Top 10 places to visit in Ayodhya

Ayodhya, a city steeped in history and mythology, beckons travellers with its rich cultural heritage and sacred sites. As you traverse the ancient lanes and modern avenues of this revered city, prepare to be captivated by a blend of spirituality, architecture, and natural beauty. Here’s a curated list of the top 10 places to visit in Ayodhya.

[read more] In which you can go to this religious place with your family or friends and visit various religious and archaeological sites as well as study Shri Ram and his Leelas extensively. Currently, the Government of India in Ayodhya has constructed bus stand, railway station. And the airport is being upgraded, so that tourists can come here easily.[/read]

Ram Janmabhoomi Temple

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple is a large Hindu temple being built in Ayodhya district of Uttar Pradesh, a sacred site revered by Hindus as the birthplace of Lord Shri Ram, the central character of the epic Ramayana. [read more] The long-running controversy surrounding the Babri Masjid, built in the 16th century, has highlighted the historical and cultural significance of the site and the belief among Hindus that the mosque was built at the exact spot where Lord Shri Ram was born. This happened, due to which religious and political tensions arose.

Bhoomi Pujan and rituals were performed by the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi on 5 August 2020 and after that the construction work of the temple started, which will be completed on the auspicious day of Monday, 22 January 2024, on Paush Shukla Dwadashi, Vikram Samvat 2080. The idol of Ram has been installed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and consecrated. This temple is being supervised by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra.[/read]

Hanuman Garhi

Hanuman Garhi, located in Ayodhya, is a major temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman, a revered deity in Hinduism. Situated on a hilltop, this ancient temple holds a special place in the hearts of devotees. [read more] The temple complex has a series of stairs leading up to the main temple, where a huge idol of Lord Hanuman stands in alert posture, symbolizing power and devotion. Since this temple is situated on a peak, it is said that the earlier kings used to get information about enemy attacks from here.

In Hanuman Garhi, people believe that Hanuman ji actually lives here and every day at 4 pm, a special ‘Ashan’ is prepared in the temple, on which Hanuman ji comes and sits.

According to the legend, after Shri Ram’s victory over Lanka, when Hanuman ji came to Ayodhya in Pushpak Viman along with Shri Ram, Mother Sita and his followers, Hanuman ji settled here and people started calling him the king of this place and this place was called Hanuman Garhi.

Lord Shri Ram had said to Hanuman ji that any devotee who comes to Ayodhya for my darshan, will have to see you before seeing me, my darshan without seeing you will be considered incomplete, that is why the devotees going to Ayodhya should visit Shri Ram ji, they have get the blessings of Lord Hanuman in this temple. [/read]

Distance of Hanuman Garhi from Ram Janmabhoomi Temple – 1.3 K.M.

Kanak Bhawan

The history of this building is linked to both Lord Shri Ram and Lord Shri Krishna.

According to mythology in Kanak Bhawan Lord Shri Ram and Mata Sita lived after their marriage. [read more] It is said that when Lord Shri Ram and Mata Sita got married, that night Mata Kaikeyi had a vision of a grand building in her dream. This was told to Maharaj Dasaratha, Maharaj Dasaratha got Kanak Bhavan constructed here with the help of Lord Vishwakarma.

When Lord Shri Ram and Mata Sita returned to Ayodhya after their marriage, Mata Kaikeyi gifted this building as a gift to Mata Sita. Kanak Bhawan is situated to the north-east of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi. and the distance is about 1 km.

The entry of men was prohibited in Kanak Bhawan, since Hanuman ji was a great devotee of Shri Ram, hence he was allowed to come only in the courtyard of the building. There is a small temple of Hanuman ji in the building.

In this temple, Lord Shri Ram is seated with his brothers and Mother Sita and their images are present in many places in the building. In this temple Lord Shri Ram and Mother are wearing golden crowns.

In Dwapar Yuga, when Lord Shri Krishna was studying all the pilgrimage places after killing a demon, then he comes to this place Ayodhyapuri and then after coming to this place, he sees that a woman is doing penance on its peak, he goes to her , pay obeisance to the woman and get a temple built here.

Then centuries later, Maharaj Vikramaditya got this building renovated. [/read]

Distance of Kanak Bhawan from Ram Janmabhoomi Temple – 1 K.M.

Treta Ke Thakur

Meaning of Treta Ke Thakur is – Lord of Treta Yug means Lord Shri Ram.This is a historical temple, located at Nayaghat on the banks of river Saryu, this temple is dedicated to Lord Shri Ram.

[read more] This temple was renovated by a king of Himachal Pradesh and in those days this temple was also called Kaal Ram temple. The idols of Lord Shri Ram, Hanuman, Mother Sita and Shri Ram’s disciples are installed in the temple, this idol is made of black sandstone.

Treta Ke Thakur Temple is opened for the devotees once a year on the day of Kartik Shukla Ekadashi and on this day this temple remains open for the devotees for 24 hours, this day falls in the month of October-November.

People believe that Lord Shri Ram performed Ashwamedha Yagya at this place and installed an idol in the memory of his wife Sita. It is believed that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had thrown the idol of Mother Sita installed here into the river. [/read]

Distance from Ram Janmabhoomi Temple to Treta Ke Thakur Temple – 1.3 K.M.

