Your yatra begins where the Lord's own story begins, in his mother's land. Chhattisgarh is honoured as the nanihaal of Shri Ram, the maternal home of Mata Kaushalya, and you land at Raipur to reach it. A short drive brings you to Chandkhuri, where the Kaushalya Mata temple stands on an island in a wide old pond ringed by smaller tanks.

People here will tell you it is the only temple in the world where Kaushalya holds the infant Ram on her lap, and standing before it you feel the epic open at its first page. If time allows you also see Turturiya, held in local tradition to be linked with the Valmiki ashram and with Luv and Kush. In the evening you sit down to a real Chhattisgarhi thali at Gadh Kalewa in Raipur.

Today you travel south into the old Dandakaranya, an honest but rewarding road day, so you start early. On the way you stop at Rajim, the Prayag of Chhattisgarh, where the Kuleshwar Mahadev linga stands on an island at the meeting of three rivers and the ancient Rajiv Lochan temple keeps its Vishnu.

A little further at Sihawa you reach the ashram of Sage Shringi, remembered as the rishi whose yajna for King Dasharath brought about the birth of Ram, so in a sense the whole story is set in motion here. You reach Chitrakote for sunset, where the Indravati falls in a wide horseshoe, the broadest waterfall in the country, misted with spray in the low light. You rest tonight at the Chhattisgarh Tourism resort by the falls.

This morning you go deeper into Bastar along the main highway, in daylight and with a local guide. You stop at Narayanpal to see its tall eleventh-century Vishnu temple by the Indravati, then drive on to Dantewada for darshan of Maa Danteshwari, revered as one of the Shakti Peethas where a tooth of Sati is said to have fallen, and the family goddess of the old Bastar kings.

Please carry modest, traditional dress, since the shrine keeps old customs of entry. You return to Jagdalpur for the night. Bastar is a green, gentle country of forests and rivers, and travelling its main routes by day, with our ground team, is safe and calm.

Today is a repositioning day that lifts you from the Bastar forests up onto the cool Maikal plateau. Where the schedule allows you take the short Alliance Air flight from Jagdalpur to Raipur, which runs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and otherwise a comfortable road transfer, then continue to Amarkantak. Amarkantak is revered as Tirthraj, the king of tirthas, for it is the sacred birthplace of the Narmada.

At the small Narmada Udgam kund you watch the great river begin as a quiet trickle, and close by at Sonmuda the Son river starts its own journey the other way. This is high, forested, sattvic country, the kind of tapovan land the exile years were spent in, and it settles you for the forest chapters ahead.

This is an honest driving day, and you plan it gently. The road from Amarkantak down to Satna runs about 315 kilometres, and on the way you pause at the ashram remembered as that of Sage Sutikshna, the devoted disciple of Agastya who, in the forest chapters, waited in penance for the Lord and welcomed Ram, Sita and Lakshman before sending them onward.

You base tonight at Satna, the comfortable railhead town that is the gateway to Chitrakoot. Keep the day easy, break once for tea, and reach Satna in good time to rest, because tomorrow at Chitrakoot is one of the fullest and most beautiful days of the whole yatra.

Chitrakoot is where the exile settled and where the Ramayana's most tender scene took place, and you give it a full day. Begin at Ram Ghat on the Mandakini, then walk the Kamadgiri parikrama, the flat, shrine-lined circuit of the low hill that devotees revere as Ram himself. At Bharat Milap, tradition holds, Bharat found Ram and begged him to return, then carried his paduka back to rule Ayodhya in his name, and the small temple that marks it moves many pilgrims to tears.

Give the afternoon to Gupt Godavari, where a hidden stream runs through a cave you wade into, to the riverside ashram of Sati Anasuya, and to Hanuman Dhara and Sphatik Shila on the wooded slopes. Eat sattvic at the ISKCON kitchen and try the local malpua. Please note this is the Chitrakoot pilgrimage town of Uttar Pradesh, quite distinct from Bastar's Chitrakote falls.

You follow the exile route today, driving about 135 kilometres up to Prayagraj and out to Shringverpur on its edge. Shringverpur was the kingdom of Nishadraj Guha, the boatman king, and here the beloved Kevat prasang is remembered, the ferryman who first washed those holy feet before he would row Ram across the Ganga. The riverside ghat and the new Nishadraj park, with its tall statue of Ram embracing Guha, tell the story well.

In Prayagraj you visit Bharadwaj Ashram, where the sage guided the family toward Chitrakoot, the reclining Bade Hanuman near the fort, and the Triveni Sangam, the meeting of Ganga, Yamuna and the unseen Saraswati where Ram bathed on his way to the forest. Eat a classic Prayagraj thali at an old institution like Netram Mool Chand, and carry back some Allahabadi peda.

