
YES. You can. And yes, the border is open to cross. Assuming you have the correct visas (see below about the India visa), the Wagah border is open for foreigners to travel from Pakistan to India overland.
About the Pakistan e-Visa. Can I use it to enter and exit Pakistan overland?
The first thing before planning any travel to Pakistan is to apply for a visa. Pakistan now has an electronic visa system, and it is reasonably straightforward.
With an e-Visa for Pakistan you are able to enter and exit the country by land or air.
- Read our guide to applying for a Pakistan e-Visa here.
IMPORTANT! About the India visa for travel from Pakistan to India.
The most important thing for travel Pakistan to India and vice versa is that you have pre-arranged valid visas for both countries.
The chances are that you will first cross the border from India to Pakistan before traveling from Pakistan to India. And this is important because India does not issue e-Visas through any land borders.
What this means is that you can arrive into India first using an Indian e-Visa if you arrive by air. You can then exit India (exit by land or air) and use your multiple entry India e-Visa to re-enter India a second time by land.
- Tip: IMPORTANT! The only way to enter India by land with an e-Visa is to first arrive in India by air. Then you can exit India and re-enter at a land border using the already issued, multiple entry e-Visa for India.
For example, with an India e-Visa you can fly into New Delhi using your e-Visa at Indira Gandhi International Airport. You can then exit India overland from Amritsar to Lahore and return traveling from Pakistan to India, entering India using your already issued e-Visa at the land border to Amritsar.
This is the biggest question about travel from Pakistan to India.
Yes, it is possible. We have used the land border successfully to travel from Pakistan to India in both directions for our last four trips to Pakistan.
- Read how to cross the Wagah border from India to Pakistan and how to apply for a multiple entry India e-Visa.
Crossing the Wagah border between Pakistan and India
It sounds complicated but really, it’s not.
Here is everything you need to know to travel from Pakistan to India using the Wagah border crossing.
Getting to the Wagah border crossing from Lahore
Getting to the border crossing on both sides is easy by taxi. From Lahore to the Wagah border crossing, it takes around 45 minutes using Canal Road from the city.
- Lahore to the Wagah border: 45 mins (28 km) via Canal Road
Exiting Pakistan at the Wagah border crossing from Pakistan to India
Exiting from the Pakistan side to India is straightforward and each time quicker than we expected. The border only opens at 10:00am and it is a slow, and low-staffed time of day to cross. On our most recent crossing there was only one other traveller.
- Enter the border area. There is a first checkpoint about 1km from the parking area and shops for the Wagah border ceremony. In theory your driver needs to drop you here to walk. However, twice after a passport check and vehicle search the officers kindly let our taxi driver take us to the main entrance.
- Exit Pakistan – immigration. The building to exit Pakistan customs and immigration is the same for crossing in both directions. Exiting from the Pakistan side is quick. We were asked about our trip though it did seem more for genuine interest than official data.
- Exit Pakistan – customs. There is a bag scanner for all bags before exiting the building.
- Walk to the Zero Line and border gates. This is the fun part! Grab your bag and follow the main *road to the border gates.
- Cross the border. Walk across the border line to official travel from Pakistan to India. Your passport will be checked again here on each side (for at least the 10th of 70 zillion times today). This is literally the same road the Wagah Border ceremony parade marches up and down each evening. But it is possible to take a moment here and enjoy the rarity of being right in the middle of two countries.
*On our most recent crossing you need to walk around the Pakistan side of the stadium as it is under construction.
Entering India at the Wagah border crossing from Pakistan to India
I would describe the Pakistani side of the border crossing as samler and more laid back than the Indian side. But there isn’t much traffic full stop. The Wagah border is well-known but little-used. And if you’ve already come from India and are thus now traveling back from Pakistan to India you will already know what to expect.
- Passport check at the Zero Line. The first (first on the Indian side) passport check is here at the border gates.
- Check #2. Turn immediately to your right and head for the small kiosk with officers for a second check and stop there under the huge mango tree.
- Bus to the India border terminal. There is a waiting area and bag scanner behind the Indian stadium for the one bus between the border and customs terminal. It takes around 10 – 15 minutes wait between buses but the bus ride itself is only three minutes.
- Enter India – immigration. The entry to India with the e-Visa is quick and easy here. But don’t be surprised if you are given a lengthy ‘Quality Review’ feedback form about the services of India customs and immigration. (Err, great? Can we go now?).
- Enter India – customs. Here is the chance to declare anything and pass through the bag scanner and security check.
From there you can use a porter service to take your bags 100 metres out to the main road where there are a few, random taxis waiting. Or good luck letting them know you don’t need their services…
Getting to Amritsar after crossing the border from Pakistan
It isn’t a high traffic area by any means so if you have already come from Amritsar initially it is a good idea to keep a contact for a taxi service to Amritsar.
Otherwise, one of the guards can call a taxi for you. It is possible (anything is possible in India) although obviously it does mean paying a higher price for a driver to come from Amritsar and take you one-way back.
