Janaki Mandir, Janakpur

Janakpur is revered as the capital of King Janak of Videha and the birthplace of Sita, heroine of the Ramayana. The Janaki Mandir, completed in 1910 by Queen Brisha Bhanu of Tikamgarh in India, is a vast Mughal–Rajput style building of white marble with domes, towers and sixty rooms. Its cost of nine lakh rupees earned it the nickname Naulakha Mandir.

The temple is busiest at Vivaha Panchami (Nov–Dec), when the wedding of Ram and Sita is re-enacted, and at Ram Navami. In the evenings, devotional singing fills the courtyard. Janakpur also has hundreds of sacred ponds such as Ganga Sagar and Dhanush Sagar, and the Ram Mandir nearby.