Today you reach the heart of the whole yatra, the Ram Janmabhoomi itself. You drive from Prayagraj to Ayodhya, about 165 kilometres, and give the day to the city of Shri Ram. Take darshan of Ram Lalla at the grand Ram Mandir, then climb the seventy-six steps to Hanuman Garhi, where devotees hold that you greet Hanuman before you meet Ram.

See Kanak Bhawan, the temple on the site of Sita's golden palace, and the ancient Nageshwarnath, said to have been established by Ram's son Kush. Keep the evening free for the Saryu aarti, when rows of lamps are floated on the river and the ghats fill with the sound of bells. Darshan queues can be long and moving, especially near Ram Navami, so we time your visits with care. Eat simply and carry home some malai peda as prasad.

This morning you see the quieter, deeper Ayodhya. At Nandigram, a short drive from the city, Bharat ruled for fourteen years as a hermit with Ram's padukas on the throne, an emblem of selfless love, and at Guptar Ghat on the Saryu tradition holds that Ram left this world.

Then you travel west toward Lucknow, stopping at Naimisharanya, the Puranic forest where, it is said, eighty-eight thousand rishis gathered and the sage Suta first narrated the sacred stories, the Ramayana among them. You take darshan at the round Chakra Tirtha kund, the Vyas Gaddi seat of narration, and the Lalita Devi Shakti Peeth, before reaching Lucknow for the night and the flight east tomorrow.

Today you enter Mithila, the land of Mata Sita. You fly from Lucknow to Darbhanga, connecting through Delhi, and reach the Mithila plains by afternoon. Your first darshan is at Ahilya Sthan near Kamtaul, held to be the hermitage of Sage Gautam, where the touch of Ram's feet freed Ahalya from the curse that had turned her to stone.

It is one of the epic's gentlest images of grace, and the first station on the old Ram-Janaki Path that the boy princes walked with their guru Vishwamitra toward Janaka's court. This is quiet, rural, deeply devotional country, far from the crowds. You rest tonight at Darbhanga. Try the famous Mithila makhana kheer and thekua when you arrive.

Today you follow the young Ram's own road to Mithila, up the east arm of the Ram-Janaki Path and across the border into Nepal. At Pandaul you see Sarisav Pahi, where tradition says Ram bathed on the way to Janakpur, and near Madhubani the Girija temple, where Sita prayed to the Goddess and where, by the Ramcharitmanas, she and Ram first saw one another in King Janaka's flower garden at Phulhar.

You pass the ashram of Vishwamitra, then cross at Jaynagar into Nepal to reach Janakpur. Please carry your passport, and for OCI and overseas pilgrims a Nepal visa arranged in advance, since the OCI card gives no benefit here. You reach Janakpur in time for the evening aarti at the Janaki Mandir, a fitting welcome to the marriage city.

You give the whole day to Janakpurdham, the capital of King Janaka and the birthplace of Sita. At its heart is the Janaki Mandir, a vast three-storey temple of white marble, the largest in Nepal, raised on the spot where tradition says Sita was born and grew up. Close by is the Vivah Mandap, the pavilion that marks the marriage of Ram and Sita, and the old Ram Mandir beside the sacred tank.

You bathe or offer at the twin ponds of Ganga Sagar and Dhanush Sagar, and drive out about fifteen kilometres to Dhanushadham, where a fossil-like fragment is revered as a piece of Shiva's bow, broken by Ram at the swayamvara. Move slowly today, for this is the emotional centre of Sita's story, and the whole town lives and breathes her wedding.

This is a gentle, moving day that completes Sita's story from marriage back to birth. You leave Nepal by the Bhitthamore crossing and reach Sitamarhi, where at Punaura Dham, King Janaka is believed to have found the infant Sita in a furrow as he ploughed a barren field for a yajna to bring rain.

You take darshan at the Janaki Janmasthan and the sacred Sita Kund, the quiet heart of the whole Mithila leg. Then you drive on to Patna, reaching by mid-afternoon, and in the evening take the reliable non-stop flight from Patna to Navi Mumbai. We route the exit this way on purpose, because Darbhanga's Mumbai flights are unreliable for a group, and Patna's evening service is dependable.

Today you cross to the Deccan and the Godavari, driving from Navi Mumbai up to Nashik, and give the day to Panchavati, the grove of five banyans where the epic turns. Start at the Sita Gufa, the small cave from which, tradition says, Sita was carried off after the golden-deer deception, and at Tapovan close by, where Lakshman cut off Surpanakha's nose and the trouble with Ravana began.

Bathe your eyes at Ram Kund on the Godavari, where families still bring the ashes of the departed, then take darshan at the black-stone Kalaram temple, the forest abode of Ram. If time allows, drive to Trimbakeshwar, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas at the true source of the Godavari, and to Taked, remembered as the place where the vulture king Jatayu fell defending Sita and received Ram's last rites.

