Mahabodhi Temple
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the fifty-metre brick tower that has stood here since the Gupta period.
Bodhgaya is the single most important site in the Buddhist world - the place where Siddhartha sat down under a fig tree and got up as the Buddha. The Mahabodhi temple marks the spot, and the tree beside it is a direct descendant of the original, grown from a cutting taken to Sri Lanka in the third century BCE.
What makes the town unusual is who else is here. Thailand, Bhutan, Japan, Tibet, Myanmar, Vietnam and a dozen more countries have each built a monastery in their own architecture, so a twenty-minute walk takes you through half of Buddhist Asia.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the fifty-metre brick tower that has stood here since the Gupta period.
Descended from the original, with the Vajrasana - the diamond throne - set beneath it.
An eighty-foot sandstone figure completed in 1989 and visible from most of the town.
Thai, Bhutanese, Japanese, Tibetan and Vietnamese monasteries, each open to visitors.
Twelve kilometres out, where the Buddha practised extreme austerity before abandoning it.
Across the Falgu, marking the village of the woman who offered him rice pudding.
Reach from Varanasi or Gaya, then an unhurried afternoon and evening at the Mahabodhi temple - the light after 4 p.m. is the best of the day.
The monastery belt in the morning, the Great Buddha statue, then Sujata Stupa and the Dungeshwari caves.
Both are within a two-hour drive and complete the Bihar leg of the Buddhist circuit.
Every itinerary is rewritten around your dates, your pace and your group. This is a starting point, not a fixed package.
Sit as long as you like. Mornings before 7 a.m. are almost silent.
Each monastery keeps its own schedule; the Tibetan and Thai sessions are open to visitors.
The Dalai Lama has historically taught here in December or January. Dates vary each year.
Lamps and flowers can be offered at the temple through the day.
Small things that change how a day goes. Our team updates these after every season.
Ask a QuestionMobile phones are permitted inside the Mahabodhi complex only with a paid ticket; cameras have a separate fee.
Shoes come off at the outer gate, and the stone gets hot after 10 a.m. - carry socks.
December and January bring large pilgrim groups from East Asia; book accommodation early.
Dress modestly - shoulders and knees covered - at the temple and every monastery.
Anything we have not covered? Message us and a planner in Varanasi will reply, usually within the hour.
Message UsAbout 250 km, five to six hours by road. Most travellers do it as part of the Buddhist circuit rather than as a return day trip.
One full day covers the Mahabodhi temple and the main monasteries. A second day lets you add Sujata Stupa and the Dungeshwari caves without hurrying.
Entirely. It is a working pilgrimage site that welcomes everyone, and the architecture alone justifies the trip.
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