All of Nepal
🛕
Nepal / East: Janakpur & Ilam / Janakpur

Janakpur

Sita's Birthplace and the Janaki Mandir

Plan this trip
1 dayIdeal stay₹940From / night₹500Food / dayFreeEntry

The Mithila city where tradition places King Janak's court and the marriage of Ram and Sita. The white marble Janaki Mandir (1910) is one of the great pilgrimages for Indian Hindus, especially at Vivah Panchami (November–December) and Ram Navami. Ponds (sagars) and smaller temples ring the old town, and Mithila painting is made here. Nepal's only passenger railway runs from Janakpur to Jaynagar in Bihar; the road from the border is short. The food is Maithili and mostly vegetarian.

Highlights

  • Evening aarti at the Janaki Mandir
  • Vivah Mandap wedding pavilion
  • Sacred ponds of Ganga Sagar and Dhanush Sagar
  • Mithila painting workshops
  • Cross-border train to Jaynagar

Things to do

  • Janaki Mandir darshan & evening aartiEvening · 2h
  • Ram Mandir, Vivah Mandap & the sagarsMorning · 3h
  • Mithila painting at the Women's Art ProjectAfternoon · 2h

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Janakpurvia GetYourGuideTours & tickets in Janakpurvia Klook

Tourisma may earn a small commission if you book — it never changes your price.

When to go

Best time: October – March

Worth knowing

Dashain: Transport Full, Offices and Shops Closed

During Dashain (late September or October, 15 days, the main 4-5 days like India's Navratri and Dussehra) most of Kathmandu goes home to the villages: long-distance buses and domestic flights sell out a week either side, offices, banks and many shops and restaurants close for the main days, and taxis are scarce. Book transport early and carry cash.

Heads up

Tihar: Holidays and Full Buses

Tihar (Nepal's Deepawali, five days, two to three weeks after Dashain) closes offices and many shops for its last days and fills buses again. The lamps and decorations are lovely to see; plan around the transport.

Heads up

Terai Heat

April to June the Terai is as hot as the Indian plains across the border, often 38-42 °C. Sightsee at dawn and after 4 p.m., and book a room with air-conditioning.

  • Dashain (Bada Dashain) — Nepal's biggest festival, 15 days ending on the full moon, with the main days (Phulpati to Vijaya Dashami, the day of tika from elders) like India's Navratri and Dussehra. Kathmandu empties as people go home: buses and domestic flights sell out a week either side, government offices, many shops and some restaurants close for 4-5 days, and prices rise. It falls in the autumn trekking season, so book transport early.
  • Tihar (Deepawali) — Five days of lights, two to three weeks after Dashain: crows, dogs and cows are honoured on successive days, Laxmi Puja falls on India's Diwali, and Bhai Tika ends it. Towns are lit with oil lamps and garlands and children sing deusi-bhailo door to door. Offices close for the last days and long-distance buses fill up again.
  • Chhath — Six days after Tihar, women in the Mithila Terai fast and offer arghya to the setting and rising sun from Janakpur's ponds. Janakpur's sagars are packed at dawn and dusk; worth seeing, with hotels full of returning families.
  • Vivah Panchami (Ram–Sita wedding) — Janakpur re-enacts the wedding of Ram and Sita at the Janaki Mandir and Vivah Mandap, with a procession that arrives as from Ayodhya. Pilgrims come in tens of thousands from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh: book a room well ahead and expect queues at the temple.
  • Holi (Fagu Purnima) — Colours are thrown in the hills, Kathmandu included, a day before the Terai (Janakpur, Chitwan, Lumbini) celebrates with India. Basantapur and Thamel are the centres in Kathmandu; wear old clothes and keep phones in a bag.