Bhojpur & Purvanchal · Middle & Lower Gangetic Plain
How to reach
By air
- Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi (VNS) — The region's gateway, with international service to Kathmandu, Sharjah and Bangkok.
- Gorakhpur Airport (GOP) — For the northern districts and the Kushinagar circuit.
- Kushinagar International Airport (KBK) — Opened in 2021 for Buddhist pilgrimage traffic.
- Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport, Patna (PAT) — The practical airport for the Bihar districts of the region.
By rail
- Varanasi Junction (BSB) — With Banaras (Manduadih) station as a second terminus for long-distance trains.
- Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction (Mughalsarai) (DDU) — One of the busiest freight and passenger junctions in India, across the river from Varanasi.
- Ara Junction (ARA)
- Chhapra Junction (CPR) — For the Saran Doab.
- Gorakhpur Junction (GKP) — Headquarters of the North Eastern Railway, with one of the longest railway platforms in the world.
By road
NH 19 — the Grand Trunk alignment through Sasaram, Mughalsarai and VaranasiNH 31 — Patna to Ara and Buxar along the Ganga's south bankPurvanchal Expressway — Lucknow to GhazipurNH 27 — Gorakhpur towards Muzaffarpur and the north
By water
Boats on the Ganga at Varanasi — the standard way to see the ghats, and still a working crossingGanga ferries at Buxar, Ballia and the diara villagesNational Waterway 1, with a freight terminal at Varanasi
Getting around
Autos, e-rickshaws and boats; the Varanasi old city is walkable only, and deliberately so. Trains are the sensible way between towns — Varanasi to Ara is about two hours, to Gorakhpur about five. In the week before Chhath, book anything at all as far ahead as possible.
How to reach Bhojpur & Purvanchal by air, rail, road and water, and how to get around once there. (9)