Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India

In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred place or to a shrine of importance to a person’s beliefs and faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.

There are number of historical Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India.

Places associated with the life of Buddha

Primary sites

Buddha’s Holy Sites
Pilgrimage to

The Four Main Sites
Bodh Gaya Kushinagar Lumbini Sarnath
Four Additional Sites
Rajgir Sankissa Shravasti Vaishali
Other Sites
Amaravati Chandavaram Devdaha Gaya Kapilavastu Kesaria Kosambi Nalanda Pataliputra Pava Varanasi
Later Sites
Ajanta Caves Barabar Caves Bharhut Ellora Caves Lalitgiri Mathura Nasik Caves Piprahwa Pushpagiri Ratnagiri Sanchi Udayagiri Vikramashila
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Buddhism offers four major sites of pilgrimage: the Buddha’s birthplace at Lumbini, the site where he attained Enlightenment Bodh Gaya, where he first preached at Benaras, and where he achieved Parinirvana at Kusinagara. These are three of the four holiest sites in Buddhism; the fourth, Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, is now in southern Nepal:

Bodh Gaya in Bihar, the site of the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha under a tree and top site in the list of world heritage sites in India.
Kesaria stupa is a Buddhist stupa in Kesariya, located at a distance of 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Patna, in the Champaran (east) district of Bihar, India. The first construction of the Stupa is dated to the 3rd century BCE. Kesariya Stupa has a circumference of almost 400 feet (120 m) and raises to a height of about 104 feet (32 m).
Nalanda (Sanskrit: नालंंदा ISO: Nālandā, pronounced ) was a renowned Buddhist University in the ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern-day Bihar) in India.Buddhist texts describe it as a Mahavihara, a revered Buddhist monastery.
Sarnath near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, the site of the first sermon (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), where Buddha taught about the Middle Way, the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.
Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, the site of the Buddha’s parinirvana and home of many famous meditation & prayer offering sites in India.

Maha Bodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya
Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath
Ancient Buddhist Monastery at Sarnath
Parinirvana Stupa at Kushinagar
Remains of ancient stupas in Kushinagar

Places visited by Buddha for discourse

Andhra Pradesh:
- Nagarjunakonda in Guntur district: Seat of Mahayana
- Thotlakonda and Bojjannakonda in Visakhapatnam
Bihar: The name of Bihar is derived from vihara, meaning monastery, such was the association of the area with Buddhism. In addition to these sites which were visited by the Buddha, other sites in India have become notable:
- Patna, — Formerly known as Pataliputra, it was the seat of the Mauryan empire and a significant Buddhist centre
- Rajgir, Bihar — Formerly known as Rajagaha, it was the capital of Magadha, ruled by King Bimbisara, one of the most prominent monarchs and supporters during the lifetime of the Buddha
- Nalanda, Bihar — Site of an ancient Buddhist university, destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khalji during Islamic attacks
- Sravasti, Uttar Pradesh — Formerly known as Savatthi, it was the capital of Kosala, ruled by King Pasenadi, one of the most prominent monarchs and supporters during the lifetime of the Buddha
- Vaishali, Bihar — Seat of a republican state of the Lichchavis, prominent supporters of the Buddha. Site of the Second Buddhist Council
Haryana: Sacred places in the order of travel by Buddha, where he gave several important discourses documented in the Pali texts. After visiting Mathura, he travelled along Grand Trunk Road in Haryana (also see Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Haryana).
- From Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Buddha travelled along Grand Trunk Road in Haryana (also see Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Haryana).
- Kamashpura Aastha Pugdal Pagoda (Kumashpur) in Sonipat city, the place where Buddha gave Mahasatipatthana sutta),.
- Kurukshetra Stupa on the banks of sacred Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra city
- Topra between Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar, now has a large open air museum park housing several replica of Ashoka’s edicts including largest Ashoka Chakra in the world
- Srughna, now known as the Sugh Ancient Mound, on outskirts of Yamunanagar city
- Chaneti Stupa, on outskirts of Yamunanagar city

Other prominent historic Buddhist sites by state

All are the historic ancient sites of learning, and the list includes very few relatively new sites which have been specifically highlighted accordingly. Most of these sites have association with Ashoka and other Buddhist kings.

Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati
Bavikonda
Bojjannakonda
Bhattiprolu
Chandavaram
Dharanikota
Ghantasala
Gudivada
Guntupalli
Jaggayyapeta
Nagarjunakonda
Pavurallakonda museum
Ramatheertham
Salihundam
Thotlakonda
Undavalli Caves
Visakhapatnam

Arunachal Pradesh

Please see Tibetan Buddhist section below, please do not add those to this list.

Assam

Namphake in Dibrugarh
Surya Pahar in Goalpara
Hayagriva Madhava at Hajo

Bihar

Vikramshila,
Odantapuri
Sujata Stupa
Krimila

Goa

Lamgao caves
Rivona caves

Gujarat

Vadnagar in Mehsana district

Haryana

In 2021, it was announced that Buddha Haryana circuit will be developed by the Centre

Also see above the “places visited by Buddha for discourse” which has additional sites in Haryana.

Adi Badri, Haryana
Mounds: Agroha Mound, Sugh Ancient Mound
Pillars of Ashoka: (Hisar, Fatehabad Ashokan Pillar, Topra Kalan Edicts Museum)

Jammu and Kashmir

Please do not add Tibetan Buddhist sites to this list, add those to the “Tibetan Buddhist section” below.

Harwan, near Mughal Shalimar Garden, dating from the fifth century
Parihaspore, 20 km northeast of Srinagar
Panderathan, near Srinagar

Madhya Pradesh

Bagh Caves
Sanchi, site of a large stupa built by Ashoka which also houses the relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana, the two chief disciples of the Buddha; reputedly the place from which Mahinda set out to proselytise Sri Lanka.

Maharashtra

Ajanta, site of intricate Buddhist cave paintings depicting Buddhism
Ellora, site of intricate Buddhist cave paintings
Deekshabhoomi, a new 20th century site associated with Bhimrao Ambedkar

Odisha

Lalitgiri
Ratnagiri
Udayagiri

Sikkim

Please see Tibetan Buddhist section below, please do not add those to this list.

Tamilnadu

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2019)

Telangana

Nelakondapalli,
Phanigiri

Tripura

Pilak, an archaeological site in the Santirbazar sub-division of South Tripura district

Uttar Pradesh

Devadaha
Kapilavastu
Kosambi
Mathura
Pāvā (Fazilnagar near Varanasi

Tibetan Buddhist sites

By state

Arunachal Pradesh: Tawang
Sikkim: Dubdi Monastery, Enchey Monastery, Pemayangtse Monastery, Ralang Monastery, Rumtek, Tashiding Monastery, Tawang Monastery, Zang Dhok Palri Phodang
Himachal Pradesh:
- Dharamsala,
- McLeod Ganj at Dharamsala, the primary seat of current Dalai Lama
- Palpung Sherabling Monastery at Baijnath
- Tabo Monastery, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh
Karnataka: Namdroling Monastery in Bylakuppe near Mysore
Ladakh: Leh

Sikkim

Dubdi Monastery

Dubdi Monastery, occasionally called ‘Yuksom Monastery’ is a Buddhist monastery of the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism near Yuksom, in the Geyzing subdivision of West Sikkim district.

Enchey Monastery

Enchey Monastery is located in Gangtok, the capital city of Sikkim in the Northeastern Indian state. It belongs to the Nyingma order of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Pemayangtse Monastery

Pemayangtse Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in Pemayangtse, near Pelling in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim, located 140 kilometres (87 mi) west of Gangtok.

Ralang Monastery

Ralang Monastery is a Buddhist monastery of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism in southern Sikkim, northeastern India. It is located six kilometres from Ravangla.

Rumtek Monastery

Rumtek Monastery also called the “Dharmachakra Centre”, is a gompa located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok. It is a focal point for the sectarian tensions within the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism that characterize the Karmapa controversy.

Tashiding Monastery

Tashiding Monastery is a Buddhist monastery of the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism in Western Sikkim, northeastern India. It is located on top of the hill rising between the Rathong chu and the Rangeet River.

Tawang Monastery

Tawang Monastery in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is the largest monastery in India and second largest in the world after the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.

Zang Dhok Palri Phodang

Zang Dhok Palri Phodang is a Buddhist monastery in Kalimpong in West Bengal, India. The monastery is located atop Durpin Hill, one of the two hills of the town. It was consecrated in 1976 by the visiting Dalai Lama.