6 Day Road Trip to Bodhgaya, Nalanda & Rajgir (West Bengal to Bihar via Jh.)

“Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”

~ Gustave Flaubert ~

Any commercial use of my photographs without prior consent is a violation of Indian and International copyright law.

It’s been quite a while since our last trip to Deoghar, Jharkhand. This increased the itch to travel again and the craving has been growing steadily. Rajgir was next on our “Travel List 2023” but unfortunately, the plans kept getting postponed due to various reasons. Finally, the plan came to fruition on 21/02/2023.

We failed to go anywhere out of West Bengal for the last few months, so my wife and I were planning to visit Purulia for 2 Days to see Palash flowers, which blossom in the short Indian spring and are quite a sight to see. Unexpectedly we received a Marriage Invitation from Mother In Law and we wanted to make it count and decided to visit Bodhgaya, Nalanda & Rajgir along with attending the marriage( In Nawada,Bh.).

Distance:  Rajgir is around 350 km from Home, Dishergarh located in Asansol, West Bengal (Via Bodhgaya- Gaya-Nalanda). (Total Distance Covered 700 KM)

Places To Visit : 

The following places topped our bucket list:

1. Bodhgaya All Monanstry and Temple especially Mahabodhi Temple along with the 80 Feet Buddha Statue.
2. Pawapuri Jal Mandir
3. Nalanda Ruins and Local Site Seeing
4. Rajgir – Glass Bridge, Zoosafari, Viswa Shanti Stupa, Ghora Katora, and Many More.

The Companion: We used my Pearl Honda City 2021 to ride.

It was a short trip lasting for 6 days. I was the only driver accompanied by my wife, Anamika, and 10-month Daughter Aanshi.

Distance Covered:  Total Km: 706 KM – 21st Feb to 26th Feb. Out of 6 Days 3 (22nd 23rd 24th) were spent attending the Marriage.

On the 20th Night, we packed all the necessary items, 10% of the luggage was mine, 30% was for Anamika and the remaining was for Aanshi.

PS: Thanks for Honda City’s extra vast Boot Space 🙂 Never had to worry about the space as it was more than sufficient to satisfactorily complete our trip.

Route Taken: On the 20th night, we decided to first visit Bodhgaya. We have two routes planned. One was via NH 19, and the other was via Giridih.

Giridih, Jharkhand is an unknown route to me while NH19 to Dhobi/Sherghati is familiar to me. My Last Bihar Drive was to Sherghati, Gaya district in Bihar (formally Magadha ). It was for a marriage party as well and it was just my wife and me who were attending the function.

So we decided to follow the NH19 Route. On the 21st Morning, we checked everything specially Aanshi’s needs. And we left home by 8 AM, and as soon as we entered Jharkhand refilled the tank and decided to beat the Google map ETA time without any break for the Next 2 to 3 hours.

The road condition was so good till Chouparan. A few diversions and NH Work were going on.

Except for those parts, the roads were awesome. We crossed two tolls and had a 30-minute stoppage near NH Side Dhaba by 12.30 PM.

We refreshed and had some light food. Later went directly to Dobhi and as soon as we reached Dobhi by 2.30 PM Map showed me to turn my Route to Right Side to NH22 for 20 KM and we did so.

I always wanted my car to be parked on safe private premises. I do not prefer that roadside parking. We got the same and checked into the hotel (Hotel Maria International)  and left after keeping our luggage in the room and Hired a Toto(Battery Auto) for 500 INR by getting the aid of a Receptionist.

From 4 PM to 9 PM, we visited almost all the Buddha temples in Bodhgaya. Some of them are as mentioned below with Photographs :

Metta Buddharam Temple (White Buddha)

Daijokyo Buddhist Temple

Karma Temple

Buddha Walking And Blessing Statue

Indosan Nippon Ji Japanese Temple

WATTHAI Buddhagaya Temple

Royal Bhutan Monastery

Finally, we reached 80 feet Buddha, regarded as the main attraction of Bodhgaya. It has an 80 Feet Buddha – The Great Buddha Statue.

Please check the Slider for More Images from Bodhgaya in one Slide.

Finally, we reached the World Heritage Site: Mahabodhi Temple “Great Awakening Temple” or the Mahābodhi Mahāvihāra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an ancient but rebuilt and restored Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya located in Bihar India, marking the location where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. That vast area consists of Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhi Tree, Muchalinda Lake, and Cankamana.

If you need to understand History, I suggest hiring a Guide. As I had been watching many videos before visiting the temple, I didn’t require one. My permanent guide Anamika has already visited here in her School days so she was able to recollect some facts from her memory.

Let me tell you, it will take time to visit every corner of the Temple. It’s quite large I mean a very large area. And mobiles are not allowed within the premises. Even Smart Watches are restricted. If you prefer you can go with your DSLR and Go-Pro. Mobile has to be kept in a locker and buy a Permission Ticket for the Camera. We reached there at Night so the temple was lightened up with Colorful lights. It was a spectacular sight to view. Glad we went there at night and we were so tired. Still able to capture some photos.