Today is an easy bridging day toward the vanara country. You keep your Nashik morning, then take the good road down to Mumbai, about three and a half hours, for the evening flight to Hubballi. We route it this way on purpose.

The Mumbai to Hubballi flight runs in the evening, so rather than push on a long night drive to Hampi, you land and rest at Hubballi and reach the boulder country fresh the next morning. Keep today light and unhurried, a gentle pause between the forest chapters and the Kishkindha Kanda that begins tomorrow. You rest tonight at Hubballi.

After an early breakfast you drive into the boulder country of Kishkindha and give the day to its Ramayana places. Climb Anjanadri Hill in the cool of the morning, revered as the birthplace of Hanuman, a climb of some five hundred and fifty stone steps, so start before the sun is high and carry water. From the top the whole vanara country opens around you.

Come down to Pampa Sarovar, the lotus-covered tank where, tradition says, Shabari offered Ram the berries she had first tasted, with her cave shrine close by, and see Rishyamukha across the river, where Ram first met Sugriva and Hanuman. At the Kodandarama temple on the Tungabhadra you stand where Sugriva was crowned, and at Sugriva's cave you see the marks tradition reads as Sita's falling jewels. You rest tonight at Hampi or Hospet.

You have a second, unhurried day at Hampi, a place like nowhere else, where a great vanished empire raised its temples among the same boulders the epic calls Kishkindha. At the Malyavanta Raghunatha temple you stand where Ram and Lakshman are said to have waited out the monsoon before the march on Lanka.

Then give the day to the living Virupaksha temple, still in daily worship since ancient times, the stone chariot and musical pillars of the Vijaya Vittala temple, the graceful Lotus Mahal and the elephant stables, and the early shrines of Hemakuta hill. These are honoured heritage monuments of Vijayanagara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, layered over the sacred ground of Kishkindha. In the evening you drive back to Hubballi to be ready for the morning flight.

This morning you fly from Hubballi to Hyderabad and drive on into the Nallamala forest to Srisailam, timing the run to reach before dusk, since the forest road through the tiger country closes to traffic at night. Srisailam is rare among Indian temples, for it is at once the second of the twelve Jyotirlingas, as Mallikarjuna, and one of the eighteen great Shakti Peethas, as Bhramaramba, so Shiva and the Goddess are worshipped together on the same hill.

On the way in many pilgrims first visit Sakshi Ganapati, where tradition says Ganesha keeps the record of who has come for darshan. You reach in good time for an unhurried evening darshan, and stay the night by the temple.

Give the morning to the rest of Srisailam. Step down to Pathala Ganga, the Krishna river far below the temple, reached by a long stair or the ropeway, where pilgrims bathe in the fast green water, and seek out the Sahasralinga, the linga carved with a thousand small lingas that tradition says Ram himself consecrated here, a quiet link between this Shiva hill and the sand lingam you will honour at Rameshwaram.

Then you drive back through the forest in daylight to Hyderabad and take the evening flight to Tirupati. It is a travel-heavy day, so keep it calm and let the darshan of the morning stay with you. You reach Tirupati at night and rest for the hill tomorrow.

Today you go up the hill to Tirumala for the darshan that millions save a lifetime for, Lord Venkateswara, Balaji himself. Because the queues here are famous, we help you plan the darshan in advance, so your time is spent in devotion rather than in line, and please carry the dress and documents the temple asks for.

Make time for Japali Anjaneya, the Hanuman shrine by a stream where, on Ram Navami of 2021, the Tirumala Devasthanam declared Anjanadri to be Hanuman's birthplace, the second sacred hill to hold that claim after Hampi, and this yatra honours both with an open heart. At the foot of the hill, take darshan of Goddess Padmavathi at Tiruchanur, whom pilgrims see together with Balaji. Do not leave without the famous Tirupati laddu.

Leave Tirupati after breakfast and drive about a hundred and ten kilometres to Kanchipuram, the city of a thousand temples. On the way you stop at Thiruputkuzhi, one of the most touching places on the whole trail. Here, tradition holds, Shri Ram performed the last rites of Jatayu, the old vulture king who gave his life trying to stop Ravana from carrying Sita away, and the deity is shown holding Jatayu on his lap, a rare image of the Lord grieving for a bird who died for him.

In Kanchipuram you take darshan at the Kamakshi Amman temple, one of the great Shakti Peethas, and at the Vishnu shrines the town is known for, among them Ashtabhuja Perumal and the Kodanda Rama temple. Try the famous Kanchipuram idli, which began as temple prasadam.

