Chitrakoot Ramayana Pilgrimage Stone Carving UP Vindhya

Chitrakoot district on the UP-MP border is one of India's most sacred pilgrimage zones — the forest of Chitrakoot (painted forest) is where Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana spent 11 of their 14 years of forest exile according to the Ramayana, and the Kamadgiri hillock, Sati Anusuya ashram, Janaki Kund, and Ram Ghat on the Mandakini river are pilgrimage points visited year-round by devotees. Chitrakoot's stone carving tradition produces sandstone and granite religious sculptures sold at ashram shops, and the district's marble inlay work is sold to pilgrims as replica of Taj Mahal miniatures. The district borders Satna and Banda, with the Vindhya plateau forests providing habitat for wolves, leopards, and sloth bears.