Ayodhya Deepotsav — Date, Ram Ki Paidi Passes & Plan (2026)

Deepotsav 2026 in Ayodhya runs 5–7 November 2026, and the record lamp-lighting on Ram Ki Paidi is on Saturday 7 November, the evening before Diwali. The ghat itself is pass-only that night, so the real questions are where you stand, when you arrive and how you get out. Here is the visitor's plan.

📅 The three days, and what happens on each

The dates come from the administration's September review and October press reports, not a printed programme. One tourism listing reportedly shows 6 November, so recheck the district notice a week before.

• Thursday 5 November 2026: Deepotsav opens. Ramlila stages and cultural programmes run across the town; volunteers start laying the diya grid on the ghats.

• Friday 6 November: Dhanteras. Diya-laying continues; the UPSTDC Deepotsav package begins today.

• Saturday 7 November: Shobha Yatra from Saket Mahavidyalaya to Ram Katha Park around midday, artistes as Ram and Sita arriving by helicopter, aarti and the symbolic Rajyabhishek. From about 5 PM to 8 PM the Saryu Maha Aarti, the lighting, a 45-minute laser and projection show, the drone show and green fireworks.

• Sunday 8 November: Diwali. The lamps are cleared from midnight. One report puts the 2,100-drone show on 9 November, so a second night covers it.

🪔 How big it is this year

The 2026 plan needs about 65 lakh wicks, 55,000 litres of oil and 34,000 volunteers, most of them students of Avadh University. The lamps cover Ram Ki Paidi and roughly 2 km of Saryu ghats.

The 2025 evening also set a second record: 2,128 Vedacharyas performing the Saryu aarti together. For 2026 the state has announced 2,100 batuks and 2,100 drones.

🎟️ Passes, and where you can actually stand

Ram Ki Paidi has a gallery for roughly 18,000–20,000 people, and on the main night it is for invitees, volunteers and media. Passes have come from the district administration and UP Tourism, never on sale. In 2024 the public watched on LED screens at 20 locations across the town and on Doordarshan.

Your realistic options for the lamps:

• The LED screens near Ram Katha Park and the main chowks. Arrive by 3 PM for a spot with a view.

• 5 and 6 November: the ghats are usually open while the grid is laid, and you walk among lakhs of unlit diyas. Confirm locally; lanes close on the 7th.

• The UPSTDC package, 6–8 November 2026, about ₹16,999 per person twin-sharing, covering Ram Janmabhoomi, Hanuman Garhi, Kanak Bhawan, Dashrath Mahal and Nageshwarnath. Ask whether it includes ghat access before paying.

• Diwali night, 8 November: the daily Saryu aarti goes ahead on open ghats. Smaller, but you are on the steps.

🚧 Roads, drop-off and getting back

On festival days Ayodhya stops vehicles at the Saket Petrol Pump barrier and at Tedhi Bazar (Guru Vashishth Chowk). Nothing motorised goes on towards Naya Ghat or Hanuman Garhi, and e-rickshaws are halted at Saket. Expect a walk of 2–3 km from the drop point.

• Drop-off: Saket Petrol Pump side, or the Ayodhya Cantt (Faizabad) approach. Parking in past years was near the gas godown. The map comes from Ayodhya Police one or two days before.

• Return: the crowd leaves between 8 and 9 PM in one wave. Fix a pick-up point and a time with your driver before you get out; phones struggle in the crush.

Station codes: Ayodhya Dham Junction is AY, Ayodhya Cantt is AYC. Our Lucknow to Ayodhya plan covers the drive; from further north read the Deepotsav guide from Delhi.

🛕 Ram Mandir darshan in Deepotsav week

The Trust's winter timetable has darshan 7 AM to 9 PM with about an hour's closure around noon for Bhog. Mangala Aarti 4:30 AM, Shringar 6:30 AM, Sandhya 7 PM, Shayan 9:30 PM. Darshan is free; aarti needs a free pass from the Trust's online portal or its counter, and nobody may charge for one.

No Deepotsav-specific change has been announced. On heavy days the Trust holds Yatris in phased release areas, so do the mandir on the morning of the 7th or on the 6th, and keep the evening for the Saryu. Hanuman Garhi opens 4 AM to 10 PM with 76 steps; Kanak Bhawan runs about 8–11 AM and 4:30–9 PM.

🧭 Which plan suits you?

• With elders: come 5–6 November, see the laid-out grid by day, do darshan early, and leave before the 7th. The 2–3 km walk and the 8 PM crush are hard on knees.

• You must see the lighting: stay two nights, 6 and 7 November, book now, and accept the LED screen unless a pass reaches you.

• On a tight schedule: day trip from Lucknow on the 7th, in by noon, darshan, screens by 3 PM, out after 9 PM.

• On a budget: skip 7 November entirely. Rooms cost less on the 5th, and Diwali night aarti on the 8th is free and open.

• Avoid: arriving after 3 PM on the 7th, and any lane marked for residents.

🛏️ Where to stay

Ayodhya had roughly 7,500 rooms across 142 hotels at the last count, and Deepotsav week fills them. Book at least 3–4 weeks ahead; Naya Ghat and Hanuman Garhi lanes go first. Ayodhya Cantt, 7 km from the ghats, is the overflow; Lucknow is the fallback.

Come for the lamps, stay for the aarti, and leave the ghat to those who light it. Jai Shri Ram!