Today you travel south to the island from which Ram crossed the sea. From Kanchipuram you reach Chennai for the flight to Madurai, then drive onto Rameshwaram island. On the way you can stop at Devipattinam, where tradition says Ram set up nine stones, the Navapashanam, to worship the nine planets before the war, and at Thiruppullani, the Adi Jagannatha temple where he lay on a bed of darbha grass for three days praying to the sea god to allow the crossing.

The approach itself stays with you, for the new Pamban bridge, India's first vertical-lift sea bridge, opened on Ram Navami of 2025, curves across the water beside the old rail bridge, and you cross onto the island with the sea on both sides. You reach Rameshwaram in the evening and rest.

Rameshwaram is the great southern threshold of the Ramayana, and you give the day to it. Begin at the Ramanathaswamy temple, whose corridors are the longest of any temple in India, and take darshan of the lingam that, tradition holds, Ram fashioned from sand and worshipped before crossing to Lanka, so that Shiva's blessing would go with him.

Many pilgrims first bathe at Agni Theertham, the sea shore beside the temple, and at the sacred wells, the twenty-two theerthams, within; the temple staff guide the bath. In the afternoon drive out to wind-swept Dhanushkodi at the very tip of the island, to the Kothandaramaswamy temple where Vibhishana surrendered to Ram, the Rama Padam footprint shrine, and the five-faced Panchamukhi Hanuman with its floating stones. Stand where the land runs out and the Rama Setu began, and the story feels very close.

On your last day in India you drive from Rameshwaram to Madurai, about a hundred and seventy-five kilometres, and if time allows take darshan at the great Meenakshi Amman temple, one of the finest in the south, with its tall painted gopurams.

From Madurai you fly home, carrying the darshan of every place with you, from Mata Kaushalya's Chandkhuri and Sita's Mithila, through Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Panchavati and Kishkindha, down to Rameshwaram where Ram crossed the sea. Few pilgrims ever join the two ends of the story as you now have. For those who wish to walk the whole arc, the optional Sri Lanka finale continues from here to the island of Lanka itself. Yatra sampoorna, or the crossing to Lanka begins.

The optional Sri Lanka chapter takes you across the Palk Strait to the Lanka of the epic. You fly to Colombo and, on arrival, visit the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara near the city, where tradition holds that Vibhishana, Ravana's brother, was crowned king of Lanka after the war.

From Colombo you drive up into the hill country to Kandy for the night, a cool green town around its lake and the famous temple of the sacred tooth. Today is mostly travel, so keep it easy. Sri Lanka is comfortable for Indian pilgrims, and pure-vegetarian food is easy to find. Rest in Kandy, because the Sundara Kanda places begin tomorrow.

Today the Sundara Kanda comes alive. You drive from Kandy up into the tea hills to Seetha Eliya, near Nuwara Eliya, to the Sita Amman temple that stands by a mountain stream where, tradition holds, Sita was kept in the Ashok Vatika and prayed for Ram. On the rocks across the stream, local belief points to marks said to be the footprints of Hanuman.

Close by are the Hakgala gardens, revered as the site of that Ashok Vatika, the grove where Hanuman at last found Sita and gave her Ram's ring. This is cool, misty, high country wrapped in tea gardens, so carry a light layer. Move gently and give the temple time, for many pilgrims this is the emotional heart of the Lanka chapter.

You come down toward Ella today, following more of the Lanka tradition. Near Ella you see the Ravana Falls, a wide cascade beside the road, and above it the Ravana cave in the hillside, which local belief links to the places Sita was held.

On the way you can stop at Divurumpola, a quiet old temple whose name means the place of the oath, where tradition holds that Sita underwent the Agni Pariksha, the trial by fire, after the war, and where solemn oaths are still taken. The scenery today is some of the loveliest of the whole trip, green valleys and waterfalls and railway bridges in the hills. Keep the pace relaxed and let the country unfold.

Today you visit the last of the Lanka places and cross back to the coast. Near Gurulupotha you come to Sita Kotuwa, whose name means Sita's fort, held by tradition to be the first place Ravana kept Sita after bringing her to Lanka, before she was moved to the Ashok Vatika. The ruins sit in green forest country and carry a quiet, old feeling.

From here you make the long and scenic drive down out of the hills and across the island to Colombo, watching the highlands give way to the plains and the sea. It is mainly a travel day, so settle in and enjoy the changing land. You reach Colombo in the evening for your last night.

Your yatra is complete. Over these days you have walked the whole living geography of the Ramayana, from Mata Kaushalya's Chandkhuri and Sita's Mithila, through Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Panchavati and Kishkindha, down to Rameshwaram, and across the sea to the Lanka of Hanuman and the Ashok Vatika.

Few pilgrims ever join the two ends of the story as you now have. This morning, depending on your flight, you may have a little time in Colombo before you go to the airport to fly home, carrying the darshan of every place with you. We wish you a safe journey, and hope the yatra stays with you long after you are back. Yatra sampoorna.