Uttar Pradesh Travel Guide: Agra, Varanasi, Ayodhya and the Ganga Heartland

Uttar Pradesh's best-known destinations fall into two groups. Agra and Fatehpur Sikri lie on the Delhi side of the state, the second point of the Golden Triangle. The Ganga belt runs from Mathura and Vrindavan through Prayagraj to Varanasi and Ayodhya, with Lucknow, the state capital, as a gateway. Each place below has its own guide, so this page keeps to what decides the order of a trip.

Agra: the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri

Agra has all three of the state's UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, both inscribed in 1983, and Fatehpur Sikri, inscribed in 1986. The Taj Mahal opens 30 minutes before sunrise, closes 30 minutes before sunset and is closed on Fridays for general viewing. Fatehpur Sikri stands on a ridge 37 km west of the city, according to UP Tourism. Our Agra travel guide covers the monuments, the riverside tombs and Mehtab Bagh.

Varanasi and Sarnath

UP Tourism calls Varanasi among the oldest living cities in the world, sacred to Hindus, Jains and Buddhists. The sights are the ghats on the Ganga, best seen from a boat in the morning, the evening Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, whose trust says no electronic or non-electronic gadgets or pens are allowed inside and that lockers are free. Sarnath, 10 km away, is where the Buddha is said to have preached his first sermon. See our Varanasi travel guide.

Ayodhya

Ayodhya, on the Saryu, is one of the seven holiest towns of ancient India, according to UP Tourism, and the site of the Ram Mandir, consecrated on 22 January 2024. The temple trust says it charges no fee for darshan or aarti passes, which are reserved online. Hanuman Garhi, Kanak Bhawan and the Ram ki Paidi ghats are the other main sights. Our Ayodhya travel guide explains the passes and the festival calendar.

Mathura and Vrindavan

Mathura is the birthplace of Krishna, and UP Tourism calls Vrindavan, 15 km away, his spiritual home. Mathura is about 145 km from Delhi and about 58 km from Agra, according to the district, so the pair fit a day out of either city, or a night in Braj. UP Tourism says Barsana, Radha's hometown 47 km from Mathura, celebrates Lathmar Holi, and Janmashtami is marked across Braj. See our Mathura and Vrindavan travel guide.

Prayagraj

Prayagraj stands at the Sangam, where the Ganga and Yamuna meet the mythical Saraswati. The district says the Kumbh is held there once in twelve years, and UP Tourism says the Magh Mela is held at the Sangam every year in January and February. The city is a natural stop between Varanasi and Ayodhya or Lucknow. See our Prayagraj travel guide.

Lucknow

Lucknow, the state capital and the seat of the nawabs, is known for the Bara (Asafi) Imambara, the Rumi Darwaza, the Chhota Imambara and the Residency. UP Tourism also singles out its kebabs and biryani, and its chikan embroidery and zardozi. Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport lies about 14 km from the centre, which makes Lucknow a gateway for Ayodhya, roughly 130 km away. See our Lucknow travel guide.

Chitrakoot

Chitrakoot lies on the Mandakini river, spread over Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and is where Ram is believed to have spent most of his fourteen years of exile; Incredible India gives eleven or eleven and a half years. According to the epic, Bharat came here to ask him to return to Ayodhya. Our six-day Varanasi, Ayodhya, Prayagraj and Chitrakoot tour includes it.

Kushinagar

Kushinagar, about 53 km from Gorakhpur, is a Buddhist pilgrimage centre where the Buddha is said to have attained Mahaparinirvana. UP Tourism says the Mahaparinirvana Temple holds a reclining Buddha statue excavated in 1876, and lists October to April as the season. The town has no railway station: Deoria is about 35 km away and Gorakhpur about 53 km, with the Kasia airstrip about 5 km from the town. It suits travellers building a Buddhist route that already includes Sarnath.

Dudhwa National Park

Dudhwa lies in Lakhimpur Kheri district, in the Terai on the Nepal border, about 230 km from Lucknow. UP Tourism calls it a well-known sanctuary of the swamp deer, home to tigers, leopards, several kinds of deer and antelope, and elephants, with large numbers of rhinos. Check the park's official season and permit rules before you plan around it, as they are set by the forest department.

UP Tourism gives October to March as the best season for Agra, Varanasi, Lucknow and Ayodhya. The state's NRI portal puts summer temperatures at about 45°C, sometimes 47 or 48°C, and winter nights at 3 to 4°C, with fog in some tracts. India's meteorological department gives 20 June as the normal start of the monsoon in the state, covering all of it by 30 June, and 10 October as the normal withdrawal. It has also warned that dense fog over Uttar Pradesh in late December can affect airports, highways and railway routes, so leave a margin around flights and trains then. News reports record Varanasi's authorities suspending boat rides when the Ganga runs high in the rains.

Festivals can decide the month. UP Tourism lists the Magh Mela at Prayagraj in January and February, Taj Mahotsav in Agra every year between 18 and 27 February, Ram Navami at Ayodhya in March or April and Deepotsav there on the day before Diwali. Dev Deepawali is celebrated at Varanasi on Kartik Purnima, fifteen days after Diwali, and Holi and Janmashtami are marked across Braj, Janmashtami in August or September. Dates for the lunar festivals change every year, so check them before you book.

• By air: Delhi's airport is the usual gateway for Agra and Mathura. Within the state, Agra (Kheria), Lucknow, Varanasi (Lal Bahadur Shastri, at Babatpur), Prayagraj (Bamrauli) and Ayodhya (Maharishi Valmiki) all have airports.
• By train: The Gatimaan Express runs between Hazrat Nizamuddin and Agra Cantt in about 100 minutes. Indian Railways lists Vande Bharat Express trains from New Delhi to Varanasi, from Agra Cantt to Banaras and from Ayodhya Cantt to Anand Vihar Terminal, each six days a week. For visitors from abroad, the guide to booking Indian trains shows how to reserve a seat.
• By road: Agra is about 200 km from Delhi on the Yamuna Expressway; Mathura is 145 km from Delhi. Lucknow to Ayodhya is roughly 130 km, Ayodhya to Prayagraj roughly 160 km, Ayodhya to Varanasi roughly 200 km and Varanasi to Prayagraj roughly 120 km. Agra and Varanasi are more than 500 km apart by road.