Ramayana Places in India: The Trail from Ayodhya to Rameswaram

Quick answer: The main Ramayana places in India, in story order, are Ayodhya (Rama's city), Shringverpur on the Ganga (where Guha met Rama), Chitrakoot (the first forest home), Panchavati at Nashik on the Godavari (where Sita was carried off), Lepakshi (linked with Jatayu), Hampi (identified with Kishkindha) and Rameswaram (from where the army crossed to Lanka).

Valmiki names many of these places, but he does not give modern map locations. The identifications below are those held by long tradition, by temples and by state tourism departments. We say which parts come from Valmiki's text and which from later tradition. Valmiki references are kanda.sarga in the IIT Kanpur text.

Ayodhya

Valmiki's story begins and ends in Ayodhya, the capital of Kosala on the Sarayu river. Today's Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh, is a pilgrimage town on the Saryu. The new Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple was consecrated (pran pratishtha) on 22 January 2024. Pilgrims also visit Hanuman Garhi and bathe at the Saryu ghats. Nearby Nandigram is identified with Nandigrama, where Valmiki says Bharata ruled in Rama's name with Rama's sandals on the throne (2.115). See our Ayodhya Ram Mandir guide.

Shringverpur and Prayagraj

Leaving Ayodhya, Rama reached Shringaverapura on the Ganga, where Guha, king of the Nishadas, welcomed him (2.50), and crossed the river by boat (2.52). Shringverpur, near Prayagraj, is identified with this place and honoured as Nishadraj Guha's capital. Valmiki then brings the exiles to the hermitage of the sage Bharadvaja near the meeting of the Ganga and Yamuna, who sends them on to Chitrakuta (2.54). Prayagraj has a site honoured as Bharadvaja's ashram by local tradition.

Chitrakoot

Rama, Sita and Lakshmana lived first at Chitrakuta, where Lakshmana built a cottage (2.56). Here Bharata came to beg Rama to return (2.93 onwards), and from here they went on to the hermitage of Atri and Anasuya (2.117 to 2.119). Chitrakoot today straddles the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh border. Pilgrims walk round Kamadgiri hill, bathe at Ram Ghat on the Mandakini river, and visit the Sati Anasuya ashram.

Panchavati, Nashik

The sage Agastya directed Rama to Panchavati on the Godavari (3.13), and the three settled there (3.15). It was here that Shurpanakha came, and from here that Ravana carried Sita away (3.46 to 3.49). Panchavati in Nashik, Maharashtra, is identified with this place. "Panchavati" means "five banyan trees". Pilgrims visit Ramkund on the Godavari, the Kalaram temple (named for its black image of Rama) and Sita Gufa, a cave held by tradition to be connected with Sita. A popular story links the name Nashik with nasika, the nose of Shurpanakha that Lakshmana cut off; this is local tradition.

Lepakshi

At Lepakshi in Andhra Pradesh, local tradition holds that Jatayu fell here after fighting Ravana, and that Rama said to him "le pakshi", "rise, O bird". This is folk etymology; Valmiki does not name the place. The Veerabhadra temple at Lepakshi was built in the Vijayanagara period, in about the 1530s, and is known for its paintings and its huge stone Nandi. See Jatayu and Sampati.

Hampi and Anegundi: Kishkindha

Searching for Sita, Rama and Lakshmana came to Pampa lake (3.75), near the Rishyamuka hill where Sugriva was hiding. Kishkindha was the monkey kingdom of Vali and Sugriva. Tradition identifies Kishkindha with the area around Hampi and Anegundi on the Tungabhadra river in Karnataka, with Pampa Sarovar and the Rishyamuka hill nearby.

Hanuman's birthplace. Two traditions disagree. Karnataka's tradition places it on Anjanadri hill near Anegundi. In April 2021 the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams declared Anjanadri in the Tirumala hills to be the birthplace. Both are held by devotees; Valmiki does not settle the question. See Sugriva and Vali.

Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi

From the southern shore the monkey army built a bridge across the sea, with Nala as its builder (6.22). Tradition places the shore at Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu. The Ramanathaswamy temple at Rameswaram is one of the twelve jyotirlingas, and temple tradition holds that Rama worshipped Shiva here. Dhanushkodi, at the tip of the island, was destroyed by a cyclone in 1964. See the Ramanathaswamy temple guide.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has its own Ramayana traditions. The Sita Amman temple at Sita Eliya, near Nuwara Eliya, is identified with the Ashoka grove by tradition. Sri Lanka's tourism authority promotes a Ramayana trail.

Planning a Ramayana yatra

• Ramayana Circuit. Under its Swadesh Darshan scheme, India's Ministry of Tourism identified fifteen destinations for a Ramayana Circuit, among them Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringverpur and Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi, Buxar and Darbhanga (Bihar), Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh), Mahendragiri (Odisha), Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh), Nashik and Nagpur (Maharashtra), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Hampi (Karnataka) and Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu).
• By train. IRCTC runs a Shri Ramayana Yatra tourist train on some dates, covering many of these places, plus Janakpur in Nepal, in about seventeen days. Routes and dates change; check irctctourism.com for current departures.
• On your own. A practical order is Ayodhya, Prayagraj and Shringverpur, Chitrakoot, Nashik, Hampi, Lepakshi and Rameswaram, which follows the story from north to south.

Frequently asked questions

Which places in India are linked to the Ramayana?

Chiefly Ayodhya, Shringverpur, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Panchavati (Nashik), Lepakshi, Hampi and Anegundi, and Rameswaram, along with Sitamarhi in Bihar, held to be Sita's birthplace, and Janakpur in Nepal.

Where is Panchavati?

At Nashik in Maharashtra, on the Godavari, by tradition. Valmiki places Panchavati on the Godavari (3.15).

Is Hampi the Kishkindha of the Ramayana?

Tradition identifies the Hampi and Anegundi area with Kishkindha. Valmiki gives no map location.

Where was Hanuman born?

Two traditions are held: Anjanadri near Anegundi in Karnataka, and Anjanadri in the Tirumala hills, as declared by TTD in 2021.

Where did Rama build the bridge to Lanka?

Tradition places it at Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi. Valmiki describes the bridge in the Yuddha Kanda (6.22).

Related reading

• Ramayana: The Complete Guide
• Ayodhya Kanda summary
• Aranya Kanda summary
• Kishkindha Kanda summary
• Mahabharata places today

Sources

1. Valmiki Ramayana, Sanskrit text with English translation (Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupati), IIT Kanpur: heritage.iitk.ac.in/VRAM. Sarga references from this edition.
2. Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism): Shringverpur, Ramkund, Nashik, Lepakshi temple.
3. Nashik District administration: Panchavati.
4. Ministry of Tourism, Ramayana Circuit destinations, as reported in India TV News (Lok Sabha reply, December 2018).
5. On the Hanuman birthplace claims: Deccan Herald, April 2021.

Last reviewed: 12 November 2026.