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Day 1 / Delhi
Arrive
in Delhi. Pick up at airport by tour executive and transfer.
Overnight at hotel.
Day 2 / Delhi - Lucknow - Balrampur
Transfer to the airport to board flight to Lucknow.
On the way to Balrampur, halt at Srasvasti, the site
of a great miracle performed by the Buddha. Overnight
stay at Balrampur.
 Day
3 / Balrampur - Lumbini - Gorakhpur
From Balrampur, drive to the birthplace of the Buddha
at Lumbini. See the Stupa built by emperor Asoka, and
a museum of rare Buddha relics. Drive to Gorakhpur for
overnight stay.
Day 4 / Gorakhpur
- Varanasi
Drive to Varanasi in the afternoon. A short detour leads
you to Sarnath, situated about 11 km north-east of Varanasi
and known as the cradle of Buddhism. More than 2,500
years ago, Sakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment and
delivered his first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath.
Thus, Lord Buddha set the Wheel of Law in motion here.
Two hundred years later, Ashoka the Great erected several
huge and beautiful stupas (houses of treasures) here
and the famous lion emblem, which has been adopted as
the national emblem of India. Hence, this place assumes
great Buddhist significance. Overnight stay at a hotel.
Day 5 / Varanasi - Bodhgaya
Early morning, take a boat ride in the river Ganga to
have a panoramic view of the world's oldest living city
- Varanasi. The crescent shaped river front, with its
enchanting ghats rising tier upon tier, fascinates travelers
the most. Ghats are elevated platforms connected by
a flight of steps to the river embankment, and are constructed
to facilitate bathing and religious rites. The spectacle
is at its best at dawn and at dusk. Later, take a quick
city tour, and then drive to Bodhgaya.
 Day
6 / Bodhgaya - Rajgir - Nalanda - Patna
Travel the entire Buddha's Trail by road, covering Bodhgaya,
Rajgir, Nalanda and Patna, the capital of the state
of Bihar. A tiny little village and holiest among holy
places, Bodhgaya is the place where Prince Gautam of
Kapilavastu attained enlightenment under a Peepal tree
over 2,500 years ago, and became Buddha and founder
of one of the great religions of the world. The Bodhi
tree, which is still there, is supposed to be the direct
descendent of the original tree under which Lord Buddha
meditated and became the ‘enlightened one’.
The Mahabodhi Temple stands to the east of the Bodhi
Tree.
The vestiges of ancient Patna have recently been unearthed
at many neighboring places.
The Buddha visited the city in the sixth century BC.
Megasthenese, a Greek Ambassador, and Fa Hian, a Chinese
traveller, have rich accounts of the city. Today, it
is a bustling metropolis. Located around 90 km from
Patna lies the ruins of one of the most famous centers
of learning in the ancient world, Nalanda University,
built in the 5th century BC. It was patronized by royalty
and the Buddha. Situated 10 km south of Nalanda, Rajgir
or Rajgriha (the royal palace) was the capital of the
Magadha Empire in the sixth century BC. Lord Buddha
spent five rainy seasons delivering some of his famous
sermons and converting the king and countless others
to his philosophy.
Day 7 / Patna - Calcutta
Morning excursion to the modern sights of Patna are
followed by transfer and flight to Calcutta.
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