Nalanda

Introduction and history: The city of Nalanda is one of the ancient heritage cities of India. Located in southeast of Patna, the Capital City of Bihar, is a village called the ‘Bada Gaon’ (big village), where the world famous ruins of Nalanda University are found. It is believed that the university was found during 5th Century A.D, but exact date of creation is not yet determined. Nalanda is known as the ancient seat of learning where 2,000 Teachers and 10,000 Students from all over the Buddhist world lived and studied at Nalanda, which is the first Residential International University of the World. In the later stages many monasteries and temples were built around this place. The famous Chinese traveler and scholar, Hieun-Tsang stayed here and has given a detailed description of the situations prevailing at that time.

What to see and when to go: The ruin of Nalanda University is the main attraction, which occupy an area of 14 hectares. This university was completely built with Red Bricks, which once upon a time stood as a symbol for spreading knowledge and wisdom to the rest of the world. The Nalanda Archaeological Museum, Silao and Surajpur Baragaon are some of the other attractions of this place. The best time to visit Nalanda is between October and March.
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Accommodation: As Nalanda is one of the important tourist destination for Buddists, travelers can find a wide variety of accommodation, including star category hotels offering excellent services to many budget hotels that provide basic accomodation facilities. Accommodation can start as low as 600 rupees per day.

Mode of Transport: The capital city Patna is the nearest Airport, which is located about 93 Kilometers from Nalanda. The city is well connected by train with major cities of Bihar with nearest railway station is Bakhtiyarpur located at 38 Kilometers distance. It is also connected by Road to Patna, Rajgir, Gaya, Delhi and Kolkata.

Related links:

• Nalanda Digital library: http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/

See also (nearby places): Gaya, Surya Mandir and Patna are nearby tourist attractions.