Shri Ramayan Yatra to depart from Delhi on Feb 22
Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corp Ltd (IRCTC), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways has decided to operate the popular “Shri Ramayana Yatra” by Deluxe AC Tourist train to promote spiritual tourism with singular emphasis on the life of Shri Rama. The train tour will start from Delhi Safdarjung railway station on February 22, 2022 and will cover the major places associated with life of Lord Rama. The upcoming trip will be having 3 additional destinations viz Buxar, Kanchipuram and Bhadrachalam.
Spanning over 19 nights/20 days, the first stop is Ayodhya where tourists will visit Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple and Hanuman temple. Additionally there would be Bharat Mandir at Nandigram. After Ayodhya, next destination will be Sitamarhi in Bihar where Sita is believed to be born and Ram-Janaki Temple in Janakpur (Nepal) will be covered by road. Post Sitamarhi, the guests shall be taken to Buxar for a tour of the Ramrekha ghat and the local temples followed by Varanasi, where they will visit temples at Varanasi, Prayag, Shringverpur and Chitrakoot by road. Night stay will be arranged at Varanasi, Prayag and Chitrakoot respectively.
The next destination that the train travels to is Nasik wherein visit of Trayambakeshwar temple and Panchvati will be covered. Next destination after Nasik is Hampi which according to folklore is around the ancient monkey kingdom of Kishkindha. Here, the temple believed to be the sacred birth place of Shri Hanuman and other heritage and religious sites will be covered. Then the train chugs into one the holy Char Dham sites of Rameshwaram. Excursions include a visit of the eponymous Ramanathaswamy temple & Dhanuskodi. The next destination is Kanchipuram which takes the guests through the Vishnu Kanchi, Shiva Kanchi and the Kanchi Kamakshi Amman temple. Bhadrachalam will be the last destination of this train tour after which train returns to Delhi on its 20th day of its journey. Guests will be travelling roughly 7500 Kms in this entire tour.
The modern Deluxe AC Tourist Train has a host of amazing features including two fine dining restaurants, a contemporary kitchen, shower cubicles in coaches, sensor based washroom functions, foot massager and a mini library. The fully air-conditioned train provides two types of accommodation viz. AC I and AC II. The train has enhanced security features like CCTV cameras, electronic safes and dedicated security guards appointed for each coach.
IRCTC has launched this special tourist train in line with the Government of India initiative “Dekho Apna Desh” to promote domestic tourism, at a price of Rs. 99,475/- per person for 2AC and Rs. 1, 21,735/- per person on 1AC class. Package price covers train journey in AC coaches, accommodation in AC Hotels, all meals (VEG ONLY), all transfer & sight-seeing in AC Vehicles, travel insurance and services of IRCTC Tour Managers etc. All necessary health precautionary measures will be taken care of, by providing safe and healthy travel during the tour. Government/PSU employees can avail LTC facility on this tour as per eligibility based on the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India.
To ensure safety measures in the present COVID 19 scenario, full vaccination (double doses) for guests of age group 18 or above is mandatory. Besides, IRCTC will also provide a safety kit to all tourists, which would include a face mask, hand gloves and sanitizer. Regular temperature checking of all tourists and staff, frequent train sanitization at halt stations etc and other precautions has also been adopted. Staff shall be screened thoroughly and kitchen & restaurants shall be sanitized after every meal service.
