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Seven places worth a night from Ayodhya, with the drive, the return fare and the weekend shape.
Short answer
7 destinations from Ayodhya are worth a night, 110 to 465 km away by road. The closest is Shravasti at 110 km, about 2.5 hours of driving, with the return journey from ₹5,940 in a sedan. 6 work as a two-day weekend; one needs a third day because the drive is too long to justify a single night — the longest being Agra at 465 km.
Fares are the full return journey with a chauffeur, from the published round-trip rate card. Fuel, the driver and GST are included; tolls, parking, state permits and the driver's night allowance are charged at actuals.
Ayodhya sits on the Saryu in central-eastern Uttar Pradesh, within three hours of Lucknow and four of Varanasi, with the Nepal-border forests and the Buddhist sites to the north and the river cities to the south.
The day-trip page covers Faizabad, Shravasti and the places inside an easy return. This page is for the trips that need the night — the two great river cities, the Terai wildlife, and Bodh Gaya, which is five and a half hours away and worth every one of them.
Return fares are computed from the published round-trip rate card.
Every fare below is the full return journey with a chauffeur, computed from the published round-trip rate card. Fuel, the driver and GST are included; tolls, parking and any state permit are charged at actuals.
The Bara Imambara and its labyrinth, the Chota Imambara, the Residency ruins, Hazratganj in the evening, and the Awadhi food the city is actually famous for.
How the weekend runs
Under three hours. The Residency is best early and the kebab houses are an evening business, so a night gets both ends of what Lucknow is for. Bara Imambara on Sunday morning before the heat.
Jetavana, where the Buddha is said to have spent twenty-four rainy seasons, the Anathapindika stupa, and the Sahet-Mahet mounds — almost always empty.
How the weekend runs
Two and a half hours. This is a sitting-still place rather than a sightseeing one, and the light across the excavations at either end of the day is the point. One night, unhurried.
The ghats, the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, the Dashashwamedh aarti at dusk, and Sarnath nine kilometres out where the Buddha gave his first sermon.
How the weekend runs
Four hours. The aarti at sunset and a boat at sunrise are the two things to be there for and they are at opposite ends of the day, which settles the question of a night. Sarnath on the way home.
The Triveni Sangam with its visibly different waters, Akbar's fort, Anand Bhavan, and the Mughal tombs at Khusro Bagh.
How the weekend runs
Three and a half hours. The sangam boat is a dawn trip — the colour difference between the Ganga and the Yamuna shows in early light and washes out by midday. Anand Bhavan fills the afternoon before.
Terai grassland and sal forest on the Nepal border, with tiger, large swamp deer herds, and the reintroduced one-horned rhino at Salukhapur.
How the weekend runs
Five hours north. Safaris are morning and afternoon on booked slots, so one night gets two drives. The rhino enclosure and the Kishanpur range are effectively separate half-days.
The Mahabodhi temple and the Bodhi tree, surrounded by monasteries built by a dozen Buddhist nations, each in its own architectural tradition.
How the weekend runs
Five and a half hours east. The compound between five and seven in the morning, when the chanting begins, is a different place from the one day visitors see at noon. That is the reason for the night.
The Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Itmad-ud-Daulah across the river, and Fatehpur Sikri forty kilometres west.
How the weekend runs
Seven hours on the Lucknow and Agra expressways. Three days. The Taj at sunrise is the fixed point and the fort plus Fatehpur Sikri is a second full day, so one night would waste the journey.
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This page was last updated on . Fares follow the published rate card; tolls and parking are extra at actuals.
