Janakpur
Pilgrimage City Of Sita, Heroine Of The Ramayana, With The Janaki Mandir; Centre Of Mithila Culture And Painting · Janakpurdham, Madhesh
Janakpur is the city of Sita, the heroine of the Ramayana, who by tradition was born here as the daughter of King Janak, and it is one of the great Hindu pilgrimage cities of the Terai. Its centrepiece is the Janaki Mandir, a huge white palace-temple of domes and arches completed around 1910 in a style that mixes Mughal and Rajput architecture, unlike any other temple in Nepal. The city is full of sacred ponds and shrines, and it comes alive at festivals: Vivah Panchami, when the marriage of Ram and Sita is re-enacted, draws huge crowds, many from India, and Holi here is exuberant. Janakpur is also the heart of Mithila culture, and the Janakpur Women's Art Centre has helped bring Mithila painting, bright folk art traditionally painted on the walls of houses by women, to international attention. A railway to the Indian border has been restored in recent years. The city is hot, flat and busy, very different from the mountains, and it gives Madhesh Province its first row.
Janakpurdham, Dhanusha District, Janakpurdham, Madhesh, Nepal
The Janaki Mandir is open daily from early morning to evening, with a small fee for visiting the museum inside. Janakpur has an airport with flights from Kathmandu and is on the East-West Highway. Festival dates follow the Hindu calendar; Vivah Panchami falls in November or December.