Sarnath Buddhist & Wat Thai Temples

Sarnath is north of Varanasi and the place where Buddha first began teaching and a huge stupa (shrine) marks the spot. It is an archeological excavation site and spreads out like a park. The museum contains a lot of pieces of stone carving from temples that were presumably found on site, and one pillar topped with four lions dates to the 3rd century BCE and is the state emblem of India.

The museum was laid out with Hindu artifacts on one side/wing and Buddhist on the other side/wing. It made me sad to see how most faces were defaced either lightly or massively as if shot or hit, and quite a lot of heads were missing. Wonder what museum they are displayed in…

After exploring this complex we visited the Wat Thai temple nearby that has a huge standing Buddha statue and lovely gardens.Read more