- Attari-Wagah border to Amritsar: 45 minutes (32 km) via Grand Trunk Road
What about doing it in reverse? Is it easy/easier to cross India to Pakistan?
It is theoretically easier to cross in reverse. But that is because it’s much more common and certainly the crossing from India to Pakistan is more documented.
However, if you’re reading this and already in Pakistan then the chances are you’ve come that way. And if so, you’ve already done the crossing once and have much more of an idea of what to expect about the border to travel from Pakistan to India.
- Read about crossing the Wagah border from India to Pakistan here.
Good things to know before traveling by land from Pakistan to India and vice versa
- Timing: The border is open to travel from Pakistan to India from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Note that there is a 30-minute time difference with India. It’s slow to get started but we do recommend crossing in the morning. Don’t wait until the afternoon as traffic to the border gets busy in afternoon before the border ceremony.
- Visas for Pakistan: Pakistan Online Visa System is now open for citizens of 191 countries.
- Visas for India: Apply for eVisa to India by Bureau of Immigration here.
- Come prepared with drinking water and snacks: It’s hot in summer. Like, seriously hot. (We crossed the first time in June). On the Pakistan side the small cafes and shops that open for the border ceremony are not open in the morning. Bring enough drinking water to get you all the way across.
There are small shops just on the exit of the Amritsar side of the border that sell water and cold drinks and snacks. Make sure you have some cash or small change (see below for exchanging money at the border).
Is there a money exchange or ATM at the Wagah border crossing from Pakistan to India?
There are no official money changing facilities at the border on either side. And don’t get your hopes up on spotting the currency signs at the dilapidated ATM on the Pakistani side.
However, some of the porters – on both sides – will offer demurely but insistintly to change your Pakistani rupees for Indian. But if you have PKR left this is a great way to get rid of it without going out of your way. And it also means you have some cash ready for a cold drink or a taxi and tip on the other side.
- Tip: See our complete travel guide for Pakistan here which better explains about ATM’s in Pakistan and our guide to managing, exchanging and withdrawing money in India here.
What about Polio? Are you really given Polio drops at the border?
This is what we had heard before crossing the Wagah border the first time. Supposedly if you tell the Indian side you are going to Pakistan and coming back again they likely will decide that you need a dose of Polio drops so you don’t catch Polio and bring it back to India…
It’s not revered or likely. And rather sounds like one last bat at convincing you preference for one of two said nations. But we’ve now crossed the border to travel from Pakistan to India and India to Pakistan multiple times and never been asked about Polio.
The verdict? How is it to cross the Wagah border from Pakistan to India?
Yes. It certainly is. We’ve crossed the Wagah border from Lahore to Amritsar to travel from Pakistan to India and from India to Pakistan multiple times.
Make sure you have your visas in order and have fully understood that arrival by land to India on an e-Visa is only possible with multiple entries and a stamp that confirms it has already been issued in India first by air. And you are good to go!
Accommodation / Where to stay before and after crossing the Wagah border
These are the hotels we stayed in Lahore and Islamabad, Amritsar and Delhi before and after crossing the Wagah border from Pakistan to India.
- Lahore: Rose Palace Hotel (budget); Grand Millennium Hotel (mid-range)
- Islamabad:Regalia Hotel Islamabad (mid-range); Grand Peace House II(basic);Shelton Mellton (basic).
- Amritsar: Hyatt Regency Amritsar (mid-range/luxury); Hotel Sapphire (budget).
- Delhi: Taurus Sarovar Portico Hotel (mid-range); Smyle Inn (budget); Hotel Hari Piorko (budget).
More about travel planning for India, Pakistan and beyond…
These are the companies we use while traveling fulltime as a family and that we would recommend to anyone planning and booking travel.
- Booking.com – The best all-around accommodation booking site that constantly provides the cheapest and lowest rates. They have the widest selection of budget accommodation and it’s easy to filter and sort into price and availability with all the extras you are looking for personally.
- Skyscanner– This is by far our favourite flight search engine. They are able to search small websites and budget airlines that larger search sites often miss. We book all our flights through Skyscanner.
- GetYourGuide– Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace for tours and excursions offered all around the world including everything from walking tours, to street-food tours, cooking classes, desert safari’s and more!
- SafetyWing – A global travel insurance that covers people from all over the world while outside their home country. You can buy it short or longterm; and even if you are out of the country.
- World Nomads – Travel insurance tailored for longterm travel and nomads (including those who have already left home).
Read more from travel in Pakistan and India
- 12 Unique things to do in Amritsar, Punjab.
- How to visit the Golden Temple, Amritsar.
- Catching the Vande Bharat Fast Train from Delhi to Amritsar.
- How to apply for a Pakistan e-Visa: And can you use it at the Wagah Border?
- Crossing the Wagah Border from India to Pakistan.
- Money in India: Using ATM’s, withdrawing and carrying your money safely.
- A foreigners guide to the Wagah Border Ceremony in Lahore.
- How to use a squat toilet: Everything you didn’t want to ask…
- Our complete packing list for travel in India.
