Are you looking for a tranquil pilgrimage tour package in Nepal? Do you wish to go on a 13 days Footsteps of the Buddha Tour?
Footsteps of the Buddha tour takes you on an expedition where you retrace Gautam Buddha’s footsteps throughout his time. Every other place that holds a significance in this tour marks an unforgettable spot related to Buddha’s birth, death, enlightenment and first sermon. The religious significance and the archeological importance of various places enhances the prominence of this tour.
The 13 days long footsteps of the Buddha tour helps you know more about Buddha and his life the he dedicated for attaining the way to nirvana. During the journey you will get to explore few of the UNESCO World heritage sites that mostly are sacred Buddhist Pilgrimage. Also, visiting the monasteries, stupas, museums and temples you can broaden your knowledge about Lord Buddha and Buddhism.
If the ‘13 Day Footsteps of the Buddha Tour’ itinerary is not suitable for you, then you can check out our other religious and spiritual tour packages such as Buddhist Cultural Tour-8 Days or introduction to Sherpa Culture-14 Days.
The 13 days of the pilgrimage footsteps of Buddha tour begins with a sightseeing tour in Kathmandu before living the valley to explore the places with Buddha’s footsteps. You will first start from Lumbini where Gautam Buddha was born and procced further to places where he attained enlightenment, sermonized his knowledge and where he took his last breathe. The tour will begin from Nepal but concludes in Delhi, the capital city of India.
Our representative will be at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu to pick you up upon your arrival in Kathmandu. You will then be transferred to your hotel where you can freshen up and relax. Later that day, a group discussion will be held and you will begin your trip preparation. You will spend the 1st night of your 13 days footstep of the Buddha tour in Kathmandu.
The second day of the 13 days footsteps of the Buddha tour is scheduled for you to visit some of the notable places around the valley along with a tour to 4 of the UNESCO world heritage sites. You will first be visiting Kathmandu durbar square that comprises of the palaces where the Medieval Kings of the Kathmandu Kingdom once lived.
The next destination will be Pashupatinath Temple, where the phallic symbol of Lord Shiva is worshiped by the Hindu pilgrims. The funeral site also called the Aryaghat alongside the Banks of Bagmati river at Pashupati is where most of the Hindus’ funeral take place.
Next in the list is, one among the largest stupas in the world, Boudhanath. The stupa is a famous tourist destination with over 50 Tibetan Gompas/ monasteries and not to mention it is one of the sacred Buddhist Pilgrimage. The 2nd day’s tour of the 13days footsteps of the Buddha tour will then end at Swayambhunath Temple. It also is a Buddhist pilgrimage and is known as ‘Monkey temple’ amidst the foreigners because of the dominance of monkey in this region.
Your 3rd of the 13 days footsteps of the Buddha tour begins early as you need to drive all the way to Lumbini. You will have to travel to south-west from Kathmandu covering around 205 kilometers. The drive will be around 8 to 10 hours long and as you enter the Terai region leaving the valley, a sudden change in the temperature can be felt. Except during the winter Lumbini will be hot as well as humid.
Lumbini is a place where Siddhartha Gautam, one of the greatest and idolized man in the history, was born. If you are lucky enough to escape traffics and reach Lumbini by evening, you can visit the local markets and get to know about the local lifestyle of the inhabitants. You will stay overnight at Lumbini.
Day 4 of the 13 days footsteps of the Buddha religious tour is scheduled for sightseeing in Kapilvastu and Lumbini region. Listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, the sacred site of Lumbini carries prodigious religious and archeological importance. The place comprises of a holy Bodhi Tree, the Ashok Pillar (Nepal’s oldest inscription which marks the spot of Buddha’s birth), ruins of atavistic monasteries and Maya Devi Temple.
Maya Devi temple gained the religious significance as it is believed to mark the spot where Gautam Buddha was given birth by his mother, Queen Maya Devi. It is about every day that the pilgrims from around the world comes here to meditate and perform chanting. The additional things to explore in Lumbini will be the monuments, peace pagoda and Museum.
