A Day in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India
Recently, during our yearly visit to India, we did an enjoyable, but quite hectic 4-Day holiday, in which we visited four cities: Varanasi, Ayodhya, Lucknow and Agra.
Although we visited these four cities in just four days, I wouldn’t recommend such a hectic itinerary. I have shared all my learnings and experiences in all my posts, which will help you plan your visit more effectively.
In this article, I shall take you through our experience in Ayodhya.
Ayodhya is a city situated on the banks of the river Sarayu in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in India. This city is also the birthplace of Lord Rama, one of the most prominent Hindu deities. Therefore, it is a prominent pilgrimage site. The land where lord Ram is believed to have been born was under dispute for several years. In the year 2020, the foundation stone of the new temple was laid, and construction of the temple began. In 2024, the temple was inaugurated, and since then, the number of people visiting Ayodhya has increased multifold.
Arriving at Ayodhya
You can arrive at Ayodhya either by road, train (Ayodhya Dham Junction Railway Station) or air (Maharshi Valmiki International Airport). The road and train connectivity are pretty good. The train station is less than 2 km from the Sri Ram temple, which is the most prominent place to visit in Ayodhya.
Since Ayodhya was the second leg of our holiday and we were arriving from Varanasi, we booked a taxi and reached Ayodhya by road. This distance between Ayodhya and Varanasi is about 220 km, and the drive took us about five hours.
If you wish, you can do a day trip to Ayodhya from Varanasi. This trip includes travel as well as a visit to all prominent sites in Ayodhya.
Accommodation in Ayodhya
There are plenty of accommodation options in Ayodhya, suiting all budgets. We stayed in a hotel that was pretty close to the Sri Ram temple. This allowed us to visit the temple as well as other important sites (which are in the vicinity of the temple) easily.
Here is the link to the hotel where we stayed. My review of the hotel is posted here.
Our Itinerary in Ayodhya
We started from Sarnath, Varanasi, in the afternoon and reached Ayodhya at night. The following day, we woke up early, had our breakfast and headed to Dashrath Mahal. Our hotel offered a drop-off, so it was easy. After visiting Dashrath Mahal, we visited Kanak Bhavan, which was just a few meters away. After that, we walked and reached Hanuman Ghari. Since it was very crowded, we headed straight to the Sri Ram temple. After the temple visit, we stopped by to see Lata Mageshkar Chowk, spent some time walking along the Sarayu River and then returned to our hotel and had lunch. After lunch, we visited Ram ki Paidi. With this, we completed our Ayodhya visit. We took a taxi and headed to our next destination, Lucknow.
In the following section, I shall take you through these experiences.
Experiences in Ayodhya
1. Dashrath Mahal
Dashrath Mahal is a historical site, believed to be the palace of King Dashrath, father of Lord Rama. Within Dashrath Mahal, a shrine venerates Lord Rama, Lakshman, and Goddess Sita. Located quite close to the Sri Ram temple, this palace is easily accessible on foot.
Note that this palace is open for limited hours in the morning and evening (typically 8 am to 12 pm and then 9 pm to 10 pm), so plan your visit accordingly. We visited this as the first place.
2. Kanak Bhavan
Kanak Bhavan, translated to Golden Palace, is said to be the personal residence of Lord Ram and Devi Seeta. It is believed that this palace was gifted by Kaikeyi to Seeta after their wedding. The main idols installed in the sanctum sanctorum are of Rama and Sita. This palace is just a few meters from Dashrath Mahal and can be reached on foot.
Note that this palace, like Dashrath Bhavan, is open for limited hours in the morning and evening (8 am to 11 am and 4:30 pm to 9 pm), so plan your visit accordingly. We visited this after visiting Dashrath Mahal.
3. Hanuman Garhi
Hanuman Garhi is a temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman. It sits atop a hill and is accessible by a climb of roughly 76 stairs. It is believed that Lord Ram gifted this temple to Hanuman and instructed that visitors to Ayodhya should first seek Hanuman’s blessings before visiting him. That is why devotees always visit this temple before visiting the Ram temple.
Hanuman Garhi is situated near the Ram temple, alongside Dashrath Mahal and Kanak Bhavan.
When we reached this temple, it was very crowded, so we skipped it.
4. Ram Mandir
Ram Mandir, also called Ramlalla Mandir, is a temple complex in Ayodhya. This is the land where lord Ram is believed to have been born. This land was under dispute for several years. In the year 2020, the foundation stone of the new temple was laid, and construction of the temple began. In 2024, the temple was inaugurated. The construction is still incomplete, but one can see continuous work being done.
The visit to the temple is very well organised. No prior booking is needed, especially if you plan your visit on a regular day. However, on special occasions, you can expect a huge crowd, so try to book Sugam darshan on their official website.
We didn’t make any booking when we visited the temple in July. Despite that, we were able to do the darshan in an hour easily. No cameras or digital devices are allowed inside, so one has to deposit them at the cloakroom.
This is the path we took.
After visiting the temple, we took a shared van (quite common and easily available) and alighted at Lata Mangeshkar Chowk, a roundabout dedicated to the famous singer.
Then, we strolled along the river Sarayu and reached our hotel.
5. Ram Ki Paidi
Ram ki Paidi is a series of ghats on the river Sarayu, where devotees take a bath to cleanse themselves. It is believed that it was here that, before going to 14 years of exile, Lord Rama took a holy dip in the sacred waters of the Saryu.
The entire area is very big and well-developed. We spent about 30 minutes exploring the area and enjoying lovely views of the Sarayu River.
With this, we ended our Ayodhya visit. From here, we left for our next destination, Lucknow.
Ayodhya visit, though short, was delightful. Due to a shortage of time, we couldn’t stop by to savour local foods and explore other parts of the city beyond the pilgrimage sites. But if you want to do a more relaxed visit, adding a day would make sense.
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