Sita Ki Rasoi

According to the story, when Lord Shri Ram went for 14 years of exile with his wife and brother Lakshman, he used to live for some time at a place called Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh) situated on the banks of Mandakani river. Sita’s kitchen is situated at this place, which is still available there, where Goddess Sita used to serve food to the Panch Rishis.

[read more] In Sita’s kitchen, idols of Ram, Sita and their brothers as well as their wives are also installed. The utensil is still symbolically located in the kitchen.

A temple of Lord Hanuman ji is also situated in Chitrakoot, the specialty of this temple is that a water stream flows from behind the idol of Hanuman ji installed in the temple, which is also called Hanuman-Dhara, how does this stream come from such a height? It turns out that scientists are still figuring this out. [/read]

Distance from Ram Janmabhoomi Temple to Sita Ki Rasoi Temple – 2.2 K.M.

Guptar Ghat

The meaning of the word Guptar is – where Shri Ram merged into water and became hidden.

Guptar Ghat is one of the few holy places of Ayodhya, this ghat is situated on the banks of river Saryu in Ayodhya, it is here that Lord Shri Ram merged with his subjects in the water. There are many small and big ghats here.

[read more] This ghat was rebuilt by Raja Darshan in the 19th century. Charan Paduka Temple, Ram Janaki Temple, Hanuman Temple and Narsingh Temple are situated on this ghat.

According to the legend, when Shri Ram merged into water and came in the form of Vishnu at this ghat, he ordered Hanuman ji to stay till the end of Kalyug and Jamwant ji till the end of Dwapar Yug, and also his brothers who came with him were merged into the body of Vishnu and the people of Ayodhya who came with him merged into water and went to Baikuntha Dham. [/read]

Distance from Ram Janmabhoomi Temple to Guptar Ghat– 4.1 K.M.

Dashrath Mahal

Chakravarti Maharaj Dasaratha had built this palace in Treta Yuga. This place is open for tourists from 8 am to 12 noon and from 4 pm to 9 pm.

[read more] Many beautiful paintings and writings have been done inside the palace, in which Maharaj Dasaratha and Mother Kaikeyi are holding the child form of Shri Ram in their hands. In one picture, Maharaj Dasaratha is sitting with his four sons. There is a huge courtyard inside the palace in which there is a small temple of Hanuman ji.

Maharaj Dasaratha’s four sons (Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan) spent their childhood in this palace and Shri Ram lived in this palace for 19 years.

This palace was rebuilt by Maharaja Vikramaditya. [/read]

Distance from Ram Janmabhoomi Temple to Dashrath Mahal – 700 M.

Mani Parvat Temple

This is a mountain situated at a height, there are no stairs to climb it, a flat path is made of brick and its climb is steep and lots of monkeys live in this place. Mani Parvat is a nationally protected area maintained by the Government of India.

[read more] It is said about this mountain that when the war between Laxman and Meghnath was going on in Lanka, Meghnath had made Laxman unconscious by using Shaktibaan, then Shri Ram had sent Hanuman ji to the Himalayas to bring Sanjwini herb. Then when Hanuman ji was bringing Sanjeevini Mountain from the Himalayas, on the way some part of Sanjeevini Mountain falls here, this fallen part is called Mani Parvat here. [/read]

Distance from Ram Janmabhoomi Temple to Mani Parvat Temple – 2.5 K.M.

Nageshwarnath Temple

This temple was founded by Kush, son of Lord Shri Ram. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.

[read more] It is believed that once Kush was bathing on the banks of river Saryu, his armlet fell in the river, that armlet was found by Kumudni, the daughter of the resident king Kumud. Kush’s armlet which had fallen in the river was given to him by the sage. Agastya had given it to Shri Ram and Shri Ram had given it to his son Kush, when Kush searched for the armlet in the river, he did not find it there, so Kush thought that the armlet must be from someone who lived on the banks of the river.

Thinking that Nagraj Kumud must have kept it, when Kush picked up the bow, seeing this, Nagraj Kumud got extremely scared and started remembering Lord Shankar. Lord Shankar appeared, he calmed Kush and provided fearlessness to Nagraj Kumud. After this, Naga’s daughter Kumudni gave that armlet to Kush. Nagraj Kumud married his daughter Kumudni to Kush, since Kumudni was a devotee of Shiva, hence Kush built a temple at that site, which was named Nageshwarnath Temple. [/read]

Distance from Ram Janmabhoomi Temple to Nageshwarnath Temple – 3 K.M

Gulab Bari

Gulab Bari means garden of roses.

This rose garden remains open throughout the year, due to which a large number of tourists come to visit here. [read more] Gulab Bari was built by Sujauddaula, the third Nawab of Awadh, the tomb of him and his parents is located here. Sujauddaula had built his tomb here while he was alive. In this garden, colorful roses and other varieties of flowers have been planted around the building.

Gulab Bari The splash of colors and fragrances creates a mesmerizing atmosphere, providing a delightful sensory experience. It is said about the tomb here that this is the first tomb in the country where the Ashoka Pillar has been installed by the Government of India. [/read]

As you explore these top 10 places in Ayodhya, be prepared for a journey that transcends the ordinary. Ayodhya, with its perplexing historical narratives and burst of spiritual energy, promises an enchanting sojourn that lingers in the heart and mind.

Distance from Ram Janmabhoomi Temple to Gaulab bari – 5.6 K.M