This Buddhist Circuit Tour Package covers all Eight Great Places of Buddhism (the Atthamahathana) in one unhurried 20-day journey across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Nepal, with a Private Car and Driver India pilgrims have trusted for more than 25 years. Your Buddhist pilgrimage begins with a Delhi airport pickup and the Buddha relics at the National Museum, then follows the life of the Buddha: Sankisa, where he descended from the Tavatimsa heaven; Sravasti and the Jetavana Monastery, where he spent more rainy seasons than anywhere else; Kapilavastu and the Piprahwa Stupa, the home of his youth; Lumbini and the Maya Devi Temple, his birthplace and a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Ramagrama Stupa; Kushinagar and the Mahaparinirvana Temple, where he passed away; the Ashoka Pillar sites of Lauriya Nandangarh and Areraj; the Kesariya Stupa, the tallest excavated Buddhist stupa; Vaishali, where he gave his last sermon; Rajgir, Vulture’s Peak and the ruins of Nalanda University; Bodhgaya, the Mahabodhi Temple and the Bodhi Tree, where he attained enlightenment; and Sarnath and the Dhamek Stupa, where he first turned the Wheel of Dharma. Long stays of 2 to 4 nights in Sravasti, Lumbini, Kushinagar and Bodhgaya leave time for meditation, chanting and quiet reflection. The same verified English-speaking driver stays with your group for the whole Buddhist circuit, handles the Sonauli border crossing into Nepal, and drops you at Varanasi airport on the last day. Sedans for couples, Innova Crysta for families and Tempo Travellers or Urbania for monastery and temple groups are all available.
Interactive day-by-day plan. Click any day to expand and explore the full route, travel distances, and cultural activities.
Your Buddhist Circuit Tour begins with a Delhi airport pickup at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI). Your English-speaking driver meets you at the arrivals gate with a name board and transfers you in a private AC car to your hotel in Delhi. Rest after your flight and receive a briefing on the Buddhist pilgrimage route ahead. Overnight stay in Delhi (1 night).
After an early breakfast, a short Delhi tour with a Buddhist focus: the National Museum, whose Buddhist art gallery displays sacred relics of the Buddha from the Piprahwa Stupa (closed on Mondays), a drive past India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhavan, and, if time allows, the Ashokan rock edict at Srinivaspuri or the Ladakh Buddh Vihar. Then drive east by expressway to Sankisa (Sankassa) in Farrukhabad district. Overnight stay at Sankisa (1 night); hotels here are simple, with monastery guesthouses also available.
Morning visit to Sankisa, one of the Eight Great Places of Buddhism, where the Buddha is believed to have descended from the Tavatimsa heaven after teaching the Abhidhamma to his mother. See the stupa mound, the Ashoka Pillar elephant capital and the temples of the Sri Lankan, Myanmar and Thai monasteries. After lunch, drive to Sravasti via Lucknow and Bahraich. Overnight stay in Sravasti (2 nights).
A full day in Sravasti (Shravasti), where the Buddha spent more rainy-season retreats than anywhere else and performed the Twin Miracle. Meditate in the Jetavana Monastery garden, gifted by the merchant Anathapindika, and sit beneath the Anandabodhi Tree. Visit the Gandhakuti and Kosambakuti, the Buddha’s huts, the Angulimala Stupa (Pakki Kuti) and the Anathapindika Stupa (Kachchi Kuti), and the international temples of Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Korea and China. Overnight stay in Sravasti.
Morning chanting at Jetavana, then drive to Piprahwa in Siddharthnagar district, identified with ancient Kapilavastu, the home of Prince Siddhartha. Visit the Piprahwa Stupa, where a relic casket of the Buddha was excavated in 1898, and the nearby Ganwaria monastery ruins. Continue to the Sonauli border, where your driver helps with Indian exit and Nepal entry formalities (Nepal visa on arrival for most nationalities) and the vehicle permit for Nepal. Drive on to Lumbini. Overnight stay in Lumbini, Nepal (3 nights).
Excursion to Tilaurakot, the Nepal site of Kapilavastu, with the palace ruins of King Suddhodana and the eastern gate through which Siddhartha left on the Great Departure, plus Kudan and Niglihawa. In the afternoon visit the Ramagrama Stupa, which tradition holds is the only original relic stupa of the Buddha that has never been opened. Return to Lumbini for an evening walk to the Eternal Peace Flame. Overnight stay in Lumbini.
A full day at Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Pray inside the Maya Devi Temple at the marker stone, see the Ashoka Pillar of 249 BCE with its inscription recording the Emperor’s visit, and the sacred Puskarini pond where Queen Maya Devi bathed. Explore the East and West Monastic Zones with temples built by Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, China, Korea, Japan, Germany and Nepal, and the World Peace Pagoda. Overnight stay in Lumbini.
After breakfast, cross back into India at Sonauli and drive to Kushinagar. Check in and visit the Mahaparinirvana Temple in the evening for chanting beside the 5th-century reclining Buddha, as pilgrims offer golden robes. Overnight stay in Kushinagar (3 nights).
A full day in Kushinagar, where the Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana between twin sala trees. Visit the Mahaparinirvana Temple and stupa, the Ramabhar Stupa that marks his cremation site, the Mathakuar Shrine with its black stone Buddha in the earth-touching gesture, the Wat Thai Kushinara temple, the Japanese and Myanmar temples and the Kushinagar Museum. Overnight stay in Kushinagar.
A quiet day for meditation, offerings and Dhamma talks at the Mahaparinirvana Temple and the international monasteries of Kushinagar. Your private driver is available for any local visits, a market stop or a laundry run in the middle of your Buddhist pilgrimage. Overnight stay in Kushinagar.
