Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur [1] is a city of 675,000 people in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is a way station on a popular overland route from India to Nepal.

Gorakhpur (Hindi: गोरखपुर, Urdu: گۋڙکھ پور) ') is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division.

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 Gorakshanath. Gorakhnath 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.

In the 20th century, Gorakhpur was a focal point in the Indian independence movement. Today, the city is also a business centre, hosting the headquarters of the North Eastern Railways www.nerailway.gov.in and an industrial area, GIDA [Gorakhpur Development Authority] 15km from the old town

Weather

It experience pleasant environment throughout the year. In summer the average temperature can go as high as 40 'C and in during the winters the average temperature can go as down as 4 'C. The best time to visit Gorakhpur is during the months of October to March.

Get in

By Air

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Daily one jet airways flight at 2:30 PM from New Delhi to Gorakhpur

Railways

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Gorakhpur railway station connects to all major cities of India. It is the headquarter of North Eastern Railway. Direct trains connect it to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi and other cities.

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.

Situated on the basin of rivers Rapti and Rohini the geographical shape of the Gorakhpur City is of bowl. The west of the city is guarded by cool Rapti river while the east is associated with excel Sal Forest, giving the divine sense of peace with cool breeze every moment. The south is showered with the power of excellence, in shape of greenish Ramgarh Tal and north is the plinth of city's advancement.

Gorakhpur city has a university, a medical college, an engineering college and many post graduate and degree colleges. It is also the head quarters of North Eastern Railways. You can travel to any corner of India from here. No mean an achievement considering the size of the city. It also has an airport for domestic travel and connects with every major city in India. The city boasts of an army cantonment and an air base. All this, gave a cosmopolitan touch to the city. The world famous publication house of Gita Press gives an intellectual and religious touch to the city.

Get around

Cycle Rickshaw, a three wheeled human powered cycle, is the major mode of transport in the city. The charges are nominal and can be bargained. Usually a ride of 4-5 km would cost around 15 Rupees. City bus are available for some important routes of city.

Auto Rickshaws are easily available for traveling to some parts in the city.

Taxicabs can also be hired for a fixed time duration as desired by the user.

See

• Gorakhnath Temple
• Gita Press
• chauri chaura shaheed smarak
• Vishnu Mandir
• Aroyga Mandir
• Ambedkar Park
• Taramandal
• Lord Buddha Museum near Ram Garh Tal - nice and quiet place to visit. Opened till 4:30PM.
• Ram Garh Tal (Lake).

Places near by:

• Maghar - This is the place were sant Kabir died.
• Kushinagar - This is the place were lord buddha died.
• Kapilvastu - Capital of lord buddha
• Lumbini(Nepal) - Birth Place of lord Buddha. Go by Sonauli route.
• Bhairahwa,one of the entry points to Nepal from India, is the last border town in Nepal which is about 4 KM from Sonauli,the Indian border town. There are frequent buses( 3 hrs. ) to Sounauli from Gorakhpur or taxis can be hired( 2 - 2 1/2 hrs. ).There are shared taxis too.

Do

• See all the Hindi movies in the town, best theaters are Raj, Jubilee, Vijay Picture Palace, here air conditioning is good.
• A new shopping Mall(SRS,Sabhi Rahe Saath) has come up on the Park Road (near Hotel Ganesh). This mall is with 3 movie screens.
• Hire a cycle-rickshaw and travel around slow all around the town and in some places it is better to travel in foot.

Rail museum is also a very good picnic place.

• You can go Taramandal for Boat riding.

Buy

All things are available as big cities, but best attraction of this city is terracota material (decorative things made of muddy soil).

Best place to buy your needs is Golghar which situated in the centre of the city. Also you can buy religious books from Gita Press.

Eat

Gorakhpur has a fairly good restaurants and eating joints. Apart from the star catagory hotels there are many restaurants in the city

• Hotel Ganesh, Park Road near Golghar. Good and Clean Indian food.Cheapest hotels can be seen just outside the train station itself. South Indian dishes like Dosa, Masal Dosa, Idly Sambar etc. are available here at reasonable rate.

• 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. Comparable to Haldriram's of NCR.

Drink

Bar Facilities available in some of hotels.

Sleep

• Hotel Clarks Inn, Park Road. Very expensive.
• Hotel Shivoy, Town Hall. Medium
• Hotel Park Regency, Park Road. Medium
• Hotel President, Gol Ghar.
• Hotel Bobina, Tarang Crossing. Oldest hotel of town, also has a swimming pool. Personal best.
• Hotel Kabeer, Near Venus Compound, Modest place to sleep and food quality is good. Place also has a Chinese restaurant. Contact Number - 09415080610
• HOTEL AVANTIKA, MOHADDIPUR. THE BEST TWO STAR HOTEL ON THE WAY TO BUDDHIST PILGRIMAGE SITE "KUSI NAGAR"

Get in

Direct Trains from all major Stations in India. Roadways (UP Government Bus) connectivity to major cities within the State, Nepal and Delhi. Flight to-from Lucknow, Varanasi and Delhi. Not reliable though as operators frequently stop / start operating on this route due commercial reasons. The airport is dedicated military airbase.

Travel Agency

• Kesherwani Travels is most recognised and oldest travel agency in the city established since 1980 and provide all types of buses (2x2, 3x2, sleeper)for all over India and special pacakages to Nepal.

Contact No.Tele/Fax (0551)2333545 E-mail- [email protected] Website- www.kesherwanitravels.blogspot.com

References:

• http://gorakhpur.nic.in/
• http://www.gitapress.org/
• http://chaurichaura.com
• http://gorakhpurlive.com

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