chitrakoot.

n kumar

Hi guys,
Has anyone been to chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh. I would like to know some details like :
a) How far it is from allahabad.
b) Any good lodges/hotels in chitrakoot.
c) Is the place worth seeing as i am taking my mother (72 Years).
thank you
n kumar

Jorge Reverter

Chitrakoot is one of the most interesting sites in India. Go there.

Allahabad is around 150 km from Chitrakoot. I went by train from Varanasi and after the visit went to Jhansi via Manikpur by train too.

In my gallery you can have a look at some pics of the city.

Best place to stay are: Madhya Pradesh Tourist Bungalows at the center of the town just beside the ghats, a very good acommodation.

Jorge

vonkla

I agree with Jorge

We visited Chitrakoot in 2005 wit a car. To Allahabad it was a ride of three hours.

If you have a car ask the hotel manager to guide you to the places connected with the Ramayana which are situated around Chitrakoot.
Apart from the "historical" places I recall a museum where the Ramayana was explained in statues en paintings

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Mordeep

We stayed at the Tourist Bungalow and it was fine....I believe it's the best place in town to stay and it's not super nice but nice enough.

There was a great restaurant located on the ground floor of a two story building with a small hotel above. They had a veg thali meal for 40 rupees with unlimited roti and seconds on the food....it was really great. (can't remember name)

Also, there are temples and caves (sometimes together) around the city....very cool stuff. People call Chitrakoot a mini-Varanasi....it was charming. Hire a boat for a ride out on the river...start in the main ghat/market area and go up river to the glass temple and back....it's a nice ride.

York_Katni

Getting to chitrakoot is not a problem from bangalore. However, there may be a need to change trains to reach your destination. Chitrakoot falls in the Manikpur-Jhansi line.
Take Karnataka express to Jhansi and take the weekly Chamabal express[a decent train] to chitrakoot.
A more enjoyable ride would be to take the Yesvantpur-Howrah Express to Vizag and then the Korba-VSKP express to Bilaspur and then the Narmada express/Passenger to Katni[which is the highlight of the scenic aspect of the whole route] and then the Mahakaushal to get you to Chitrakoot by around 2300hrs the same day. If you find that 2627 does not have room, you may consider this option.

n kumar

Hi katni,
I have booked chennai-varanasi ganga kaveri express to allahabad on dec 22 and return journey on 31 dec from patna. I have a lot of elder with me who cannot travel the way you have advised. I will be hiring a car from allahabad-chitrkoot-ayodhya-varanasi-bodhgaya-gaya-patna.

York_Katni

Mr.Kumar,
Thanks for your reply. It was only a suggestion because your question was directed at getting to Chitrakoot. One could only travel by train from Bangalore to a place like Chitrakoot. There are only two routes one from Jhansi and the other from Katni which can be reached from Jabalpur/Vizag.

It is certainly the prerogative of the member to choose a mode of transportation or work out the logistics the way she or he feels best. I was trying to help and mulling over you taking either 1AC or 2AC sleeper to reach your destination in relative comfort by the most easily available train connections that I could think of,avoiding the bad roads of those parts.
York_Katni

n kumar

hi York_Katni,
Thnaks for your post. It was my fault for not giviing the details regarding the nof person, mode of transport etc. I am travelling with 7 adults and one child. My mom-72, wife- 38, son-11, aunty's-50 & 40, uncle's & uncl's wife both are not well.These are my travel accompanies. It is a religious trip.
This is what i have planned asof know:
Dec 22 = dept to allahabad from chennai.
Dec 24 = Arrival at allahabad @ 5.00 am, check into the hotel, visit sangan, ghats, temples etc and night halt at allahabad.
Dec 25 = Travel to chitrkoot(125 kms) early morning, do local sight seeing and stay at chitrkoot in mp tourism hotel for the night.
Dec 26 = Travel to ayodhya (300kms) and stay at faizabad,
Dec 27 = Travel to Varanasi (200 kms) and arrive at varanasi by afternoon & over night at varanasi.
Dec 28 = varanasi
Dec 29 = varanasi.
DEc 30 = Travel to bodhgaya (240 kms) and stay at bodhgaya after visiting the temple, etc.
Dec 31 = Visit gaya and travel to patna ( 130 kms) to catch the sangmitra express to bangalore at 8 pm.
I will be hiring a cab right from 24 to 31.
If you feel any changes is required please let me know.

York_Katni

Considering that elderly people are traveling with you, you may want to do most of it by train using 1AC or 2AC by heading to Jhansi and from there to chitrakoot straight and then to Allahabad and then Varanasi and Patna. Alternatively one, could consider the possibility of making a circular journey ticket to avoid booking many legs of your journey and which will also save you money to some degree. All that you need to ensure is that you do not repeat a station more than once.

For example if one were to use Bangalore Kakinada town Seshadri Express [which could be termed the link train to many trains from Vijayawada heading eastwards and northwards] or the weekly once Bhubaneshwar Express from Yesvantpur or Krishnarajapuram avoind the tedious ride to Madras, using the Bangalore -Vellore-Chitoor-Tirupati -Vijayawada-Rajamundry-Bhubaneshwar-Kharagpur-Tatanagar-Bokaro Steel City-Gomoh[or Kharagpur-Adra-Bhojudih-Gomoh-MGS-ALD- by the Puri Delhi Superfast express]-Mughasarai-Allahabad route, you cannot return again via Vijayawada.For Patna you cannot use the CJT because MGS will be repeated twice. One would have to return via Allahabad-Manikpur-Chirtrakoot-Jhansi--Nagpur-Bangalore. It may be a suggestion you may think of, or keep for academic interest. The procedure is quite simple. One needs to write a letter to the railways stating the route remembering the station repetition rule[there are exceptions such as one cannot go to Puri by skipping khurda road when one comes from Rajahmundry or Bangalore] and hand it over to the circular ticket booking office. After 10 days or so they will call the person and inform of the charges. Once that is done the master ticket a pink slip is issued on payment of a consolidated fare. Then tickets are bought then with payment of around Rs.30-60 which are the reservation charges for the tickets. No more payment is necessary because you have paid for the master ticket.
It may be advisable to avoid road journeys, because I am not sure of the road conditions in those parts of India.
Best Regards
Raman

n kumar

All my train tickets- 2 a/c, hotels, cabs, guides are confirmed

York_Katni

That is very good to hear. Have a nice trip.

trustindia

The U.P. tourist Bungalow sucks, just across the bridge the M.P. tourist bungelow is far better.
Just behind the Ghats there's a small hotel called Himalaya or something like that, this was the pick of the bunch and the best place to eat in Chitrakoot.
Take a walk out to the nearby Hanuman Temple, very nice.

n kumar

thanks for all your help guys,

n kumar

Hi guys,
Thanks for all the help and suggestions.
I just returned from chitrakoot,varanasi, allahabad and gaya. Indeed it is a very nice place and not as crowded as the other places. Stayed in the mp tourist hotel.
thanks once again.