Patna, having a history of over two million years is situated on the bank of the river Ganga in India. Today's Patna India is into a process of tremendous change in the commercial as well as in the tourism sector. It is the gateway to the places of Buddhist importance in India like Vaisali, Nalanda, Rajgir, Gaya and Bodhgaya. Earlier known as the city of Pataliputra, Patna city has seen many empires come to power and being destroyed. Ruled by some famous kings like Ajatsatru, Chandra Gupta Maurya, Sher Shah Suri and Ashoka, it has now become a spiritual place to travel in terms of culture and Buddhist pilgrimage. All this makes Patna a major travel destination of India.


Location of Patna
Patna in India is the capital of the much talked about state of Bihar and located to the southern banks of river Ganges.

Climate of Patna
Highest temperature in the summers reaches a maximum of 43°C while it lowers to a minimum of 4°C in the winter season. The best time to travel Patna is in the period between October and February.


Major Buddhist Attractions in Patna
Kumrahar - Patna is the site that consists of the archaeological excavations of Patliputra and marks the ancient capital of Ajatshatru, Chandragupta and Ashok. Travel Patna to see the remains of the ancient city of Patliputra have been uncovered in Kumrahar which lies south of Patna. Archaeological findings establish Patna to be over a thousand years old political glory. A very little grandeur remains except the remnants of a huge Mauryan hall supported by 80 sandstone pillars dating back to 300 BC and the foundations of the brick Buddhist monastery known as Anand Bihar. There's a small display of some of the clay figures and wooden beams discovered here.

Harmandir Takht - A holy place of the Sikhs who believes their tenth guru was born in this place. It was here in Patna that Guru Govind Singh was born in the year 1666 and spent his early life before moving to Anandpur. The place is known as Patna Sahib. One of the holiest of the five takht, Harmandir is situated in the old quarters of the city.

A few relics of the Guru Govind Sahib are preserved in this shrine that include a 'pangura' (cradle) with four stands covered with golden plates, four iron arrows, sacred sword of the Master and a pair of his sandals. Hukamnamas, the written orders of Guru Gobind Singh and Guru Tegh Bahadur contained in a book are also kept in this holy Gurudwara.

Patna Museum - The museum has a collection of beautiful sculptures. Among the most cherished is the polished sandstone female attendant or yakshi holding a flying whisk found at Didarganj which dates back to the 3rd century.

Also to be found are some Jain images from the Kushana period and a few collection of Buddhist Bodhisattvas from the Gandhara region in the northwest Pakistan, belonging to the 2nd and 3rd centuries. A gigantic fossilised tree thought to be 200 million years old is placed inside the museum. The museum also houses Chinese art, and the second floor is devoted to some superb Tibetan 'thangkas' or scroll paintings. A First World War cannon, metal and stone sculptures of Maurya and Gupta periods are among its privileged possession.

The Planetarium - The planetarium is counted as one of the largest planetariums in Asia, it attracts a large number of domestic as well as foreign tourists. The planetarium has regular film shows on subjects related to astronomy. It also holds exhibitions of different findings on the world's presence which attracts lots of visitors.