Nepal - Ayodhya - Kashi

Prayagraj

Prayagraj lies close to Triveni Sangam, the "three-river confluence" of the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Sarasvati. It plays a central role in Hindu scriptures. The city finds its earliest reference as one of the world's oldest known cities in Hindu texts and has been venerated as the holy city of Prayaga in the ancient Vedas.

Ayodhya 

Ayodhya is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The legendary city of Ayodhya, popularly identified as the present-day Ayodhya, is the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama of Kosala and setting of the great epic Ramayana and its many versions. Owing to the belief as the birthplace of Rama, Ayodhya has been regarded as the first of the seven most important pilgrimage sites for Hindus.

Gaya

Gaya is sanctified in the Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist religions. Gaya district is mentioned in the great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. It is the place where Rama, with Sita and Lakshmana, came to offer piṇḍadāna for their father, Dasharatha, and continues to be a major Hindu pilgrimage site for the pindadana ritual. Bodh Gaya, where Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment, is one of the four holy sites of Buddhism.

Varanasi

Varanasi or Kashi is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. Located in the middle-Ganges valley in the southeastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi lies on the left bank of the river. 

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located in Vishwanath Gali, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The temple is a Hindu pilgrimage site and is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines. The presiding deity is known by the names Vishwanath and Vishweshwara, literally meaning Lord of the Universe.

Sarnath

Sarnath is where, at 35 years of age, Gautama Buddha taught his first sermon after attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. It is also where the Buddhist sangha first came into existence as a result of the enlightenment of his first five disciples (Kaundinya, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa and Mahanama).

Gorakhpur 

Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur district, North Eastern Railway Zone and Gorakhpur division. The city is home to the Gorakhnath Math, a Gorakhnath temple.

The name "Gorakhpur" comes from the Sanskrit Gorakshapuram, which means abode of Gorakhnath, a renowned ascetic who was a prominent saint of the Nath Sampradaya.

Manokamana

Manakamana Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Bhagwati, an incarnation of Parvati and it is situated in the village of Manakamana in Gorkha District, Gandaki Province, Nepal founded by Arman Rayamajhi in 1678.

Kathmandu

Kathmandu, officially Kathmandu Metropolitan City, is the capital and most populous city of Nepal with 845,767 inhabitants living in 105,649 households as of the 2021 Nepal census and 2.9 million people in its urban agglomeration. It is located in the Kathmandu Valley, a large valley in the high plateaus in central Nepal, at an altitude of 1,400 metres (4,600 feet).

Lumbini

Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, queen Maya gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama at around 566 BCE. Gautama, who, according to Buddhist tradition, achieved Enlightenment some time around 528 BCE, became Shakyamuni Buddha and founded Buddhism. Lumbini is one of many magnets for pilgrimage that sprang up in places pivotal to the life of the Buddha.

Pashupatinath

The Pashupatinath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Pashupati, a form of Shiva, and is located in Kathmandu, Nepal near the Bagmati River. This temple was classified as a World Heritage Site in 1979. This "extensive Hindu temple precinct" is a "sprawling collection of temples, ashrams, images and inscriptions raised over the centuries along the banks of the sacred Bagmati river", and is one of seven monument groups in UNESCO's designation of Kathmandu Valley. It is built on an area of 246 hectares and includes 518 mini-temples and a main pagoda house.