STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES OF INDIA
UTTARPRADESH
Ayodhya trip
- Aparna Rajagopalan
17 Mar 2026
While Varanasi to Prayagraj was mostly on highways, Prayagraj to Ayodhya
went thru several small towns. The gates/arches in and out of the
cities are named after our Devi Devatas, like Lakshmi, Saraswati.
Amava Ram Mandir housing a childhood idol of Lord Ram (the first
air-conditioned Ram temple in Ayodhya located near the Ram Janmabhoomi)
The street lamps in Varanasi were all trishul/damaru shaped and those in
Ayodhya were like bows/arrows. This "in-your-face Hinduness" of OUR
land made me so happy.
Started early in the morning to reach Ayodhya Dham.
(Faizabad Junction has been
renamed to Ayodhya Cantt (AYC), and Ayodhya Junction has been renamed to
Ayodhya Dham Junction (AYDP) to reflect local sentiments and the city's
religious significance. The changes were implemented by the Ministry of
Railways in 2021 and 2023 respectively, serving as major transit
points)
No private vehicles allowed, you can either walk or take the shared
auto-like vehicle. Left all the things except a small wallet. Bit of a
walk till the security check and then some.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir
Then the vista opens up in front of us like magic. It is a beautiful
temple complex, still unfinished other than the main temple. Once
finished will be worth another visit because the sculptures on the
walls, pillars and niches were sooooo beautiful and plentiful. Not much
queue so reached the sanctum in about 20 minutes. The inner sanctum has 2
more floors which aren’t open yet for public. Ramlalla just stands
there smiling, asserting ownership.
As we exit, the mantapam has Saraswati sculptures everywhere. May be
several dozens, not one looked like another. This is just one mantapam
that is open. Can easily imagine all other mantapams once open.
We decided to go in for darshan again, So walked all the way back to the
lockers then back to security check, then again to the queue, this time
a bit longer. One more darshan of Ramlalla. Walked around to check out
the dioramas outside which depict Ramayana story from the beginning.
Again only a small section is complete. Work is going on.
Marble statue of Goswami Tulsidas, poet-saint and author of the Ramcharitmanas
Came out picked up the belongings and went to Hanuman Garhi. There was
just a small bunch of people walking up the stairs (76 steep
steps) to enter the temple. Inside there was a lot of crowd and we got
squeezed like a tube of toothpaste that is almost empty.
Shri Hanuman Garhi Mandir
Hanuman is small but cute. By the time we walked around the temple, took
a different road from the exit and reached the front, there was a
loooong queue all the way up to the road near the Ram temple. Had we got
caught in that crowd, would have been 2-3 hours before we got
out. Had lunch at Shabri Rasoi, highly recommend this restaurant.
Raj Dwar Mandir (Raja Mandir)
Kanak Bhawan (Golden House / Sone-ka-Ghar)
Post lunch went to Kanak Bhawan. There is a small temple in there. This
is said to be a palace gifted to Sita by Kaikeyi. Dasarath Mahal and
Sita’s rasoi were closed for renovation, so we did not visit.
Shri Bharat Hanuman Milan Mandir (Bharatkund), Nandigram, about 15 km from Ayodhya
In the afternoon we headed off to Nandigram where Bharat waited for 14
years. There is a small cave where he was supposedly meditating and a small
temple nearby from where he conducted the business related to his
kingdom. There is also a mandir where he met Hanuman, who was sent ahead
by Rama to inform Bharat not to jump into the fire in haste. That
temple sits on top of a cave too. Most people miss the stairs towards
one side that takes us underground where there are several niches and
sanctums for Mahadev. There is another smaller cave nearby where there
is a pair of paduka. Only one person can go into the cave at a time,
thru a very narrow steep passage.
Guptar Ghat
Then we went to Guptar Ghat of Sarayu where Rama along with his brothers
took Jal samadhi. There is a small fort on the shores and a mandir
maintained by a family. Very small but tidy and nice with tulsi plants
all around. Spent some time at the riverfront.
Sarayu Aarti
Back to Ayodhya from Nandigram to the Sarayu Riverfront, where Sarayu
Aarti happens. Small scale of what is done on the banks of Ganga. The
riverfront is being developed with murals from Ramayana.
Relief murals
There is a city square in memory of Lata Mangeshkar. The roundabout is
decorated with a huge Veena sculpture. There are Ramayana themed
sculptures all along the roads on both sides, like the one with water
feature from the arrow.
 
Maharishi Valmiki International Airport Ayodhya Dham
The AQI (Air Quality Index) was very high here too that the sun looked
like moon in the morning and like a red dot in the evening. The flight
got delayed due to poor visibility. Ayodhya’s Maharishi Valmiki airport
is small, quaint and very cute. Has numerous Madhubhani and patachitra paintings of
Ramayana on the walls. There are small cafes inside the airport where
the masala chai was just amazing.
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