The Bhul Bhulaiya is indeed an interesting piece of architecture. It makes it more interesting to know the cause for which it was built. You can see it in our post about Bara Imambara. If you are confident enough, you can venture alone, but taking a guide is highly recommended. The Bhul Bhulaiya is another awe inspiring Indian architecture which definitely makes us proud.
So you have heard about the famous Bhul Bhulaiya of Lucknow – the maze where you are warned not to enter alone lest you get lost in its numerous passageways! It is also rumored that the Nawabs of Lucknow and their Begums used to play hide and seek at the Bhul Bhulaiya. I don’t really know the truth, but Bhul Bhulaiya has intrigued people for a long time.
The Bhul Bhulaiya or Labyrinth is a part of the Bara Imambara of Lucknow. The Imambara is neither a mosque nor a mausoleum. It is a place where the Shia Muslims gather together for various ceremonies especially the Muharram.
As you enter the labyrinth, the guide will take you up a flight of 45 stairs. That is the starting point of the tour to Bhul Bhulaiya. The guide will now take you to various passages of the Bhul Bhulaiya. At one place there is a hidden tunnel. The tunnel is believed to lead to Delhi. The guide in the meantime will tell you about the history and various trivia about the place.
At the end you will be at the top of the structure. You get a bird’s eye view of the Lucknow city from the rooftop. A wonderful view of the Rumi Darwaza, Asifi Masjid, the clock tower and the Gomti River will be a welcome sight. The guide will now leave you saying alone asking you to find your way to the starting point! Well, it is an interesting exercise finding your way to the outside.
It is not very difficult to crack the Bhul Bhulaiya maze. Try to follow the paths which will lead to direct sunlight. The fact that people tend to get lost in the Bhul Bhulaiya was explained to us by a friendly guide. When we are treading the 45 stairs up to reach the starting point, we are actually coming to the second floor of the building and not the first floor. And then we finally go to the top of the building. While coming down, a person usually remembers that they have to go downstairs and then get lost in flight of stairs in the maze. Actually at a certain point, we have to go upstairs to reach the point where it will take us to the starting point.
The ‘Bhool-bhulaiya’ has more than 1,000 passages and around 489 identical doorways. If you take a guide, he lets you guess which of the four doorways is the right door. The experience just gets better when you guess the right one and the guide asks you to chant with him the bhool-bhulaiya’s famous funny rant which goes something like this- “ Chaar raaste bhoot. Ek rasta sach, teen raste bhool-bhulaiya.” But if you guess the wrong door, he lets you climb those stairs while he waits down and you realise that it takes you further down instead of going up. It surprises you at every turn.
Winters are the best time to explore the Imambara because it gets suffocating in the summers. When you reach the top level, it is a bliss, but if you visit in the summer, the heat will bother you. So, it’s better to make a visit in the winter.
Parking facility available.
Need to take a guide.
Bhool Bhulaiya Ticket Prices
Rs. 35/-for two adults
Foreigners: Rs 300/- per person
Bhool Bhulaiya Opening and Closing Hours
Bhool bhulaiya lucknow timings: 8am–5:30pm
How To reach Bhool Bhulaiya by Public Transport
By Bus station: Medical College Bus Stop.
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