Chitrakoot incorporates very many places of religious and pauranic importance,visited both by devotees and sight-seers.From the administrative view point, some of these places are situated in Uttar Pradesh and others in Madhya Pradesh. As all these places are popularly associated with religious feelings of the people and a large number of pilgrims visit these sites. Both the state governments as well as local religious and charitable institutions have tried to develop these places. The following are the principal ones :-

Kamadgiri is the main holy place of Chitrakoot. The sanskrit word 'Kamadgiri' means the mountain which fulfills all the desires. The place is believed to have been the abode of Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman during their exile. Lord Kamtanath, another of His names, is the principal deity not only of Kamadgiri but of the whole of Chitrakoot. The religious-minded believe that all the holy places (i.e. teerthas) are in the Parikrama or its pilgrimage-path. The pilgrimage path around this hill is about 5 Km. long and was built by Pratap Kunwari ,the Queen of the Bundela King Maharaja Chhatrasal in 1725. There are a large number of temples in the Parikrama Path. Except during the summers, the hill remains green throughout the year and appears like a bow seen from any place in Chitrakoot.

It is the most beautiful bathing ghat of the Payaswini river believed to be capable of absolving a person from all his sins.It is believed that Lord Ram bathed here with Laxman and Sita Ji on their arrival in Chitrakoot.The famous saint-poet Tulsidas is also believed to have lived here for quite some time.It is the place where he is believed to have darshan of Ram and Laxman.Tulsidas was preparing sandal-paste for himself,when Ram and Laxman appeared before him as two children.Ram asked him to mark a tilak on his forehead.Tulsidas did this even without recognizing Him as God whom he so devotedly worshipped and for whose darshan he was craving.Hanuman ji made Tulsidas recognize his Lord by uttering the famous couplet :-

चित्रकूट के घाट पै भई संतन की भीर ।

तुलसीदास चंदन घिसे तिलक देत रघुवीर ।।

This beautiful Kund is situated at a distance of about half a kilometer from the Pramod-Van, on the left bank of the Payaswini. 'Janaki' means the daughter of Raja Janak and is another name of Sita Ji, who used to bathe here during the period of her exile. The rocks nearby bear the foot prints of Janaki Ji.there are a number of charitable institutions in the area, including the Janaki Kund Eye Hospital, the Raghuvir Temple, the Blind School.

Sphatik is a Sanskrit word meaning a crystal. There is a huge rock resembling a reddish-white crystal, about 1 Km. away from Janaki-kund on the left bank of the Mandakini. Sri Ram and Janaki Ji used to rest here perhaps while going to and coming from the Atri Ashram. Once, Jayant, the son of Indra pecked at the feet of Sita Ji to test the might of Sri Ram. Thereupon, Ram, sitting in the veerasan Posture, released an arrow at him. Jayant could not find anyone who could protect him against this arrow and ultimately sought shelter with Lord Ram himself, who pardoned him after taking one of his eyes as punishment. The rock bears the foot prints of Sri Ram, Sita Ji and Jayant.

This Ashram is situated about 15 Km. to the south of Ramghat in a dense forest area. It is dedicated to Maharsi Atri and his wife Sati Anasuya. Sati Anasuya transformed the three supreme gods-Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to small babes by her miraculous powers earned by penance. She is also believed to have brought down the Mandakini which is believed to be a streamlet of the river Ganges. The Ashram has an idol of Anasuya, her husband Maharshi Atri, their sons Duttatreya, Durwasa, Chandrama and various other gods and sages. The famous Paramhans Ashram is nearby. The Ashram gets its name from the late Paramhans Parmanand Ji who was believed to have attained the highest spiritual status and was the founder of this Ashram. The disciples of Paramanand Ji have established a chain of Ashrams mainly in North India.

This place is situated at the foot of a hill about 12 Km. to the south west of Chitrakoot. Actually, it is an incessant stream flowing between two rocks which is known by the appellation of Gupta-Godawari. Beautiful and natural carvings in varied designs enhance the attraction of the caves many a time. A number of local legends are associated with this place.