Bodh Gaya: Where the Buddha was enlightened
The Bodh Gaya Safarnama is a 11.4 km route across 5 stops, from Dungeshwari Cave Temples to Great Buddha Statue, part of the Buddhist Circuit. See the whole trail.
Dungeshwari Cave Temples
Tradition holds that Siddhartha Gautama, still a wandering ascetic before his enlightenment, retreated to the Dungeshwari Cave near Bodh Gaya to meditate.
Sujata Stupa
Sujata Stupa stands in the village of Bakraur, across the Phalgu River from Bodh Gaya, about a 20-minute walk away. It was first built in the 2nd century BCE and is dedicated to Sujata, the village milkmaid said to have fed the Buddha milk and rice.
Mahabodhi Temple
The Mahabodhi Temple marks the place where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment, and is the holiest pilgrimage site in Buddhism. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it holds a tree believed to descend from the Bodhi Tree under which he gained enlightenment.
Wat Thai Buddhagaya
Wat Thai Buddhagaya is a Thai Theravada monastery built by the Government of Thailand at the invitation of the Government of India. It is one of several monasteries founded around the Mahabodhi complex by Buddhist communities from different countries.
Great Buddha Statue
The Great Buddha at Bodh Gaya, 18.5 m tall and seated in meditation on a lotus, was consecrated on 18 November 1989 by the 14th Dalai Lama; its foundation stone was laid in 1982. Statues of the Buddha's ten principal disciples stand around it, five on each side.