Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur (Hindi: गोरखपुर, Urdu: گۋڙکھ پور) is a city of 675,000 people (2011) in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Located near the Nepalese border, it is on the popular overland route from India to Nepal.

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 Gorakshnath. Gorakshnath 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. The city was also a focal point in the Indian independence movement in the 20th century.

Climate
In the summer the average temperature can go as high as 40°C and during the winters the average temperature can go as low as 4 °C. The best time to visit Gorakhpur is from October to March.

By train
Gorakhpur railway station is connected to all major cities of India. It is the headquarters of North Eastern Railway. Direct trains connect Gorakhpur to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi and other cities. It has one of the longest train platforms in the world.



By car
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.

On the basin of the Rapti and Rohini Rivers, Gorakhpur City has the geographical shape of a bowl. The west of the city is guarded by the cool Rapti river, while the east is associated with Sal Forest. The south has the greenish lake of Ramgarh Tal, while the north is the plinth of city's advancement.

Get around
Cycle rickshaws are the major mode of transport in the city. The charges are nominal and can be bargained. Usually a ride of 1-2 km would cost around ₹15. City buses are available.

Do

 * See all the Hindi movies in the town, best theaters are Raj, Jubilee, Vijay Picture Palace, here air conditioning is good.
 * Hire a cycle-rickshaw and travel around slow all around the town. In some places it is better to travel on foot.

Buy
Item selection here is similar to that of other large Indian cities.



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



Drink
Bar facilities are available in some hotels.



Sleep
There are local hotels near the train station, and you can use the "retiring rooms" of the station if you have a valid ticket, but because this is a very busy station, rooms may not be available.





Connect
As of February 2023, Gorakhpur has a well-established 5G network. Carriers with 5G services in the city include Airtel and Jio. Vodafone Idea has a 4G network as of May 2024.

Go next

 * Sonauli &mdash; the busiest border town to go to Nepal (Bhairhawa is the small Nepali town) Very frequent buses will need 3 hours to link Gorakhpur with Sonauli. The UP Government buses will charge you ₹112. The trip from the border to Gorakhpur can be as cheap as 100INR by using private buses. Taxis (and shared ones too) should be available.
 * Kapilvastu &mdash; In ancient times the capital of the Shakya Kingdom, of which the Buddha was part of the royal family
 * Kushinagar &mdash; This is the place where the Buddha died.
 * Lumbini (Nepal) &mdash; Birthplace of the Buddha. Go via Sonauli.
 * Maghar &mdash; This is the place where Saint Kabir saheb is believed by his followers to have left this mortal world. Hindus and Muslims made two Memorials of Saint Kabir here just 100 m apart.