Lucknow - Ayodhya - Varanasi - Mirzapur - Prayagraj

 Consecutive North India Trip for Dec Vacation – 2025

A long due family vacation with the in-laws was pending and what better it could be, if it is not a spiritual place. So, we picked Ayodhya/Varanasi as the main destination which can cover temples, shopping and mouth-watering street food.

Being from South India, Kashi is always considered sacred and a must-visit for middle-class and above families who can afford post-death rituals for parents/grandparents. Similarly, I visited in 2006 (19 years back) when both my head and association with parents were strong. It is another 19 years later — 2025 (might be a good coincidence) — that I get to travel with my pseudo parents and family (in-laws). With no expectations and calmness in mind, I get to start the trip. As our family contains elderly and infants, my eagerness to visit every famous and historically significant place can’t be entertained, so I had planned for a comfy trip.

Sudden acute pain before we started created confusion — should I drop out and let the family go, or should I take the risk with my tooth and handle it in UP? With trust in Mahadev, we took the risky approach.

Day 1 (Dec 23) – Arrival

With the flights to Ayodhya having huge layovers and high cost, we planned to land at Lucknow airport. The simple quote at the airport mesmerized me —
“Muskuraiye, aap Lucknow mein hai.”
Such a simple and common statement written in such a big font surprised me and truly brought a smile to my face.

A sudden meetup with a stranger who shared the origin of Varanasi — the area between rivers Varuna & Assi, and the difference between Kashi (area near the ghats) and Varanasi — and his suggestion to stay in the galiyas of Kashi intrigued me even more to explore Kashi first. But we had booked in a well-maintained area of Varanasi due to accessibility and the crowded rush.

Stay: Radisson, City Center (Just ok hotel)

Day 2 (Dec 24) - Lucknow

After hotel breakfast and a slight delay, we headed to Bada Imambara (fort built by Awadh/Oudh). The infrastructure and cleanliness pleasantly surprised me. For the first time, I was surprised to hear continuous announcements to take a guide, else they wouldn’t allow entry into Bhool Bhulaiya (Labyrinth).

With the breathtaking view of the fort, we joined an ongoing group with a guide (pocket-friendly) and saw the stepwell — a typical structure built to keep cool during summer, store water, and even anticipate oncomers from a far distance through the water mirror. The Bhool Bhulaiya seemed like a place designed for soldiers to walk around the central hall to guard and easily confuse enemies and fight.

The masjid is within walking distance. Rumi Darwaza is also adjacent, but we couldn’t go as we got late packing and had to start for Ayodhya.

After hearing suggestions from multiple folks, we went to Dastarkhana for special non-veg food for my wife and son. Though I enjoyed the food there, the sweet poetry on the walls and tables made me spellbound. Being an art lover, I fell in love and tried my best to memorize:

“Wo aab wo hawa kahin aur nahin milta,
Milta hai bahut sheher, magar Lucknow nahin milta.”

While waiting for the cab, a security guard suggested a chikan kari cloth store. We went in without expectations, but I loved the soothing colors, fabric, and work at dirt-cheap prices. We bought a lot for ourselves and the family.

Finally, the Tempo Traveller picked other family members from the airport and we headed to Ayodhya.

Stay: Awadh Classio, Faizabad
(Amazing rooms in the mall where they have multiplex, shopping area & restaurants)

Day 3 (Dec 25) - Ayodhya

Started early for Ram Mandir with the help of a guide. The much-awaited temple visit for us and also for the entire nation since the Babri Masjid demolition in the 1990s. Though it looks huge, spacious, and well maintained, something was missing for me. I couldn’t connect emotionally as I felt it is newly built.

It made me realize that we enjoy emotional connect more than physical connect. Usual old temples make me feel they are very old — they make me time travel, imagining all the old kings and people who visited the place, and now I am also doing the same. I feel special and energetic due to this pre-conceived notion rather than any real physical effect.

We went to Hanuman Mandir, Dashrath Mahal and Kanak Mahal (Kaikeyi’s gift to Sita Devi) in the morning, and Sarayu Ghat aarti in the evening. The entire space developed with ghats and decorated places surprised us. While returning, we got to see Lata Mangeshkar Chowk and different Ramayana scenes as murals on the walls. A casual walk would have made us feel much better.

Day 4 (Dec 26) Ayodhya -> Varanasi

I started early alone to Guptar Ghat (place where Lord Rama took samadhi). While waiting for the auto, a hawker on the road was serving hot puri. The taste, the heat in chilled weather, and the right level of spiciness took me to a different level.

The auto driver took me via the Cantonment area which reminded me of the need for security due to ongoing tensions in the past. The huge temple near the calm, less crowded ghat (away from Ayodhya) gave me the necessary space and feel to enjoy the place and the moment. That soothing morning was definitely one of the best in the trip.

After returning to the room, we started towards Varanasi, touching Nandigram (Bharat Kund) — outskirts of Ayodhya kingdom where Bharat ruled using the footwear of Lord Rama. It is an interesting temple where the footwear is kept underground and the temple of Lord Rama is on top.

After the serene and less crowded Ayodhya, the buzzing city of Varanasi overwhelmed me in the first few hours. We immediately headed to Kala Bhairava Temple (protector of Kashi). Crazy crowd with a 3 km line and 2 hours of standing pushed me to the extent that I didn’t want to do darshan. With no fear of rejection or failure, my mother-in-law boldly cut the queue and we all joined in.

