Ayodhya and Varanasi

 Ayodhya and Varanasi

A short but memorable trip comes in the beginning of April 2026. 

We started from Delhi Anand Vihar Terminal in Vande Bharat at 6 am in the morning and reached Ayodhya ji in the afternoon around 2 pm. We had a booking at the UPSTD hotel situated next to Ayodhya Railway Station itself with barely 200 meters distance. We took lunch at the hotel and took some rest. I had been to Ayodhya before and knew that the best time to visit temple is either late evening around 8:00 pm or around 6:30 am in the morning. After taking rest, we started for Hanuman Gadhi darshan at around 5 pm, followed by Saryu River Aarti, Ram ki Paidi, and surrounding areas.

Pictures of Hanuman Garhi

Lata Mangeshkar Chowk - This is a popular spot which cannot be missed due to large musical instrument which is placed in the center of this crossroad. 

Ram ki Paidi - This is a safe place to take a dip in holy water of Saryu river

Nageshwar Nath Mandir is location at Ram ki Paidi and easily reachable by foot

Bade Hanuman Temple has a unique entrance where devotees enter from the legs of Lord Hanuman

Aarti at Saryu Ghat 

We had an early dinner after seeing these temples and attending aarti at Saryu Ghat. Now was the time why every devotee comes to Ayudhya i.e. to visit the Ram Mandir. We started for the temple for darshan. The temple premises was beautiful and the lights after sun set had a different charm to it. We had nice darshan of the temple and make our way back to hotel. I could not click photographs here as we have to deposit over mobile phone in the locker before darshan. 

Next day morning, we wanted to have darshan one more time before leaving for Varanasi. We got up early and visited the temple again around 7:00 am. It was even less crowded than the previous day. We had nice darshan once again. 

Post that, we went to Dashrath Bhwan, Kanak Bhawan, and nearby temples. 

Dashrath Bhawan 

Kanak Mehal - It was gifted to Mata Sita on her marriage by her mother-in-law. 

We visited the Digambar Jain Mandir on the way back to the hotel. By 10 am, we had seen almost all the places in the city. We had our breakfast and came back to the hotel for check-out. 

We had to catch a train for Varanasi in the afternoon. Since station was at a walking distance, we could easily reach the platform five minutes before the train arrival time. The train was on time and we boarded the train to our next destination - Varanasi. This was the first time for me to visit Varanasi and I was looking forward to see a new town with spiritual importance. We reached by around 4 pm at the Varanasi station and moved directly to the hotel to keep our luggage. 

It was difficult to hold myself from going to Kashi Vishwanath temple but since I had temple timing of 5 pm Special Darken token which I booked online a few days before the trip start date. We were fortunate to have darshan and roam around in the temple premises in the less than an hour.

Post that, there were steps leading us to evening aarti. We attended the aarti from these steps. Post that, we visited the Manikarnika Ghat which was situated to the left of these stairs and around 400 meters from this place. I had a shivering as I was nearing this place. It was scary to see the smoke coming out from a distance and what was never breaking was when I witnessed a few people taking a body for cremation. When we reached this place, we found so many bodies being cremated. Seeing this place in reels is different from when we see this place in person and passes a shock wave in the entire body. 

We then went to Kal Bhairav Mandir which is a must visit place when in Varanasi. It is said that He is the protector of the city. It is also believed that if any person of authority stays overnight, he has to loose his position if he chooses to stay overnight in Varanasi. In history, kings who spent night here have lost their throne and the politicians who stayed here for the night have lost their political positions - this is because it is believed that in Varanasi there can be only one Supreme Authority which is Kal Bhairav himself and no one else. 

We somehow recovered and visited the Dashmesh Ghat as it is quite popular. There are more than 80 Ghats in Varanasi. It is also said that Aarti must be attended from one of these boats as it takes you around these ghats and it makes you stay away from the crowd as well. 

The famous BJP Political, Manoj Tiwari, was there at the Assi Ghat hosting a Jagran. We spent half an hour and attended the bhajans sitting next to the Ghat section. The ghat sections become very colorful and attractive after the sunset due to lights. 

We tried to go to Namo Ghat but it closes by 10 pm everyday. Hence, we could not take a stroll on the Namo Ghat but there is Aarti which takes place here as well. So, visitors can choose where they want to attend the Aarti. 

Some pictures clicked at the Ghat section - 

It was now time to go back to the hotel and take some rest as we have visited a lot of places in the last one and half day.

Next day early morning we had a train from Varanasi to Delhi. 

It was a sweet but memorable trip.  Jai Shri Ram and Har Har Mahadev!!! 

Link to my previous blog on Ayudhya ji can also be found here. 

P.S If you need any help with planning such trips, I would be happy to advise. I am passionate about travelling and want to make your journey enjoyable as much as I can using my travel experiences. Please feel free to contact for any queries +91-9880433006.