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Ten nights following the Buddha's life through India, without crossing into Nepal: the first sermon at Sarnath, enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, the teachings of Rajgir, the university of Nalanda, Vaishali and Kesaria on his last journey, and his passing at Kushinagar. Private car, private guides and the best available hotels.
Seven of the eight great places of Buddhist pilgrimage lie in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This journey visits five of them, plus Nalanda, and links them in the order that best fits the roads: starting in Varanasi for Sarnath, then south-east to Bodh Gaya, north to Rajgir and Nalanda, across the Ganges to Vaishali and Kesaria, and north-west to Kushinagar. It follows, in its second half, the route of the Buddha's final journey.
Hotels in Bihar and at Kushinagar are comfortable rather than luxurious, and we say so plainly. We balance them with Taj Nadesar Palace in Varanasi and choose the best rooms available elsewhere. What makes the journey is time at each site at dawn and dusk, a guide who understands Buddhist history and practice, and the chance to sit quietly beneath the Bodhi tree.
Highlights
Day by day
Your driver and guide meet you at Varanasi airport and take you to Taj Nadesar Palace, a former royal guest house in large gardens. After lunch and a rest, head to the ghats in the late afternoon. A private boat takes you along the river at sunset and holds position facing Dashashwamedh Ghat for the evening Ganga aarti. Your guide introduces the city where the Buddha came to teach after his enlightenment.
Take a rowing boat along the ghats at sunrise, then return for breakfast. In the afternoon, drive to Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon to five companions in the deer park. Walk through the excavated monasteries to the Dhamek Stupa, see the Lion Capital of Ashoka and the seated Gupta Buddha in the museum, closed on Fridays, and stay for evening chanting at the Mulagandha Kuti Vihara among its Japanese murals.
A morning walk with your guide through the lanes of the old city, past small shrines, sweet shops and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, gives a sense of Varanasi's life beyond the river. The afternoon is free to rest in the palace gardens, or to visit Chaukhandi Stupa and the Thai and Tibetan temples of Sarnath for those who want more time there.
Drive east along the Grand Trunk Road into Bihar, crossing the Son river. Stop at Sasaram to see the tomb of Sher Shah Suri standing in its lake. Arrive in Bodh Gaya in the afternoon and check in at Marasa Sarovar Premiere. In the evening, make a first visit to the Mahabodhi Temple, as lamps are lit and monks chant around the Bodhi tree. Phones stay at the hotel, as they are not allowed inside.
Enter the Mahabodhi complex as it opens at about 5 am. Your guide leads you clockwise around the temple, past the places where the Buddha spent the weeks after his enlightenment, to the Bodhi tree and the Vajrasana. Sit in meditation as the sun rises over the tower. After breakfast and rest, visit the Thai, Bhutanese, Japanese and Tibetan monasteries and the Great Buddha Statue. Return to the temple after dark for a guided meditation.
Drive north in the morning to the Barabar caves, cut into granite in the 3rd century BCE under Ashoka and polished so smoothly that they echo for seconds. Return to Bodh Gaya for lunch. In the late afternoon, cross the Niranjana river to Bakraur village and the stupa honouring Sujata, who offered the Buddha rice and milk before his enlightenment, and walk back through the fields at sunset.
After a last early visit to the Bodhi tree, drive north-east through rural Bihar to Rajgir, the ancient capital of Magadha. Check in at the Indo Hokke Hotel. In the afternoon, visit Venuvana, the bamboo grove King Bimbisara gave to the Buddha, the site of Bimbisara's prison and the cyclopean stone walls that once ringed the city. Finish at the hot springs at the foot of Vaibhar hill.
Walk up the old stone path to Vulture Peak before sunrise and watch the light reach the valley from the terrace where the Buddha taught. Continue by ropeway or on foot to the white Vishwa Shanti Stupa. After breakfast, drive 12 km to Nalanda and spend the late morning among the monasteries and temples of the great university, then the museum, closed on Fridays, and the Xuanzang Memorial Hall.