That made me think about sophistication and fear of rejection limiting ourselves to rules, stopping us from thinking out of the box — and more importantly, the integrity and ethics inside a temple which itself is considered the protector of integrity and ethics. Without thinking much, following what everyone else was doing, we completed darshan and then visited Mrityunjay Temple (almost no rush).

Stay: Stay Vista Sun Rise (Airbnb) - Luxurious huge rooms and great service.

Day 5 (Dec 27) - Kashi Temples

A really big day — Kashi Vishwanath Temple. We started at 3 AM to head to Kashi for tickets and queue. The story repeated — powerful and influential (so-called protocol people) cutting the queue and getting direct access to God. This fortifies my belief in inequality in nature, including in the creator’s place.

We later visited Vishalakshi and Varahi Temple. Surprisingly, only Telugu people seemed to be around — shopkeepers, beggars, and neighbours trying to speak broken Telugu to run business and make a few extra bucks. While returning had tasted the famous Malayo, Bun Maka in Shree Tea Shop

Had good lunch at a famous veg restaurant which served everything in king’s style.

In the evening, we went to see the famous Ganga Aarti with the same guide. “Heavily crowded” is still a small word to describe the density of people standing on steps, boats, cruises, houses, hotels — any place where a human could get sight of the aarti. We paid ₹500 per person to grab a spot on a boat for a direct view right in front of us.

It was nice, but deep inside I felt it was more of a ritual to attract people and make it visually appealing. Inspired by Haridwar’s Ganga Aarti, it grew into three spots in Varanasi — two in Dashashwamedh and one in Assi Ghat. The moment I realized it is newly inspired, I lost the emotional touch — similar to Rama Janmabhoomi temple. It shows it is an inspired event, not an original age-old culture. Still, the sync, live kirtan and music made it spiritual. Heard that aarti performers even get chances to go to rich NRIs’ homes — good for them.

Day 6 (Dec 28) - Sarnath

Another morning spent alone at Assi Ghat, known for yoga and buzzing crowd. Went on a boat tour till Namo Ghat and returned. The weather was so cold that visibility was less than 100 meters, yet people were religiously taking bath for spiritual cleansing.

The modern development of Namo Ghat, history and look of old ghats made me time travel. Despite clumsy roads and restrictions, kids were playing cricket on ghat steps — fielders at different levels. Guess Sourav Ganguly might have practised here — that’s why his off-side was so strong 🙂

My discovery of a toy store — Agarwal Toy Emporium just outside Assi Ghat — made my day. Artistic magnets, books, old coins, gramophone CDs, their covers, 1940s postcards — bought quite a few to satisfy my hoarding mindset for history.

The visit to Sarnath in the second half was truly life-changing — an operating-system reset moment. The 45-minute journey made me search about Sarnath: why Buddha gave his sermon here and not in Varanasi, why travel here after enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, and why start a new religion when Hinduism already existed. ChatGPT made it easy to quench my thirst — the answers were so mind-blowing they shook my 38-year belief system.

More than the answers, the interaction with the cab driver and local temple guide made me fall in love with the people. They had so much affinity — they say they are so attracted to the place that they can’t leave. Like Bholenath, they are happy and chilled in life. Money doesn’t matter much — they are content with whatever they earn.

One thing was common among every localite — no hurry, no rush, no greed, no tension. It is easy to identify a non-Varanasi person — they have all the opposite qualities. Rickshaw drivers, shopkeepers — no matter how narrow the lanes, how crowded the place, or how nasty the customers — they just smile and move on. Wish I could bring a part of that into me.

In the evening, went to Assi Ghat for another boat trip with family and had tasty Pehelwan Lassi and other milk products

Day 7 (Dec 29) - Mirzapur - Prayagraj

As my mother-in-law couldn’t offer diya prayers to River Ganga, we went early to Manikarnika Ghat (near Karnataka Ghat) to offer prayers (don’t tell others it had a gold piece too 😉).

We got a Muslim cab driver to go to Prayagraj. I was curious how he would react to Hindu temples and rituals. He perfectly fit the Benarasi character — chilled, smiling at problems, believing nature will take care. God’s name doesn’t matter.

He took us to Vindhya Vahini Temple, Mirzapur — where monetary extraction was the highest of all. The pandit was more like a gunda — pushing people, forcing shortcuts, demanding extra money, even threatening curses. People like these make me hate religious systems — and people like us also take advantage of shortcuts. Inequality is part of nature.

Finally, we reached the boating area for Sangam. Police had stopped boats after 4 PM, but money and small lies again bent rules. The boatman rowed for two hours non-stop — hardworking, underpaid, respectful to his owner. That’s the emotion managers try to build in employees.

After prayers at Sangam, we went to Bade Hanuman and Alopi Temple. ChatGPT searches on Shakti Peethas and Alopi further shook me after Sarnath revelations.

Stay - Lalith Villa (Airbnb - Alopi)

Day 8 (Dec 30) - Anand Bhawan

With all key temples done, we had a lazy day. Lunch at El Chico, then Anand Bhawan and Swaraj Bhawan. Nehru’s rich life, his endurance in married life, jail and struggles increased my respect for him despite his current political image. Indira Gandhi’s transformation from a sweet child to a tough Iron Lady was equally inspiring.

At Bharadwaj Ashram, priests scolded for not entering and not giving dakshina — again making spirituality feel like emotional business.

Day 9 (Dec 31) - Return

Another lazy day — just travelling back to Bengaluru.