Lucknow

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Hello Friends,

Do you have any feedback on Hotel Mandakini Saket Regency?

Got a days off after a conference, so planning to visit Lucknow for a day from Kanpur... Want to visit the historical places near chowk (Imambaras, Residency, Rumi Darwaja etc.)..Pls plan the day for me...
When the Imambara complex opens? I can reach Lucknow early in the morning but I have to catch the train for return journey at abt 4-30pm...
Can I walk to from one place to the other? They seem to be pretty clustered in the map.
Lucknow is famous for its chikan and food... Can u pls suggest some good outlets for shopping and lucknow-wala food near the historical places? I heard about Tunday or Sekhawat a lot, but I have to come back to Kanpur by 6pm... So, I dnt think I will manage to go to all those places... Pls suggest some good places near Imambara complex...
Hoping for reply

Dear Sayantari:
Here is an itinerary that can work for you.
1) Catch the earliest train you can from Kanpur to Lucknow.
2) Catch an auto from Charbagh railway station to Lucknow chowk
3) Go for a Lucknow heritage walk in the narrow lanes of Lucknow chowk. You have the choice of two guides:

Naved Zia,9415013047
Atif Arshi,9956670576,9935872626

Both guides are affiliated to and approved by the Dept. of tourism. They are polite and well behaved.

Contact them well in advance to set up your time. Explain your priorities and time limitations to them and they will select the places for you to see. Meet them outside the Gol Darwaza in chowk.
4) Your guide will take you on he heritage walk first and then to the Imambara and the Lucknow Residency. You may have to catch a rickshaw as it may become hot by the time you are done with the Lucknow heritage walk.
4) You can have breakfast in the chowk area itself. For lunch your guide can suggest a good place to you in the chowk area
5) If the chowk eateries do not appeal to you, you can always catch an auto to Aminabad and try Wahid's biryani or Tunday Kababi. Their addresses are as follows:

Wahid's Biryani
Old Nazirabad, Nazz Cinema Road, Aminabad,
Lucknow - 226018
Phone: (0522)2611878

Tunday Kababi
Aminabad Road
Lucknow.
Phone : (o522)2280294
6) After lunch you can can an auto to the Charbagh railway station and take your train back to Kanpur.

Yes all this can be done in one day. Just contact the guides and they will guide you through everything expertly. They do not have any set rates but pay them generously for their time (at least Rs. 100 per hour) and treat them to lunch if they are willing. If two guys show up then you may have to pay the second guy something too. Just use your good judgement.

I had taken the heritage walk with Atif Arshi last year and enjoyed myself thoroughly. Atif was the perfect guide. I recommend him. Naved Zia is good too.

Welcome to Lucknow and enjoy your day there! Tulsi

Thank you Tulsi for your prompt and detailed information. I'll surely contact one of those two guides. But can you please clarify one more doubt? If I contact one of them for the visit, can they guide me inside the imambaras and other historical places? Or I have to take other guides inside the places. Once again, thank you

You will just have to ask your guides about this and they will clarify the matter for you. They will also take you to buy some chikan clothes in the chowk area itself if you can spare the time. Indicate your budget range and they will take you to an appropriate shop.

Another tip: take your cap/hat and a bottle of mineral water as it gets hot during the day. And of course your camera.

Please be generous to the guides-- they are the nicest guides I have come across in my many years of travel throughout the length and breadth of India. Enjoy!

In the class of Lucknowphiles, count me in too !

I recently visited Lucknow for 2 evenings and one night.

It is a pleasant town, the traffic does not seem as bad as other Indian cities and I was bothered very little by the locals.

I believe the main sites can be seen in a day.

I was impressed by the Immambara although the labyrinth was underwhelming after reading the glowing reports on here. The other place nearby with the mosque and two immitation taj majals was also nice although the interior of the central mosque was awfully decorated and contained models which looked like they had been made by school children.

I ate at Tunday Kebab in Aminanad and in Chowk. I much preferred the one in Chowk, it is not in the LP and more off the beaten track. It also tasted much better and was cheaper I think. I also had an excellent kulfi falooda at a nearby sweet shop in Chowk on a roundabout, it was called Pramatpramat or something like that. If you turn left out of Tunday and continue straight until the roundabout you will see it on the right.

Stayed at the hotel gomti, cheapest room is 800 with air cooler and it was decent enough although not near the sites or the restaurants.

Bara Imambara: it is a religious building belonging to the Shiite Muslim sect. the resort has magnificent buildings, splendid as the Imambara, a stunning mosque and a complicated labyrinth known as Bhulbhulaiya, which is the main attraction of the Imambara complex. It was built by Asaf-ud-Daula in 1784 as part of its program of famine relief.
Residence: this is a collection of buildings that used to be the home of British residents in Oudh during the reign of last Nawabs of the state. This place saw a lot of brutal action during the revolt of 1857, when a lot of people lost their lives here.

Rumi Darwaza: it was built as part of the program of famine relief (Food-for-work), this magnificent gateway is one of the most impressive bridges India. One of the main attractions of Lucknow, and is prominent in all the guides of Lucknow, also regarded as the symbol of Lucknow .

Chota Imambara: also known as the Hussainabad Imambara, and contains the tombs of Mohammed Ali Shah and his family, being the first constructor of the structure.

Sikandar Bagh: this garden was built in the 19th century and later used as a summer palace of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last ruler of Oudh who was deposed by the British Company of the West Indies. The garden was also the view of fierce fighting during the revolt of 1857.