A long, rewarding day on the route of the Buddha's last journey. Leave Rajgir at 7 am, cross the Ganges at Patna and reach Vaishali by late morning. See Ashoka's lion pillar at Kolhua, the relic stupa and the Abhishek Pushkarini. After a picnic lunch, stop at the great brick stupa of Kesaria, where the Buddha gave his begging bowl to the Licchavis. Arrive in Kushinagar by early evening at the best available hotel.
Begin with a quiet meditation in the gardens of the Mahaparinirvana Temple at dawn. Then sit beside the 5th-century reclining Buddha, draped in golden cloth by pilgrims, and walk around the Nirvana stupa. Visit the Mathakuar shrine and two or three of the international temples. At sunset, walk around the Ramabhar stupa, built over the place of cremation, to close the circuit.
After a last visit to the temple at dawn and breakfast, drive to Gorakhpur airport for your flight to Delhi or onward. If you are continuing to Lumbini in Nepal, about 4 to 5 hours away, we can arrange the crossing and a guide on the Nepal side. In December and January we choose midday flights where possible, as fog can delay morning departures.
Included
Not included
Where you sleep
A small former royal guest house of the maharajas of Benares, set in large gardens in the Varanasi cantonment. With only a handful of suites, it …
A modern, comfortable hotel a short drive from the Mahabodhi Temple, with spacious rooms, a pool and reliable service. It is our usual base in Bodh …
A quiet, Japanese-influenced hotel in Rajgir, built with Buddhist pilgrims in mind, with simple, well-kept rooms and calm grounds. It is the most comfortable base for …
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Questions travellers ask
Yes. This journey stays in India and covers five of the eight great places of Buddhist pilgrimage, Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Kushinagar, plus the ruins of Nalanda. Lumbini, the birthplace, is in Nepal. Shravasti and Sankassa, both in Uttar Pradesh, are further off the route but can be added on request.
Ten nights is comfortable for the Indian sites, with dawn and evening visits at each. Seven nights is possible but rushed, with long drives on consecutive days. Pilgrims who want time for meditation at Bodh Gaya often add two or three nights there.
Yes, but simpler than the palace hotels of Agra and Varanasi. Taj Nadesar Palace in Varanasi is luxury; in Bodh Gaya, Rajgir and Kushinagar we use the best comfortable hotels available, with clean rooms and good food. We are honest about standards before you book.
October to March. December and January are the peak pilgrim season, with teaching gatherings at Bodh Gaya, but bring cold, foggy mornings and full hotels. October, November and February are calmer. Buddha Purnima in April or May is special but hot.
Most are 2 to 6 hours. Varanasi to Bodh Gaya is about 5.5 to 6 hours, Bodh Gaya to Rajgir 2 hours, and Rajgir to Kushinagar via Vaishali and Kesaria about 9 hours with stops. We add a Patna night to split the longest day if you prefer.
No. Many of our guests are not Buddhist but are drawn by the history, the archaeology and the calm of the sites. The guides explain beliefs and practices without assumptions, and you can join or simply observe the chanting and meditation.
Yes. We adapt it for pilgrim groups, with more time for puja and meditation at each site, monastery guesthouse stays where preferred and vegetarian meals throughout. We can arrange for a teacher to accompany the group. Group sizes, rooms and transport are planned around the group's needs.
Gorakhpur airport, about 55 km away, has flights to Delhi and other cities. Kushinagar's own airport has had limited flights; check current status before you travel. Trains from Gorakhpur reach Delhi, Lucknow and Varanasi. In December and January we choose midday flights, as fog can delay morning departures.
Yes, by day with an experienced driver. Roads in Bihar have improved greatly, though traffic can be heavy near towns and on the Ganges bridges at Patna. We avoid driving after dark on rural highways and plan departures to arrive in daylight.
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