New Delhi, May 11: IRCTC Ltd, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, will launch and operate the first Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train from Delhi on June 21.

It will cover all prominent places associated with life of Lord Rama. The proposed 18-day Bharat Gaurav Tourist train tour has its first stop at Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, where tourists will visit Shri Ram Janmbhumi temple and Hanuman temple and additionally Bharat Mandir at Nandigram.

After Ayodhya, the next destination is Buxar where the tourists will be shown the hermitage of Maharishi Vishwamitra and the Ramrekha Ghat where the guests can take a holy dip in the Ganges. From here, the train moves to Sitamarhi for the visit of Sita’s birth place and proceed by road to Janakpur (Nepal). Tourists will stay overnight at hotels in Janakpur and visit famous Ram-Janaki Temple in Janakpur.

After of Sitamarhi visit, train proceeds to the oldest living city of the world, Varanasi. While at Kashi, tourists will walk around the temples at Varanasi Sita Samahit Sthal, Prayag, Shringverpur, and Chitrakoot will be covered by road. Night stay at hotels will be provided at Varanasi, Prayag and Chitrakoot. The train journey on the next leg moves to Nasik for overnight stay at hotels. Visit of Trayambakeshwar temple and Panchvati will be covered. Next destination after Nasik is the visit of ancient city of Krishkindha, Hampi with overnight stay at hotels. Here the guests will visit the temple believed to be the birth place of Shri Hanuman atop the Anjaneyadri Hills and other heritage and religious sites. Rameshwaram is the next destination of this train tour wherein Ramanathaswamy temple and Dhanushkodi will be covered along with overnight stay at hotels. The train destination is Kanchipuram where Shiv Kanchi, Vishnu Kanchi and Kamakhshi temples are on the day’s excursion.

From here, the last destination that the train touches in this tour is Bhadrachalam in Telengana state which is also widely referred to as the Ayodhya of the south. After this, the train will return back to Delhi on the 18th day of its journey covering roughly a distance of around 8000 Kms in this entire Ramayana tour.

This fully air-conditioned tourist train will comprise of eleven 3’d AC coaches, one pantry car and two SLR’s. Freshly cooked vegetarian meals will be served on board to the guests in their respective seats from the well equipped modern pantry car.

The train has also been fitted with infotainment system for the entertainment of the passengers as well as for public announcements. From clean toilets to enhanced security features of CCTV cameras and security guards for each coach have also been provided for the tourists.