Three sites, one story. Sitamarhi's Janki Mandir and nearby Punaura Dham are both revered as the birthplace of Goddess Sita, while Janakpur — just across the border in Nepal — is honoured as the place where Sita married Lord Rama. Together they form what devotees and tourism planners increasingly call the "Sacred Triangle" of the Ramayana.

Punaura Dham is where, according to legend, King Janak found infant Sita in a furrow while ploughing a field for a yajna. Janki Mandir in Sitamarhi town, built in 1911, marks the same birth tradition and hosts the annual Vivah Panchami celebrations. Janakpur, roughly a day's journey away across the Indo-Nepal border, is home to the Janaki Mandir there and reenacts the wedding of Rama and Sita every year.

With the Bihar government's planned "Sitapuram" spiritual city at Punaura Dham and the new 159-ft Janaki Janmasthali Mandir under construction, the Sacred Triangle is set to become an even more significant pilgrimage circuit — much like the Ayodhya-Chitrakoot-Janakpur route already followed by many Ramayana pilgrims.

For travellers, a natural itinerary is: Janki Mandir and Janki Kund in Sitamarhi town, Punaura Dham a short drive away, and Janakpur via the Bhitta border crossing for those with valid travel documents.