 

 

After spending almost 2 hours we came out of the Temple and collected our Phones. When we checked it, noticed that we had a huge number of missed calls. All Credits to Flight Mode (I Forgot to Enable It :P).

Once Again I would always suggest hiring a local Toto, they will guide you properly and you won’t miss a single temple in Bodhgaya.

Then we came back to the hotel to freshen up and slept for the next day’s Drive.

Which was Bodhgaya to Nawada Via Gaya-Hisua. It was not a long journey. Map was showing 75 Km, so we decided to take our time and left our hotel at 11.00 AM. The Road is still under construction and the rest of the journey was fine. But be careful, it is 4 Lane Road and no one follows the rules.

Somewhere between Gaya and Hisua, we were greeted with a newly built Buddha Temple. It’s still under Construction.

 

 

After clicking a few photos we were greeted by a Market Jam in Hisua and reached Pharaha/Nawada. Road Condition was Mix Type.

We attended the marriage party we were invited to. We decided to spend 2 days here. We spent the entire 22nd, 23rd, and 24th in Nawada and our Trip was only scheduled for 21 to the 26th. So we were left with no choice but to skip our one-day plan. Due to this, we had to skip the Main Attraction of Rajgir, the Glass Bridge, and Zoo Safari as the Ticket needs to be booked in advance.

On 25th Morning we left Nawada onto NH20 for Jal Mandir of Pawapuri. It’s only 30 Km from Pharah, Bihar. The newly built Jain Temple exactly opposite Jal Mandir Entrance is a must-visit.

After having some photos taken, we on our map set the destination of Nalanda University.

It is regarded as another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The road towards Nalanda from the Pavapuri is smooth via the Nalanda Sainik School road. Only 15 Km of travel.

We hired a guide there, who helped us to know every corner of the Nalanda Ruins. The ticket Price was 40 INR Each and Car Parking was 50 INR. Then we visited Black Buddha which is a walking distance from the Ruins of Nalanda University. It is a modern temple named the Black Buddha temple (termed by locals as the “Telia Bhairav”, which refers to the use of oil as a protective coating) has emerged near Temple 14 which has an ancient large black Buddha image in Bhumisparha Mudra.

 

Then we went to Hieun Tsang Memorial Hall which was 2 KM from Nalanda Khandar. The ticket price was 30 INR for a single Person. After spending some time at Museum we went out for Rajgir via NH120. and stopped at an NH Dhaba to have our Lunch. Then we reached Rajgir by 5 PM with no other options. We parked our car at the Pandu Pokhar Parking area and visited the Japanese Temple Rajgir and checked back into our Hotel (Hotel Rajgir International).

 

The next day was Sunday. After a lot of planning, we crossed the Zoo Safari location with a heavy heart. We reached Viswa Shanti Stupa. We reached there early morning at 8.00 AM and got to know that we can’t take the Open Single seated Ropeway because of Aanshi. We had to wait for Cabin Ropeway and the ticket counter will start only at 9.30 AM. Without wasting our time after having a cup of tea we booked a Toto(Electric rickshaw) for Ghora Katora. A place a magnificent sight for any wanderlust. Trust me, it is one of the best places in Rajgir is surrounded by a Mountain and Jungle along with a lake and a Budha statue in the middle of the lake. We took a self-riding boat and drove the boat for almost 30 minutes and took almost 100 Images.

Then left for Viswa Santi Stupa which was almost 6 Km from Ghora Katora. We had parked our car there, as the car was not allowed within the deep paths of the lake. As soon as we returned from “Ghora Katora” to “Viswa Santi Stupa”, we booked the Ticket which cost RS.120 each. As it was Sunday we had to wait.

But it was not a long queue. Indulging in the sight of the ropeway we reached the other main attraction of Rajgir Viswashanti Stupa and spent almost 1 Hour there.

 

Later came down and started our car and set the map to Home via Nawada. The map displayed the Route via Nardigunj-Nawada(NH20)- Rajuli-Koderma Ghati Road-Barhi(On NH20) and after reaching Barhi we are onto NH19 again.

Somewhere near the Jharkhand-Bihar border, we stopped for lunch at Khalsa Dhaba. After having a Scrumptious meal, we traveled a twisted road. You would have probably guessed it right, it is the Ghati Road. It is to be noted that Bihar roads are improving like Bihar Tourism. It’s not the same Bihar anymore. Bihar has been through a tremendous development in the past few years.

After Crossing the Ghati road and touching the NH19, My City touched 100-120 kph within a second and we beat the ETA by 39 Min within 2 Hours and reached Khalsa Govindpur for a Tea break. Then finally we reached home by 8.00 PM. Thanks to the traffic jam near Kumardhubi Bridge.

And at the end of the day, we three musketeers took a break from a long journey which is filled with laughter and loads of memories to cherish for a lifetime.