Tourism in Bihar
Bihar (Hindi: बिहार, Urdu: بہار, pronounced [bɪˈɦaːr] (
listen)) is one of the oldest inhabited places in the world with history of 3000 years. The rich culture and heritage of Bihar is evident from the innumerable ancient monuments that are dotted all over the state in eastern India. Bihar is home of many tourist attractions. Bihar is visited by large numbers of tourists from all over the world all the year round.[1]. Around total 6 million tourists visit Bihar every year.[1]
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[edit] History of tourism
The documented history of tourism in Bihar region dating back to the fourth century BCE. Greek geographer Megasthenes (, ca. 350 BC - 290 BC) visited the region in reign of Chandragupta Maurya.[2] His observations were recorded in Indika[3]. Dionysius was son of Megasthenes, who visited Patliputra in reign of Ashoka the Great.[4]. Hsuan-Tsang and I Ching visited Nalanda to study in the seventh century CE.
In the earliest day, tourism in region was purely based educational tourism as Bihar was home of some prominent ancient universities like Nalanda University and Vikramashila University[5][6].
[edit] Archaeological sites
[edit] Excavation
[edit] Ancient
- Vishnupada Temple
- Mahabodhi Temple
- Sasaram
- Maner Sharif
- Patliputra
- Brahmayoni Hill
- Pretshila Hill
- Ramshila Hill
[edit] Forts
- Rohtasgarh Fort
- Sasaram Fort
- Palamu Fort
- Maner Fort
- Jalalgarh Fort
- RajMahal
- Munger Fort
[edit] Pilgrimages
Bihar one of the most sacred place of various religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism & Islam, Many tourist travel to Bihar to visit their pilgrimage.
Mahabodhi Temple, a Buddhist shrine and UNESCO World Heritage Site is also situated in Bihar. Mahatma Gandhi Setu, Patna, is one of the longest bridge in the world.
[edit] Hindu pilgrimages
[edit] Sikh pilgrimages
The capital of Bihar, Patna is one of the holiest city in Sikhism, as The tenth Guru of the Sikhs Guru Gobind Singh was born here in 1666 and spent his early years before moving to Anandpur.[7] Patna was also honoured by visits from Guru Nanak in 1509 as well as Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1666.
- Takht Shri Harmandir Saheb - is, one of the Five Takhts of the Sikhism. The Gurdwara at Patna Sahib is in remembrance of the birth place of Guru Gobind Singh, The tenth Guru of the Sikhs.[7]
- Gurdwara Pahila Bara - commonly known as Gurdwara Ghai Ghat, is dedicated to Guru Nanak Dev, who during his visit in to Patna stayed here in 1509 A.D. and later by Guru Tegh Bahadur along with his family visited this place in 1666 A. D.[8]
- Gurdwara Gobind Ghat - is where the child Guru Gobind Singh used to play with his playmates on the bank of the Ganges. It is situated on the bank of river Ganges and hardly 200 yards from Takht Shri Harmandir Saheb. It s also known as Gurdwara Kangan Ghat.[9]
- Gurdwara Guru ka Bagh - This Gurdwara is situated 2 miles far from the birth place of Guru Gobind Singh.[10]
- Gurdwara Bal Leela - This place is just few meters away from Takhat Patna Sahib. Guru ji were playing with other children during his childhood.Gurdwara Bal Leela is also known as Maini Sangat.[11]
- Gurdwara Handi Sahib - This Gurdwara was built in the memory of Guru Teg Bahadur. As Guru Teg Bahadur with Mata Gujri and Bala Preetam stayed here in 1728[12]
- Gurdwara Taksali Sangat
- Gurdwara Chacha Phaggu Mal
- Gurdwara Pakki Sangat
- Gurdwara Bari Sangat Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji Chauki
[edit] Buddhism pilgrimages
- Mahabodhi Temple
- Bodhi Tree
- Bodh Gaya
- Gaya
- Vaishali
- Pawapuri
- Nalanda
- Rajgir
- Kesariya
- Vikramshila
- Areraj
- Patliputra
[edit] Islamic pilgrimages
[edit] Jain pilgrimages
- Rajgir
- Pawapuri
- Patliputra
- Arrah
- Vikramasila
[edit] Other pilgrimages
[edit] Buildings and structures
[edit] Museums
[edit] History museums
- Patna Museum - is the state museum of Bihar. It was built by the British during the British Raj in the year 1917 to house the historical artefacts found in the vicinity of Patna[13].
