The town of Chitrakoot has the close connection with Ramayan, the great Hindu epic. Chitrakoot, being the ancient town and association with Ramayan, the town has its religious, cultural, historical and archaeological importance. There are number of ancient temples and historical sites, mentioned in several Hindu scriptures.
Chitrakoot was firstly mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayan, Mahakavya composed by the first ever poet. According to Ramayan Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman spent few months of their exile period in these deep forest nearby Chitrakoot. And a very famous and special episode of Bharat Milap took place at Chitrakoot.
A huge crowd gather at Chitrakoot on various festivals such as; Somwati Amavasyas, Deepawali, Sharad-Poornima, Makar Sankranti and Ramanavami.
1) Bharat Milap temple is located here, marking the spot where Bharat met Lord Ram. When Bharat, younger brother of Ram was asked by his ministers to take the throne of Ayodhya, he refused and came to Chitrakoot to meet Lord Ram.
Here, Bharat met Lord Ram and requested him to return to Ayodhya and rule; but Lord Ram denied the request. Then Bharat returned to Ayodhya and put the sandals on the throne, instead of accepting the throne.
It is said that the meeting of all four brothers was so emotional that even the rocks and mountains of Chitrakoot melted. Foot prints of Lord Rama and his brothers were imprinted on these rocks, and still present today and seen in Bharat Milap Mandir, situated beside Kamadgiri mountain.
2) Ramghat-The ghats build along the Mandakini River known as Ramghat. During the exile period Rama, Lakshmana and Sita took bath here and are believed to have appeared before the poet Tulsidas.
3) Kamadgiri- One of the religious mountain on Chitrakoot Parvat, place of prime religious significance. A forested hill, it is skirted all along its base by a chain of temples.
Lord Rama is also known as Kamadnathji which literally means ‘who can fulfill’ all wishes. There is a 5 km Parikrama Path around the Kamadgiri Mountain.
4) Janaki Kund- is situated upstream of the Ramghat, where it is believed that Sita had took bath in the crystal clear waters of Mandakini river during the exile with Rama.
5) Sati Anasuya Ashrama- is located further upstream of Mandakini, 16 km from the town, amidst of thick forest. Atri muni, his wife Anasuya and their three sons (who were the three incarnations of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh) lived and meditated here.
Sati Anasuya ashrama is a very peaceful place where various streams from the hills converge and form the Mandakini River. It is said that Rama along with Sita had visited this place to meet Maharishi Atri and Sati Anasuya. Here, Sati Anasuya explained to Sita the grandeur and importance of Satitva.
6) Sphatic Shila-A few kilometres beyond Janaki Kund is another densely forested area on the bank of Mandakini. One can climb up to the boulder, which bears the Rama’s footprint and Sita.
7) Gupt-Godavari- is situated at a distance of 18 km from the Chitrakoot town. It is a pair of caves; One high and wide with an entrance through which one can barely pass, and the other long and narrow with stream of water running along its base. It is believed that Rama and Lakshmana held court in latter cave, which has two natural throne-like rocks.
8) Pampapur-It is situated in the valley of Devangana. Here we find sacred caves related to Lord Ram.
9) Hanuman Dhara– Its a water spring on the vertical face falling from the hill top, said to have been created by Rama to assuage Hanuman, when he returned after setting Lanka afire. A couple of temples commemorate this spot, which offers a panoramic view of Chitrakoot.
10) Bharat Koop- The well, where Bharat stored holy water collected from all the places of pilgrimage in India. It is quite small and isolated spot, a few kilometers from Chitrakoot. The water in the well remains pure and clean round the year.
11) Ram Shaiya-This place is located on the way between Chitrakoot and Bharat Koop, in an isolated location. It is the place where Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman used to sleep and rest in the evening, after wandering around the forest of Chitrakoot. Located between mountains with no town near-by with absolute silence.
Here, one can see a large flat-bed rock which bears imprints of Rama, Lakshman, and Sita. There is a tree above it and the entire place is walled by brick structure on the sides to preserve it.
12) Ganesh Bagh- Located just 11 km on the Karvi-Devangana road, Ganesh bagh is a place with a architecturally beautiful temple, baoli with seven stories and ruins of a palace exist.The whole complex was built by Peshwa Vinayak Rao as a summer retreat and is also known locally as mini-Khajuraho.
13) Valmiki Ashram is located 18 km away from the district headquarter, on the Allahabad Road. This Ashram is situated on a lofty hill. As per Hindu Mythology, Sita gave birth to her two sons Lava and Kush here in this ashram, after she was abandoned by Lord Rama.
14) Lakshman Chowki is a rock located about 100 m from the Ram Shaiyya rock. It is believed that Laxman used to sit on this rock to guard Lord Rama and Sita. It carries imprints of Laxman sitting down on this rock, with a bow on his side. Tourists can easily see the Ram Shaiyya rock from here.
15) Pramod Van is located on the Satna road, just 2 km south of Ram Ghat. This is a beautiful garden situated on the bank of the Mandakini River. The king of Rewa, Maharaja Vishwanath Pratap Singh Judeo, built this place for his own pleasure.
Air- Khajuraho Airport is the nearest airport from Chitrakoot, at a distance of 192 km. The airport is connected to Varanasi, Delhi and Agra. There are easy availability of taxis and buses going towards Chitrakoot.
Rail- Located at a distance of about 8 km, the nearest train station to Chitrakoot is Karvi which is well-linked to other major cities of the country like Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur. Taxi and bus services are available from Karvi train station to Chitrakoot.
Road- There are frequent bus services available to Chitrakoot from Agra, Allahabad, Banda, Chattarpur, Faizabad, Lucknow, Jhansi, Kanpur, Satna and Varanasi.
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