01 · Gaya · 2 days
Bodh Gaya
UNESCO World Heritage site where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. The Mahabodhi Temple rises 55 metres above a town of monasteries built by a dozen Buddhist nations.
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Bihar in Winter
October to March — the season everything is built for
Winter is when to visit Bihar. From Chhath in late October through Sonepur Mela in November, the Bodh Gaya teaching season in December and January, Makar Sankranti and the Rajgir Mahotsav, to the palash bloom of February–March, every month has a reason. Days are 20–25 °C, the skies are clear for Valmiki rafting and birding, and the Kaimur plateau is finally walkable. December and January are peak — book Bodh Gaya early.
The places
All destinationsThen
02 · Patna
Patna03 · Vaishali
Vaishali04 · Begusarai
Kanwar Lake05 · Jamui
Nagi & Nakti Bird Sanctuaries06 · West Champaran
Valmikinagar & the Gandak
07 · West Champaran
Valmiki National Park
Bihar's only tiger reserve
08 · Nalanda
Rajgir
Hot springs and five hills
09 · Nalanda
Nalanda
The first great university
10 · Rohtas
Rohtasgarh Fort
A fort the size of a city, on a plateau in the sky
11 · Madhubani
Madhubani
The town that paints its walls
12 · Gaya
Gaya
Where Hindus come to free their ancestors
Routes that do it justice
All itineraries
5 days / 4 nights · Steady
The Wild North
Up through the republic of Vaishali and the stupa at Kesaria to Champaran's forest: two days of safaris in Bihar's tiger reserve and a day on the Gandak with gharial, dolphins and a raft.
View itinerary7 days / 6 nights · Gentle
The Buddhist Circuit
The classic loop — Patna, Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda and Bodh Gaya — done at a pace that leaves time for a sunrise at the Mahabodhi and an afternoon on the hot-spring steps.
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10 days / 9 nights · Steady
The Grand Tour of Bihar
The Kaimur forts, the Buddhist heartland, the capital, the Ganga towns and Mithila — the complete arc of Bihar's history and landscape, with a slack day built in for the place you fall in love with.
View itineraryRead before you go
Field note · 5 min
Sasaram, before anyone else wakes up
Field note · 4 min
Fourteen minutes above Rajgir
Next collection
Buddhist Circuit