Day 4 Bodh Gaya

We are up early in Bodh Gaya -a village in Bihar and one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Dominated by the ancient Mahabodhi Temple Complex, built to mark the site where the Buddha attained enlightenment beneath a sacred Bodhi Tree!

At the age of 35, Siddhartha Gautama sat beneath a fig tree and received enlightenment. Around 1000 years later, the Buddhist authority built the monastery and temple. It’s seems the temple was destroyed a few times but it was excavated and it’s big again !

Today the followers are here aplenty as it’s the end of a festival !

A direct descendant of the tree -it’s been cut down a few times and regrown- sits within the complex including the lotus pond. Buddha five coloured coloured banners are everywhere!

It’s a good connection with the famous Sri Lankan Bodhi tree that we visited and of course the beginning of all the Buddhas seen on the Silk Road !

A rickshaw ride takes us to the modern 60 ft Buddha statue opened by the Dalai Lama in 1989 !

Then it’s back to the train and onwards!Read more