Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur (Hindi: गोरखपुर, Urdu: گۋڙکھ پور) is a city of 675,000 people (2011) in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Located near the Nepalese border, it is on the popular overland route from India to Nepal.
Gorakhpur is famous as a religious centre: the city was home to Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Sikh saints and is named after the medieval saint Gorakshnath. Gorakshnath Temple is still the seat of the Nath sect. The city is also home to many historic Buddhist sites and the Gita Press, a publisher of Hindu religious texts. The city was also a focal point in the Indian independence movement in the 20th century.
Understand
Climate
In the summer the average temperature can go as high as 40°C and during the winters the average temperature can go as low as 4 °C. The best time to visit Gorakhpur is from October to March.
Get in
By plane
By train
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Gorakhpur railway station is connected to all major cities of India. It is the headquarters of North Eastern Railway. Direct trains connect Gorakhpur to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi and other cities. It has one of the longest train platforms in the world.
By car
Gorakhpur falls on NH 28 and 29. The roadways network connects Gorakhpur to the cities of Uttar Pradesh and to other cities of India. Some important distances are: Lucknow 276 km, Varanasi 231 km, Allahabad 339 km, Agra 624 km, Delhi 783 km and Mumbai 1690 km.
On the basin of the Rapti and Rohini Rivers, Gorakhpur City has the geographical shape of a bowl. The west of the city is guarded by the cool Rapti river, while the east is associated with Sal Forest. The south has the greenish lake of Ramgarh Tal, while the north is the plinth of city's advancement.
Get around
Cycle rickshaws are the major mode of transport in the city. The charges are nominal and can be bargained. Usually a ride of 1-2 km would cost around ₹15. City buses are available.
See
- Aroyga Mandir.
- 1 Chauri Chaura Shaheed Smarak.
- 2 Ram Garh Tal (Lake Ramgarh Taal).
- 3 Vishnu Mandir.
- 4 Vir Bahadur Singh Planetarium, Rail Vihar Colony Phase 3rd, Taramandal. A good place to spark children's interest in astronomy and physics. The planetarium runs 45-minute long shows at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm daily. ₹25 for entry.
- 5 Gorakhpur Zoo, Buddha Vihar Rd, Rail Vihar Colony Phase 3rd, Phase 3rd. The second largest zoo in the state with several big cats, deer, monkeys, bears, reptiles, birds and fish in the aquarium section.
Temples
- 6 Gita Vatika (Radha Krishna Mandir), Gita Vatika. Beautiful temple of Lord Krishna and Radha
- 7 Gorakhnath Math (Gorakhnath Temple). A temple named after Yogi Gorakhnath.
- Budhiya Mai Temple (15 km from railway station).
Museums
Do
- See all the Hindi movies in the town, best theaters are Raj, Jubilee, Vijay Picture Palace, here air conditioning is good.
- Hire a cycle-rickshaw and travel around slow all around the town. In some places it is better to travel on foot.
- 1 Taramandal. You can go Taramandal for boating
- 2 Ambedkar Park.
- 3 Neer Nikunj Water Park, Buddha Vihar Rd Phase 3, Taramandal (near Rail Vihar Colony), ☏ +91 92352 51491. Daily 10AM-8PM. The only water park in Gorakhpur, it has a number of water slides, pools, wave pools and a few non-water related amusement rides like a merry-go-round and ferris wheel. ₹650 pp from Monday to Saturday and ₹750 pp on Sunday.
Buy
Item selection here is similar to that of other large Indian cities.
- Terracota items. Terracotta trinkets (decorative things made of muddy soil) are made here.
- 1 SRS City Mall, 6 Civil Lines (on Park Road (near Hotel Ganesh)), ☏ +91 93364 81461. This mall has a movie theatre with 3 screens.
- Baldev Plaza (in Golghar). The oldest shopping mall in town. It has several shops, especially for jewellery and gifts.
- Golghar (in the centre of the city). Sells personal items
- 2 Gita Press (Geeta Press). The world's largest publisher of Hindu religious texts is based in Gorakhpur.
- Orion Mall, Mohaddipur. Shopping mall with clothing and footwear stores, a game zone arcade, food court and cinema.
Eat
Gorakhpur has fairly good restaurants and eating joints. Apart from the star category hotels there are many restaurants in the city.
- Bobi's Restaurant, Golghar (main market of the city), ☏ +91 551-2332233. 10AM-11PM. Affordable restaurant serving a variety of cuisines. In-house bakery for cakes and pastries.
- 10 Park Street, Cafe & Kitchen, ☏ +91 551-2200037, +91 8355010101, +91 8874778999. serving Indian, Oriental and Continental cuisines.
- Choudhry Hotel (Vijay Chowk near Golghar/City Mall on Park Road). Good and clean Indian food. Agreeable service with reasonable rates. Can get everything from typical Punjabi dishes to South Indian with variety of sweets.
- Hotel Ganesh, Park Road near Golghar. Good and clean Indian food. South Indian dishes like Dosa, Masal Dosa, and Idly Sambar are available here at reasonable rate.
- Tandoor Food - Take away, Cinem Road near Golghar. Most famous food joint in the city specializing in Mughlai non-vegetarian foods like authentic biryani, kababs, tandoori chicken. The prices are reasonable and the quality is great. Open for dinner only. A busy place.
Drink
Bar facilities are available in some hotels.
- Hotel Ganges.
- Mahraja restaurant, Nakhas Chowk, Gorakhpur. Good non-veg food in city, delicious taste of Lucknowi food.
- Mughal Bar (Hotel Bobina).
Sleep
There are local hotels near the train station, and you can use the "retiring rooms" of the station if you have a valid ticket, but because this is a very busy station, rooms may not be available.
- Hotel Awadh. In centre of the city.
- Hotel Bobina, Tarang Crossing, Nepal Road, ☏ +91 63868 93056. The oldest hotel in town. It also has a swimming pool.
- Hotel Kabeer (near Venus Compound), ☏ +91 9415080610. Modest place to sleep and food quality is good.
- 1 Hotel Clarks Grand (होटल क्लार्क्स इन ग्रैंड), 6 Park Rd, ☏ +91 551 220 5015. Upscale hotel.
- 2 Hotel Park Regency, 10 Park Road, Golghar, ☏ +91 551 220 4967. All rooms are air-conditioned and have Wi-Fi.
- Hotel President, Gol Ghar.
- 3 Shivoy Hotel, Town Hall Rd, Golghar, ☏ +91 551 233 8448. Free WiFi and free breakfast. Has a restaurant which serves both Indian and Chinese.
Connect
As of March 2022, Gorakhpur has a well-established 4G network but does not yet have 5G. Carriers with good signals in the city include Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea.
Go next
- Sonauli — the busiest border town to go to Nepal (Bhairhawa is the small Nepali town) Very frequent buses will need 3 hours to link Gorakhpur with Sonauli. The UP Government buses will charge you ₹112. The trip from the border to Gorakhpur can be as cheap as 100INR by using private buses. Taxis (and shared ones too) should be available.
- Kapilvastu — In ancient times the capital of the Shakya Kingdom, of which the Buddha was part of the royal family
- Kushinagar — This is the place where the Buddha died.
- Lumbini (Nepal) — Birthplace of the Buddha. Go via Sonauli.
- Maghar — This is the place where Saint Kabir saheb is believed by his followers to have left this mortal world. Hindus and Muslims made two Memorials of Saint Kabir here just 100 m apart.