Day 9:
-
Morning after breakfast Ghat tour of Varanasi. After early
lunch drive down to Bodhgaya.On arrival check-in and
overnight stay at hotel.
Day 10:
Full day sightseeing of Bodhgaya.Here under the Bodhi tree (
Tree of Awakening ). Shakyamuni Gautamaattained supreme
knowledge to become Buddha, the "Enlightened One", the
propounder of one of the great religions of the world.The
tree that stands today is believed to have grown from the original Peepal tree
under which Lord Buddha meditated. River Niranjana in which the Buddha
bathed after attaining enlightenment flows quietly outside the tiny hamlet
where the story of Prince Siddhartha ended and the saga of the Buddha
began.Overnight stay at Hotel
Day 11:
-
Morning after breakfast drive to Patna. Enroute lunch in
Rajgir at Hotel Hokke via Nalanda unversity ruins. Rajgir is
12 kms south of Nalanda on the road to Bodhgaya and is
located in a verdant valley surrounded by rocky hills. It
is sacred to the memory of founders of both Buddhism and Jainism. Lord
Buddha spent many months of retreat during the rainy season here and used
to meditate and preach on the Griddhankuta, the hill of the Vultures. An
aerial ropeway provides the link with a hilltop stupa built by the Japanese.
One one of the hills is the cave of Saptparni, the first Buddhist Council was
held. The Saptparni cave is also the source of the Rajgir hot water springs
that have curative properties and are sacred to Hindus. Nalanda is famous
as an ancient seat of learning and has the ruins of one of the world''s most
ancient university. Founded in the 5th Centuary AD, this great seat of learning
flourished until the 12th Century. Both the founders of the two religions
Buddhism and Jainism, the Buddha and Parsvanath Mahavir, visited
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