7 Tourist Attractions And Places To Visit In Bihar
Underdeveloped yet there are surprisingly many ancient and unique places to visit in Bihar. Bihar has many worth visiting tags to go with despite having low tourist visiting frequency. Bihar has continued to remain “off the beaten track” state. Ironically, Bihar was once among the most prosperous ancient Indian kingdoms with rich cultural heritage and monasteries. However while focusing on the current time zone, it is out of the list when it comes to the heritage of India. If we see the history of Bihar, the roots of History of Bihar has begun from the dawn of civilizations in India continuing with building rich majestic empires, entering into the world of pilgrimages leaving no stone unturned. Regardless of the things that we see today, India is definitely missing one of the most ancient and rich pride of nation i.e. Bihar’s tourist attraction places.
Let’s just erase the misconception of this state in our mind and begin our journey while exploring the rich land of Bihar. It is also a wonderful combination of culture and history. Here is a list of 7 Places to visit in Bihar that will leave you with a memorable experience. These unique locations have ancient ties, as a result, they make it at the top of our list.
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1. Nalanda University – First University of India
Renowned for its first and ancient monastic university, Nalanda University of Bihar is the probably the oldest university in India. Established during the 5th century A.D. this university was considered as the first residential university ever in the world. The flourishing time back from Gupta and Pala period to the present time, Nalanda University from every aspect has proven to be one of the best tourist attractions in India. For over 2000 teachers along with 10000 students better known as monks from all parts of the world was one of the significant features of this university. The uniqueness of this place is mainly on the fact that Buddha himself was a teacher and has spent most of his teaching lives under the mango grove in Nalanda.
The famous Jain Tirthankara, Mahavira spent almost 14 monsoon seasons at Nalanda. The main reason for the existence of this place is that the famous Chinese traveler Hieun Tsang visited here and stayed for about two long years. And lot more history to explore once you visit this heritage of India.
2. Bodh Gaya – UNESCO World Heritage
The most famous Hindu pilgrimage hub of India, Bodh Gaya is the most serene and quite holy place in Bihar. Bodh Gaya is the place where the Buddha began his journey of enlightenment. Bodhi Tree was the place in Gaya where he achieved enlightenment and people till date do follow his footsteps. Situated on the bank of River Phalgu, Gaya is the busy city with many temples and historic sites of different eras that have witnessed various successful evidence of the Maurya and Gupta dynasty. The Maha Bodhi Temple is UNESCO World Heritage Site which marks many Buddhist monasteries and temples with different and unique architectural styles. Witness the richness and grace of Indian architecture at Bodh Gaya.
3. Patna – Birthplace of Sikh Guru
The largest and capital city of Bihar, Patna better known as Patliputra is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The birthplace of the last Sikh Guru – Guru Gobind Singh, Patna is the pilgrimage for Sikh devotees. This city witnessed almost everything from Haryanaka, Maurya, and Nanda to Gupta, Pala and Shunga period. It earned its fame across India to match up the modernization of today’s world having malls, restores, and high-nd theatres. Situated on the southern bank of Ganga, Patna is one of the major places to visit in Bihar. Developing city which speeds up day by day to become a part of the other metropolitan and cosmopolitans.
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4. Vaishali
Another Buddhist tourist attraction of Bihar, Vaishali is one of the most important archaeological sites. It is also the birthplace of last Jain Tirthankar Lord Mahavira. Known for the prosperous kingdom during the Buddha period, Vaishali is also famous for its beautiful courtesan Amrapali. Surprisingly, this place has finds loads of mention in various traveling books of eminent Chinese travelers. Since there is a unique mention of Vaishali in ancient texts hence it on our list of places to visit in Bihar.
5. Sasaram – Indo-Islamic architecture
In ancient time Mughal rulers shifted its center of power from Bihar to Delhi and Sasaram was considered to be the perfect example of the Indo- Islamic beauty built in India. Architecturally amazingly beautiful and erected in the middle of an artificial lake, this sandstone is worth the visit while traveling from Bodhgaya to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. A number of sacred tombs of Muslim rulers and attraction of many Sufi saints, Sasaram was built in the memory of the legend Emperor Sher Shah Suri. The serene and scenic beauty lovers should definitely pay their visit to Sasaram, Bihar.
6. Sitamarhi – Birth place of Sita
Billions and Trillions year ago is the estimation of the existence of this beautiful small place in Bihar – Sitamarhi. This place is one of the most sacred places in Bihar as it is the birthplace place of Goddess Sita – wife of Lord Rama. As the story goes in the epic of Valmiki’s Ramanayana, Goddess Sita was discovered in a furrow in a plowed field which was in Sitamarhi and was adopted by King Janaka. Janki is also one of her names. To mark this event the famous Janki temple in Sitamarhi underwent construction. It is indeed a place of interest for devotees as well as for the tourists.
7. Jalmandir Temple
Situated in the middle of the lake, Jalmandir Temple is the most beautiful temple of Bihar. Also known as Apapuri means the town without sins, is the temple that is completely dedicated to Lord Mahavira. Lord Mahavira attained Nirvana (salvation) and this temple is where Lord Mahavira took his samadhis. Surrounded by lotus flower petals around the lake, the temple is of the shape of a Vimana. This temple is among the main temples in Bihar that has the foot impression of Lord Mahavira. The white marble temple has to be definitely on the wish list while traveling to Bihar.
Go and lose yourself in the ancient and historic culture of Bihar and enjoy the cultural tribe. Lets us know what are your favorite places to visit in Bihar? It is indeed a place of diversity and great for adults as well as kids.
“Namaste… Anna Jarrur..”
Nice article
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