Evening in Gorakhpur settles along the Rapti, with cycle-rickshaws still working the roads and the day's heat finally easing. Around Nakhas Chowk the food stalls and kitchens pick up, and cinema halls light their boards for the night shows.
This is not a city built around a bar or club strip. The night out here is food-led and family-friendly: a meal, a film, a slow ride across town, and for some visitors a drink at one of the hotels that keeps a bar. It suits people who want an easy, inexpensive evening rather than a late, loud one.
Where to go out in Gorakhpur
1. Nakhas Chowk
A food-focused area, and the one place the sources single out for eating out in the evening. Mahraja restaurant is named here for non-vegetarian food, described as having a delicious taste of Lucknowi cooking.
It suits a dinner-led night, whether you want a full meal or to graze. Go with an appetite and expect the food, not the setting, to be the point.
2. Hotel bars
Bar facilities are available in some hotels, which is how drinking out works in Gorakhpur. Mughal Bar at Hotel Bobina is named among them, and Hotel Ganges is listed under drink.
This suits a quiet drink before or after dinner rather than a night of bar-hopping. Because only some hotels have bars, decide where you are going before you set out rather than assuming you will find one on the way.
3. The cinemas
Seeing a Hindi film is the standard evening entertainment, and the sources name Raj, Jubilee and Vijay Picture Palace as the best theatres in town, noting that the air conditioning is good.
This suits a hot evening, a family group, or anyone who wants a couple of hours indoors. The air conditioning is the practical reason to choose one of these over another hall.
4. Taramandal
Taramandal is somewhere you can go boating, which makes it an outdoor option while the light lasts.
It suits an early, unhurried evening rather than a late one. Treat it as a daytime or early-evening stop and plan your meal afterwards.
5. Ambedkar Park
A park listed among things to do in the city, and a straightforward place to spend part of an evening.
It suits a short walk or a sit-down between other plans. It is best paired with something else nearby rather than treated as the whole night.
6. Neer Nikunj Water Park
On Buddha Vihar Road in Phase 3, Taramandal, near Rail Vihar Colony. It is the only water park in Gorakhpur, with water slides, pools and wave pools, plus a few non-water rides such as a merry-go-round and a Ferris wheel. It runs daily from 10AM to 8PM, with entry at ₹650 per person Monday to Saturday and ₹750 on Sunday.
This suits an afternoon that runs into the early evening, particularly with children. Note the 8PM close: it is not a night-time destination, so schedule it before dinner rather than after.
7. Getting around by cycle-rickshaw
Hiring a cycle-rickshaw and travelling slowly around town is itself a way to spend an evening here. In some places it is better to travel on foot.
This suits a first night, when you want to get your bearings without committing to a venue. It also solves the practical problem of moving between an eating area, a cinema and a hotel bar.
How a night out unfolds
The sources do not set out a timetable for eating and going out in Gorakhpur, so treat the following as the shape of the evening rather than a schedule. The one fixed point is the water park, which closes at 8PM, and the cinemas, which run evening shows. Boating at Taramandal belongs to daylight. That leaves dinner and a hotel bar as the later part of the night, and the sources give no closing times for either. Plan around a meal and a film, and confirm timings locally on the day.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- Gandhi Jayanti — 2 October
- Sharad Navratri — begins 11 October
- Durga Puja festivities — begin 17 October, with Maha Saptami on 18 October and Maha Ashtami on 19 October
- Dussehra — 20 October
- Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti — 26 October
- Karaka Chaturthi — 29 October
- Naraka Chaturdasi and Diwali — 8 November
- Govardhan Puja — 9 November
- Bhai Duj — 11 November
Frequently asked questions
Can you drink alcohol in Gorakhpur?
Bar facilities are available in some hotels, and the sources name Mughal Bar at Hotel Bobina and list Hotel Ganges under drink. The sources do not state a legal drinking age or any local rules, so check current requirements yourself before you go.
Where should you eat dinner?
Nakhas Chowk is the area the sources point to, with Mahraja restaurant named for non-vegetarian food and Lucknowi cooking.
What is there to do in the evening besides eat and drink?
See a Hindi film: Raj, Jubilee and Vijay Picture Palace are named as the best theatres in town, with good air conditioning. Boating at Taramandal and the parks are daytime or early-evening options, and the water park closes at 8PM.
How do you get between places at night?
Hire a cycle-rickshaw and travel slowly around town, or walk, which the sources note is better in some places.
Decide whether your evening is a film, a meal or both, then plan the order and your ride between them before you set out.