Chitrakoot Tourist Places: The Complete Guide to Ram's Forest of Exile

Chitrakoot is the forest where Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman spent the longest and most peaceful years of their fourteen-year exile and it remains one of the gentlest and most moving tirthas in the land. Spread across the Mandakini valley on the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh banks, it is a place of quiet ghats, a sacred hill circled on foot and the ashrams of the great sages. Having brought pilgrims here over the years, let me take you through all the tourist places worth your time in Chitrakoot. Browse our Ayodhya Varanasi Tour Packages to plan the trip with a local guide.

Chitrakoot Tourist Places: Key Takeaways

• The heart: Ramghat on the Mandakini and the Kamadgiri parikrama, circled on foot.
• The Ramayana sites: Bharat Milap Mandir, Janki Kund and the Sati Anusuya Ashram.
• The hills and caves: Hanuman Dhara and the hidden river of Gupt Godavari.
• Spread over two states: the sites lie on both the UP and MP banks, so keep a car.
• Best plan: one to two unhurried days, part of a Ram trail with Ayodhya.

A Word From Your Guide

I am Rajeev Sharma, guiding pilgrims across Chitrakoot, Ayodhya, Kashi, Prayagraj and Naimisharanya for more than forty years. Chitrakoot is the tenderest place I take people, for the forest itself seems to breathe the Ramayana and the Mandakini is as calm as the story is gentle. The sites are spread out and cross a state line, so a car and a little planning help greatly. Let me take you through every one. I speak Hindi, Telugu and Kannada, so South Indian families are at ease.

The Top Tourist Places in Chitrakoot

If you see only a handful, make it these, the heart of Ram's forest:

All of these are plain sites in a simple pilgrim town; a car and a local guide help with the spread-out, two-state geography.

More Places to See in Chitrakoot

• Janki Kund: the kund on the Mandakini where Sita is said to have bathed, near Ramghat.
• Sphatik Shila: the rock by the river linked to Ram and Sita, upstream towards Anusuya.
• Bharat Koop: the well said to hold the waters of all tirthas, where Bharat kept holy water.
• Rajapur: the birthplace of Tulsidas, author of the Ramcharitmanas, a short drive away.
• Ganesh Bagh: the old garden and temple complex, the 'mini Khajuraho' of Chitrakoot.

Chitrakoot's sites are simple and spread across the Mandakini valley and two states; facilities are basic, so plan a car and water.

The Kamadgiri Parikrama

The heart of a Chitrakoot visit is the Kamadgiri parikrama, the roughly five-kilometre circuit on foot around Kamadgiri, the hill held to be Lord Ram himself. Pilgrims walk it barefoot, passing the Bharat Milap Mandir and many small shrines along the way. Do it early, in the cool of the morning, for the fullest and quietest experience.

Chitrakoot and Ayodhya: The Two Ends of the Ram Trail

Chitrakoot is the forest of Ram's exile; Ayodhya is the city of his birth and his return, so the two belong on one journey. Many pilgrims pair Chitrakoot with Ayodhya, visiting the grand Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, Hanuman Garhi, Kanak Bhavan and the Saryu Aarti at Ram Ki Paidi. Our Varanasi Ayodhya Chitrakoot tour package ties the whole Ram trail together.

More of Ayodhya on the Ram Trail

If you are threading the full trail, keep time in Ayodhya for these as well:

• Nageshwarnath Temple - the ancient Shiva temple said to be founded by Ram's son.
• Treta Ke Thakur - where Ram is said to have performed the Ashwamedha yagna.
• Guptar Ghat - the serene ghat where Ram is believed to have taken jal samadhi.

For planning Ayodhya, see our Ayodhya itinerary and how to reach Ayodhya.

Best Time to Visit Chitrakoot

Chitrakoot is open all year, but it is loveliest and the drive most pleasant in the cool months from October to March. Ram Navami in spring, Diwali and the Amavasya days draw great crowds for the Kamadgiri parikrama and the monsoon fills the Mandakini and the waterfalls. Avoid the peak of Bundelkhand summer. If you pair it with Ayodhya, note its festivals too, including Deepotsav and see our guide to the best time to visit Ayodhya.

How to Reach Chitrakoot for These Places

Chitrakoot has its own station, Chitrakoot Dham Karwi, but services are limited, so most pilgrims come by road from the nearby cities and the Bundelkhand Expressway. See our guides to the drive from Varanasi to Chitrakoot and from Lucknow to Chitrakoot. Many combine it with Ayodhya, arriving there from Lucknow to Ayodhya or from Varanasi to Ayodhya first.

The Honest Bit

Let me be straight with you. Chitrakoot is a simple, old pilgrim town, not a polished destination; the sites are plain, spread across the Mandakini valley and two states and facilities are basic. Trains are poor, so the road is really the only sensible way and a car is near-essential for the spread-out geography. But that very simplicity is its gift: this is the forest where Ram lived his exile and it carries a tenderness you feel at once. Come slowly, keep a car, do the Kamadgiri parikrama on foot and let the Ramayana unfold around you.

Why Experience My India Is the Right Choice

I am Rajeev Sharma, guiding pilgrims for more than forty years across Chitrakoot, Ayodhya, Kashi, Prayagraj and Naimisharanya. For Chitrakoot we handle the whole thing: a clean car for the two-state sites, a guide for the Kamadgiri parikrama and the ashrams and a plan that threads the full Ram trail with Ayodhya. I speak Hindi, Telugu and Kannada, so South Indian families are at ease. With our Ayodhya Varanasi Tours team, Ram's forest of exile is taken care of.

Related Packages

• Varanasi Ayodhya Chitrakoot tour package - the full Ram trail in one journey.
• Ayodhya tour packages - pair Chitrakoot with a darshan at Ayodhya.
• 3-day Ayodhya tour package - an unhurried stay in Ram's city.
• Ayodhya Ram Mandir tour package - focused on the Ram Lalla darshan.

Plan Your Chitrakoot Trip

Tell me your dates and your group size and I will arrange the car, a guide for the parikrama and the ashrams and a plan that can add Ayodhya on the Ram trail. Browse our Ayodhya Varanasi Tour Packages or our Varanasi Ayodhya Chitrakoot tour package or call and WhatsApp +91 7302265809 and we will plan it together.