- Nalanda Museum
- Bodh Gaya Museum
- Vaishali Museum
- Vikramshila Museum
[edit] Science museums
- Patna Planetarium - is one of the largest planetariums in Asia.[14] The Patna Planetarium was dedicated to the Nation and opened for the public from April 1, 1993[15].
- Srikrishna Science Centre - This institution forms a unit of the National Council of Science Museums, an autonoums body under the ministry of Culture. It is located at south-western corner of the Gandhi Maidan.[16]
[edit] Eco Center
- Valmiki National Park
- Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary
- Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary
- Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary
- Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyan - is classified as one of the 16 large zoos in the country and is also known as Sanjay Gandhi Botanical and Zoological Garden, Patna
or Patna Zoo. This is situated near Bailey Road in Patna.[17]
[edit] Fairs and festivals
[edit] Connectivity and access
Bihar is also an important transit point of Bihar for the tourists dropping in from the other states of India. Bihar is well-connected by air, rail and road transport.
- By air
Patna has its own airport known as Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport or Airport Patna. It is an national airport and it is connected to all major city of India via daily flights. Gaya Airport is the only international airport in Bihar and Jharkhand which 96 km from Patna. It is an international airport which is connected to Colombo, Sri Lanka through two airline operators- Bangkok, Thailand, Singapore, and Bhutan.
- By rail
Bihar is strategically located in the main line of the East Central Railway and therefore connected with important cities of India and most cities within Bihar.
- By road
The cities of Bihar are well connected by public transport including both private and government transport. The cities are interconnected as well as connected with the capital. The roadways also connected to adjacent states and regular bus service is available for different cities of adjacent states like Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh. The roadways also connects to Nepal. To boost the state roadways, the State Government have introduces Mercedes Benz luxary buses. The Mercedes Luxury buses that are 92 in number ply between 17 routes including Patna, Bhagalpur, Gaya, Ranchi and Jamshedpur.
[edit] See also
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Archaeological sites and Monuments in Bihar
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Pilgrimage sites in Bihar
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Photo Gallery
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[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b http://www.tourism.gov.in/survey/BIHAR%20TOURISM%20ANNUAL%20STATISTICS%20%20REPORT%20Final.pdf Statics Tourism in Bihar on Indian Government's tourism website
- ^ v,6
- ^ http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/Foreign_Views/GreekRoman/Megasthenes-Indika.htm Surviving text of Indika - book by Megasthenes
- ^ Pliny the Elder, "The Natural History", Chap. 21
- ^ Wriggins, Sally Hovey. Xuanzang: A Buddhist Pilgrim on the Silk Road. Westview Press, 1996. Revised and updated as The Silk Road Journey With Xuanzang. Westview Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8133-6599-6.
- ^ A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms: Being an account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of his travels in India and Ceylon (A.D. 399-414) in search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline. Oxford, Clarendon Press. Reprint: New York, Paragon Book Reprint Corp. 1965. ISBN 0-486-21344-7
- ^ a b Johar, Surinder Singh (1979). Guru Gobind Singh: A Study. Marwah Publications. pp. 23.
- ^ http://www.gurbaani.com/gurd/gurdawaras6.htm Gurdwara Pahila Bara
- ^ http://www.takhatpatnasahib.com/Gurdwara-Kangan-Ghat.aspx Gurdwara Gobind Ghat
- ^ http://www.takhatpatnasahib.com/Gurdwara-Guru-Ka-Bagh.aspx Gurdwara Guru ka Bagh
- ^ http://www.takhatpatnasahib.com/Gurdwara-Bal-Leela.aspx Gurdwara Bal Leela
- ^ http://www.takhatpatnasahib.com/Gurdwara-Haandi-Saheb.aspx Gurdwara Handi Sahib
- ^ The State Museum - Patna Museum
- ^ http://patna.bih.nic.in/html/planetarium.htm Patna Planetarium
- ^ http://dst.bih.nic.in/Planetarium.htm Patna Planetarium
- ^ Exhibits / Facilities at Srikrishna Science Centre
- ^ http://forest.bih.nic.in/SGBPark.htm Patna Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyan
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[edit] External links
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