Nalanda

The world heritage site of Nalanda is located around 12 km from the town of Rajgir in Bihar. This famous university flourished during the 5th to 12th century AD attracting scholars from all around the world.

Nalanda flourished under the patronage of the Gupta Empire as well as emperors like Harsha and later, the rulers of the Pala Empire. At its peak, the school attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Korea, and Central Asia  It was ransacked and destroyed by an army of the Muslim Mamluk Dynasty under Bakhtiyar Khilji in c. 1197.

Some photographs from the present site of Nalanda are below: 

KIrti Guest House: Bodh Gaya

The lobby of Kirti Guest House

Bodh Gaya has a large number of top flight hotels as well as guest houses so it is hard to make a choice. I stayed at the Kirti Guest House for a few days this month and it is possibly one of the nicest mid range guest houses in the town located a stone's throw away from the Mahabodhi Temple.

Owned by a Tibetan T.Namdol and run by the smiling and friendly Dorji, the guest house has five floors. The rooms on the upper two floors have large balconies with sit outs and a roof top garden  and is the perfect place to have your cup of morning tea or just chill out with a book.

The entrance of Kirti Guest House

The new rooms on the upper floors are spotless with clean bathrooms. Some of the rooms on the lower floors have air conditioning but can be a bit dark so opt for the rooms on the fourth and fifth floors if you can!

The fifth floor rooms in Kirti Guest House

The only drawback is the restaurant is not functioning so you need to go out for meals.

Kirti also caters to large foreign groups - there was a Sri Lankan group occupying twenty rooms when we were there!

The roof top garden and balcony on the fifth floor

To contact the guest house call 91-631-2200744 or email kirtiguesthouse744@yahoo.com

Mahabodhi Temple: Bodh Gaya

A forty minute drive  from the town of Gaya, Bodh Gaya boasts of a number of good hotels and guest houses. There is also an international airport at Gaya with links to Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

The Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya  is a UNESCO  World Heritage Site, where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment.  The original temple was completed in the 7th century AD in the reign of the Gupta kings.To  the west of the main temple is the famous Bodhi tree where Buddha meditated.

The temple complex has a number of attractions like the Ratanaghara, Vajrasana, the Rajayatna tree, Meditation Park, Muchalinda Sarovar etc which are worth visiting.

These are some photographs from the Mahabodhi Temple:

The temple complex at dusk

Monks pray under the Bodhi tree

The Cloister walk within the temple

Preparing butter lamps

The butter lamp room within the temple