The Rangeela Ricksha Tour is something we saved for the end of our trip. This tour encompassed the Walled City of Lahore, covering little-known sites like the Shahi Hammam and Masjid Wazir Khan.
For this tour, we hired the same guide who showed us Lahore Fort. Basically, we had to arrive at a specific spot to park our cars very early in the morning. From there, the tour guide met us and we began the tour!
The first half of the tour consisted of walking, we passed by Delhi Gate and saw many different areas of the Walled City, such as the spice bazaar.
Our first stop was the Shahi Hammam which was built in 1635. The hammam consisted of three parts: the jama khana (dressing area), nim garm (warm baths), and garm (hot baths).The baths were gender segregated, contained a reception chamber as well as a small prayer room. This site was newly restored by the Aga Khan Trust, and it was great to see how they worked so hard to restore the Hammam to its original state.
In the beginning of the tour, they showed us a video detailing the history, usage, and restoration process of the Shahi Hammam. It was really interesting to watch!
The tour guide also took us upstairs to show us the roof of the Hammam.
I actually saw a lot of foreigners visiting the Shahi Hammam (seeing foreigners is not common in Pakistan). It was very well-kept; they had clean bathrooms, a cafe area, and a cute gift shop.
Our next stop was to Haveli Alif Shah. We walked there and we had to cross the narrowest street in the whole city
Haveli Alif Shah is an over three hundred year old heritage house which was converted to a Shia Imam Bara in 1861. Many Shia ceremonies and processions lead out of this Haveli in Muharram and Safar months. They are accompanied by the symbolic coffins and the Zuljana horse.
There were a lot red marks on a specific tree in the haveli. The tour guide told us that these were the marks of the Nauchandi Jummerat rites. The women here believe that if a maiden prays here, on the first Thursday of an Islamic month,she would get married soon. After this girl gets married she is supposed to feed the people here, put red lead paint or sindoor on the tree and burn a few oil lamps.
Coincidentally, when we were visiting the haveli, it turned out to be the first Thursday of the Islamic month. We had a good laugh but didn’t participate in the ceremony.
After that, we finally went to go see Masjid Wazir Khan.Built by Shah Jahan in 1634, the masjid fell into disrepair until 2009, when the
Built by Shah Jahan in 1634, the masjid fell into disrepair until 2009, when the Aga Khan Trust started to begin the restoration process. The Aga Khan Trust was also responsible for the restoration of the Shahi Hammam. They don’t only work to repair sites in Pakistan, they actually have projects all around the world.
This masjid is a true beauty. It is very peaceful and the complete opposite of Badshahi Masjid.
The tour guide offered to take us up one of the minarets, although I was too afraid to climb the stairs, my brothers did and got this wonderful view!
Reminder: you do have to take your shoes off and dress appropriately when visiting a masjid
After we were done with Masjid Wazir Khan, we finally got to the most exciting part of the tour….
The Rangeela Rickshas!!
We had a blast sitting in this rickshas as we got to see the whole Walled City of Lahore again! It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of attention too !
Overall, I had a blast! Would definitely do this again. Many people underestimate Lahore’s beauty.
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Random Thoughts 
Nice article. I experienced the same things which u jotted down . 🙂 good luck
Do visit my other articles .thanks
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Thank you! I did, your articles are very nice!
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Rangeela Rickshaw is an Actual Thing HAHA 😀
Shahi Hammam is like a a Royal Bathing Room or Lounge – … Do they allow to take a bath there – I know the answer (lol ignore).
It’s been such a long time that I never went to visit these places in Lahore but Inside I don’t really want to because I dont find these charming, I would rather spend hours in The Readings (Gulberg) than go visit these places lol 🙂
Happy Breathing 🙂
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Yes😄 it took us a long time to actually explore Lahore, but I think it was worth it for me
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Hmm yeah I want to do a road trip soon but for a job guy, it’s so difficult except for Sundays which is family day lol. 😊
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