Introducing Bodhgaya
Buddhist pilgrims from around the world are drawn to Bodhgaya. It was here, 26 centuries ago, that Prince Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment beneath a bodhi tree and so became the Buddha. A beautifully serene temple marks the spot and a descendent of that original Bodhi Tree remains, its roots happily clutching the same soil as its celebrated ancestor.
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Monasteries and temples, built by international Buddhist communities, are peppered around and attract pilgrims to study, meditate and absorb the ambience. Bodhgaya is not so much a town as a true Buddhist working centre surrounded by farmland and rural villages, but it has the best range of accommodation and eating in Bihar and the attendant accumulation of tourist paraphernalia and souvenir stalls.
The best time to visit is October through March, when Tibetan pilgrims come down from Dharamsala and Bodhgaya becomes a sea of maroon robes. The Dalai Lama himself often spends December and January here.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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Bodhga, Kalachakra
by kaniska 14 September 2011
Hi All, We'd like with my wife to go to Bodhgaya in January and participate the Kalachakra. I've written a lot a of emails to several…
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RE: India Visa + overland pilgrimage
by trekkingmonk 02 September 2011
Some extra advice on your trip. While walking down into the sacred area of Kusinara there is a Vietnamese pilgrims rest house that looks…
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Re: India Visa + overland pilgrimage
by trekkingmonk 02 September 2011
P.S. It is probably better to return from Kusinara to Gorakpur and take a train to Varanasi to visit Sarnath, then train from Varanasi…
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