Ateshgah Fire Temple

Ateshgah is a caravanserai-style pilgrimage site built around a natural gas vent that produced an eternal flame — sacred to Zoroastrians, Hindus, and Sikhs across the ancient world. Pilgrims from Persia, India, and Central Asia made arduous journeys here to worship at what they believed was a divine manifestation of the sacred fire. The complex includes the central altar flame, courtyard cells where ascetics lived in voluntary self-mortification, and inscriptions in Sanskrit, Persian, and Punjabi. The museum provides excellent context.