Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) is offering a ‘Shri Ramayana Express’ special tourist train on the Ramayana circuit covering all prominent places associated with the life of Lord Ram. The special tour package will be covered by train in India and an optional flight from Chennai to Sri Lanka.

The 16 nights, 17 days tour package starts from 3rd November, 2019 and begins from Jaipur. The tour covers Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Hampi, Janakpur, Madurai, Nandigram, Nasik, Prayag, Rameswaram, Sitamarhi and Varanasi. The price per adult passenger is Rs. 16,065/-. Tourists can board the train from Jaipur, Alwar, Rewari, Safdarjung railway station in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Bareilly and Lucknow. The train departs from Jaipur at 10 am on November 3, 2019 and meals will be provided on board. All reservations will be made for sleeper class.

(Here is the direct link to book the Ramayana Express special train tour package.)

Tourists booking the Ramayana Express special train can also opt for an added trip to Sri Lanka. The duration of the Sri Lanka trip is 3 nights and 4 days (at the destination). Interested tourists may opt this package by de-boarding Ramayana Express at Chennai on Day 15 (17 November 2019).

The flight details for the Sri Lanka tour are as follows:

Date From To Flight no.
17 Nov 2019 Chennai at  16:05 hours Colombo at 17:25 hours UL 128
21 Nov 2019 Colombo at  00:35 hours Delhi at  04:10 hours UL 191

The package cost for the Sri Lanka tour, per passenger:

Single Occupancy Double Occupancy Triple Occupancy Child with separate bed Child without separate bed
Rs. 41,700/- Rs. 37,800/- Rs. 36,950/- Rs. 29,800/- Rs. 28,050/-

According to the itinerary, the Ramayana Express special train arrives in Ayodhya on 4th November 2019. Tourists will be able to visit several temples in the city on the same day. A visit to Nandigram is scheduled for the following day. Accommodation for night stay will be provided in Ayodhya. On November 5, 2019, the train departs for Sitamarhi. In Sitamarhi, all pilgrims shall visit the Sita temple and then proceed to Janakpur in Nepal by bus to see the Sita temple and return to Sitamarhi. The tour moves to Varanasi the same evening.

On November 7, tourists will visit Tulsi Manas temple and Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi and stay for the night. The next morning, pilgrims will visit to Vishwanath Temple and then proceed by road to Allahabad. En-route, all tourists will be able to visit Sita Samahit Sthal at Sitamarhi (on Varanasi–Prayag highway) and stay the night at Prayag. On the morning of November 9, tourists will visit Sangam and Hanuman Mandir followed by a tour of Bhardwaj Ashram. The tour then proceeds for Sringverpur by road (Prayag-Kanpur Highway) and accommodation for night stay will be provided in Chitrakoot from where the tour will move towards Nasik. On November 12, tourists shall visit the Trayambakeshwar Jyotirling and Panchvati in Nasik and depart for Hosapate in the evening. On November 14, tourists shall visit various temples in Hampi and depart for Rameshwaram. On November 16, a trip to Rameshwaram Temple and Dhanushkodi is scheduled followed by departure to Madurai. In Madurai, pilgrims will be able to see the famous Meenakshi Temple and then leave for Chennai.

On 17 November 2019 in Chennai, tourists travelling to Sri Lanka will de-board and halt for the journey by air. Other tourists will proceed for departure for return journey via train.

For passengers travelling by air, the check-in formalities at the Chennai airport will start from 1 pm to catch the Sri Lankan Airlines flight (flight no. UL 128) to Colombo. The flight departs from Chennai at 16.05 hours and lands in Colombo at 17.25 hours. The next morning, tourists will move to Nuwara Elliya and visit Kaleniya Vibhisana temple and palace, Hanuman temple at Ramboda and Gayatri Peedum. On 19th November, a visit to Sita Amma temple, Hakkagala garden (Ashok Vatika), Dhivirampola and Tooth relic temple in Kandy is scheduled. From Kandy, tourists will move towards Colombo on 20th November to see the Elephant orphanage at Pinnawala, Muneeshwaram and Manawari temple en-route. Late at night, the tour proceeds to the Colombo airport for return journey. On 21st November, all passengers will board flight no. UL 191 towards Delhi at 00.35 hours and arrive in Delhi at 04.10 hours.

The package includes train journey by sleeper class train, accommodation in non-AC dormitories/ hall (dharamshala accommodation), comfortable non-AC road transfers (using 55 seater buses), vegetarian food (breakfast, lunch and dinner), one glass of packaged drinking water will be provided to each passenger during lunch and dinner per day. Tour escort and security on train will be provided. At destination, road journeys will be provided to the point up to which bus journeys are permissible.

In Sri Lanka, the package includes three nights accommodation – one each at Colombo, Nuwara Eliya and Kandy, all meals fixed in the buffet menu, AC deluxe bus with push back comfortable seats, water bottles on a daily basis for each of the tourist during sightseeing. All entry tickets for sightseeing monuments will be paid for, and a regular Sri Lankan visa will be required.

The cancellation policy for train travellers is as followers:

No. of days before commencement of trip Total Deductions
Up to 15 days (excluding departure date) Rs. 100/- per passenger
Up to 8-14 days (excluding departure date) 25% of the package cost
Up to 4-7 days (excluding departure date) 50% of the package cost
Less than 4 days 100% of the package cost

The cancellation policy for passengers travelling by air to Sri Lanka are as follows:

No. of days before commencement of trip Total Deductions
30 days prior to departure date 20% of the package cost
30-21 days prior to departure date 30% of the package cost
20-15 days prior to the departure date 60% of the package cost
14-08 days prior to the departure date 90% of the package cost
Less than 07 prior to the departure date/ No Show 100% of the package cost

For more details about the train journey, contact:

Zones Address
North Zone INDIAN RAILWAY CATERING AND TOURISM CORPORATION LTD.Rail Yatri Niwas Building, Ajmeri Gate Side, New Delhi - 110 002 Tel./Fax : 011-23221146, 23234763Mob: 9717648888, 9717641764, 9717640979, 9717649858
 Lucknow Regional Office Paryatan Bhawan, 2nd Floor,
C-13, Vipin Khand,
Gomti Nagar, Lucknow-226010 Contact No. 9794863619/29/31
Jaipur Regional Office 707-708, 7th Floor, Crystal Mall,Sawai Jai Singh Highway,Banipark, Jaipur, Rajasthan,Landline - 0141-4020198Mob- Nitin Sharma - 91- 7728894720, Rakesh Kumar - 91- 9001094701,Yogendra Singh Gurjar - 9001094705 ,Email:- tourismjp@irctc.com
Chandigarh Regional Office INDIAN RAILWAY CATERING & TOURISM CORPORATION LTDRegional Office Chandigarh S.C.O NO.80-82, 3rd FLOOR SECTOR 34-A CHANDIGARH-160022 Landline: 01724645795, 9779240616, 9779240603

For reservations by air for Sri Lanka, contact:

Name Location Contact No.
Dr Achyut Singh New Delhi 9717640636
Himanshu Bhatt New Delhi 9717645650
Anand Saroj Pandey Lucknow 9794863634
Anand Prakash Nigam Lucknow 9794863629
Yogender Singh Gurjar Jaipur 9001094705
Pradeep Mimani Jaipur 9001040613
Harsh Deep Chandigarh 9779240603
Shubham Arya Chandigarh 9779240616