An early start into Bihar. Visit Lauriya Nandangarh, with its lion-topped Ashoka Pillar and the great Nandangarh stupa mound, then the Ashoka Pillar at Lauriya Areraj, inscribed with the Emperor’s edicts. Continue to the Kesariya Stupa, the tallest excavated Buddhist stupa in the world, where the Buddha gave his alms bowl to the people of Vaishali. Drive on to Vaishali. Overnight stay in Vaishali (1 night).
Explore Vaishali, where the Buddha gave his last sermon, announced his coming Mahaparinirvana, and first admitted women into the Sangha. See the Ashoka Pillar at Kolhua with its single lion capital, the Ananda Stupa, the Relic Stupa of the Licchavis, the Abhishek Pushkarini tank and the Vishwa Shanti Stupa. Vaishali also hosted the Second Buddhist Council. After lunch, drive to Rajgir. Overnight stay in Rajgir (2 nights).
Sunrise meditation on Vulture’s Peak (Griddhakuta), where the Buddha delivered the Lotus Sutra and the Heart Sutra. Take the ropeway to the Vishwa Shanti Stupa, then visit the Venuvana bamboo grove, the first monastery gifted to the Buddha by King Bimbisara, the Saptaparni Cave of the First Buddhist Council and Bimbisara’s Jail. In the afternoon, drive to the ruins of Nalanda University, the great Buddhist university and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its museum and the Xuanzang Memorial Hall. Overnight stay in Rajgir.
A last morning in Rajgir (optional hot springs or Ghora Katora lake), then drive towards Bodhgaya and visit the Dungeshwari Cave Temple (Mahakala Caves), where Siddhartha practised severe austerities for six years before choosing the Middle Way. Continue to Bodhgaya and visit the Mahabodhi Temple at dusk when the butter lamps are lit. Overnight stay in Bodhgaya (4 nights).
A full day at the Mahabodhi Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the Buddha attained enlightenment. Meditate beneath the Bodhi Tree at the Vajrasana (Diamond Throne) and walk the seven sacred spots of the first weeks after enlightenment, including the Animesh Lochana Chaitya, the Ratnachankrama jewel walk and the Muchalinda Lake. Overnight stay in Bodhgaya.
Visit the Great Buddha Statue and the monasteries of Thailand, Japan, Bhutan, Tibet, Myanmar, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Cross the Niranjana (Phalgu) river to the Sujata Stupa at Bakraur village, where the village girl Sujata offered rice pudding to Siddhartha, and visit the Bodhgaya Archaeological Museum. Evening chanting at the Mahabodhi Temple. Overnight stay in Bodhgaya.
A free day for meditation, offerings, robe and lamp ceremonies, or a guided Dhamma session at one of the international monasteries. Optional half-day excursions with your private driver to the Barabar Caves or Gaya town. Overnight stay in Bodhgaya.
After a last morning at the Bodhi Tree, drive to Varanasi on the Grand Trunk Road (NH19). Check in and, in the evening, take a boat to Dashashwamedh Ghat for the Ganga Aarti. Overnight stay in Varanasi (2 nights).
Early sunrise boat ride on the Ganges past the ancient ghats. After breakfast, drive to Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon and set in motion the Wheel of Dharma. Visit the Dhamek Stupa, the Deer Park, the Mulagandhakuti Vihara with its murals, the Chaukhandi Stupa and the Sarnath Archaeological Museum with the Ashoka Lion Capital, India’s national emblem (museum closed on Fridays). Afternoon in the lanes of old Varanasi. Overnight stay in Varanasi.
Free time for last offerings or shopping for Banarasi silk, then transfer to Varanasi Airport (Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport) for your onward flight. End of your Buddhist Circuit Tour with Tourist Driver India.
When you book your holiday with Tourist Driver India, you travel with a verified, experienced English speaking driver. We take complete pride in delivering personalized Comfortable Car Rental Services with Drivers across North India and Rajasthan. Enjoy complete flexibility, transparent fixed pricing, and unmatched hospitality.
Lumbini (birth), Bodhgaya (enlightenment), Sarnath (first sermon) and Kushinagar (Mahaparinirvana), plus Sravasti, Sankisa, Rajgir and Vaishali. This 20-day Buddhist circuit tour package visits all eight, along with Kapilavastu, Kesariya, Nalanda and the Ramagrama Stupa.
Most nationalities can get a Nepal visa on arrival at the Sonauli–Belahiya border. Because you leave India and come back by road, your Indian visa must allow a second entry and entry by land at Sonauli. Rules for e-Visa holders at land borders have been restrictive, so check the current rules on the official Indian visa website, or travel on a regular tourist visa, before you book.
Yes. Groups of 9 to 16 travel in a Tempo Traveller or Force Urbania, and larger groups in two or more vehicles that move together. Many Thai, Sri Lankan, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese pilgrim groups travel the Buddhist circuit this way.
October to March is the best season, with pleasant days and the main Buddhist festivals and Kagyu and Nyingma prayer gatherings in Bodhgaya around December and January. April to June is very hot, and July to September brings monsoon rain.
Yes. Every tour is private. You can start in Varanasi or Gaya instead of Delhi, skip Nepal, add nights in Bodhgaya, or shorten the tour to the four main places in about 10 to 12 days.
Yes. The transport quote includes the private AC car, verified English-speaking driver, fuel, tolls, interstate taxes, parking, driver allowance and the vehicle permit for Nepal.
Bodhgaya, Varanasi, Lumbini, Kushinagar and Rajgir have good hotels, from simple to upscale. Sankisa, Sravasti and Vaishali have simpler hotels and monastery guesthouses. We can book hotels to your budget on request.
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