Uttar Pradesh Complete Guide 2026: Varanasi, Lucknow, Ayodhya and Allahabad
Browse more guides: India travel | Asia destinations Uttar Pradesh Complete Guide 2026: Varanasi, Lucknow, Ayodhya and Allahabad TL;DR Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state at roughly 240 million people across 240,928 square kilometres, and it carries more spiritual weight per square mile than almost any region I have ever covered. I treat UP as a four-city loop: Varanasi for the Ganga ghats and Kashi Vishwanath, Lucknow for Nawabi monuments and Awadhi food, Ayodhya for the new Ram Mandir consecrated on 22 January 2024, and Allahabad (officially Prayagraj) for the Triveni Sangam where the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati meet. Sarnath sits a short drive from Varanasi and marks where the Buddha gave his first sermon in 528 BCE. I plan UP between October and March when daytime highs settle into the low 20s Celsius and the air over the river is clean enough to photograph. April through June pushes 45 degrees with brutal afternoon glare, and July through September brin...