Once you are done with exploring Lumbini, you will then drive to Tilaurakot, situated 29 kilometers west of Lumnini. Tilaurakot is Kapilvastu’s historical site, where Gautam Buddha is said to have spent the initial 29 years of his life. The site is located in a tranquil meadow on Banganga river’s bank. There is also a small museum at Tilaurakot that has few artefacts retrieved from the site in display. Exploring the museum will be the last thing that you will do on the 4th day of 13 days religious tour to footsteps of Buddha. After that you will head back to Lumbini for the overnight stay.
On the 5th day of the 13 days footsteps of the Buddha tour, you will be driving towards Kushinagar via Sunauli, a border between India and Nepal. After covering around 165 kilometers and 4 hours’ long drive you will finally reach Kushinagar. It is considered as amidst the 4 prime pilgrimage site that marks Lord Buddha’s life as he took his last breathe at Kushinagar.
The place consists of several stupas and peaceful modern temples including 3 other historical sites namely Mathakuar Temple, Mahaparinirvana Temple and Ramabhar Stupa. The 15 meters high Ramabhar stupa, which now is half-ruined, is where people believe that Buddha’s body was cremated. Mahaparinirvana on the other hand holds significance for the fact that Buddha reclined unearthed there in 1876.
Mathakuar Temple also attracts many pilgrims as the place is said to mark the place where Buddha made his last oration. Other than the 3 historical sites, Tibetan Temple, Japan-
Sri Lanka Buddhist Meditation Centre and Buddhist museum are other significant places that you can explore on the 5th day of your 13 days footsteps of Buddha tour. You will be spending your night at Kushinagar.
Note: Sine you require crossing the border you will have to bring along 2 recent passport sized photos and USD for acquiring he visa at the immigration post. The Sunauli border remains open 24 hours but closes after 10pm for the vehicles.
The 6th day of the 13 days footsteps of the Buddha tour is entirely dedicated to traveling to Patna. But, since neither direct flights nor trains are available between Kushinagar and Patna, you will have to take a taxi to Deoria first and then travel to Sonepur via Vaishali Express Train. You will be travelling in either two tier or three tier AC class where the padded benches with appropriate bedding facilities, and air condition facility will be provided. Upon arriving at Sonepur, you will once again have to take a taxi to reach Patna.
Today, you will begin you day early in the morning travelling to Bodhgaya. It takes about 2 hours from Patna to reach Bodhgaya. The route that you follow gives away the true and authentic impression of countryside in India. Once you reach to your desired destination, you will check into the hotel, where you can rest. Later in the evening, you can take a stroll past the streets and observe the local shops around Bodhgaya. You will spend the 7th night of your 13 days religious footsteps of the Buddha tour in Bodhgaya.
This day is scheduled for sightseeing in Bodhgaya, the paragon of Buddhist Pilgrimage. Bodhgaya is the place where people believe Prince Siddhartha Gautam acquired enlightenment meditating under a Bodhi tree and eventually became Buddha. The exact spot where Buddha attained enlightenment is now marked by the Mahabodhi temple included in the World Heritage Site.
Another attraction of Bodhgaya is Lord Buddha’s 80 foot tall statue. This place also has an Archaeological Museum that displays riveting assemblage of ancient Buddha’s statue, scriptures and relics. Exploring the peaceful and serene monasteries and temples, you will wrap up your 8th day of the 13 days footsteps of the Buddha tour. Overnight arrangement will be made in Bodhgaya.
The 9th day of the 13 days footsteps of Buddha tour will take you to Nalanda which is in about two hours’ drive from Bodhgaya. Nalanda is famous for the important Buddhist Center where you can learn more about the ancient extensive ruins. The Buddhist university of Nalanda, also considered as Asia’s prestigious Centre for learning in the past, still continues to attract people from around the globe. Back in time during the period of 685 to 762 AD, when Xuan Zang, a Chinese scholar visited the University; ten thousand monks and students used to live here.
The red-brick ruins comprises of 4 main temples and 9 monasteries. Out of all the temples and monasteries Great Stupa is the most impressive one with terraces, monks’ cell, steps and intact votive stupas. There is also an archeological museum that preserves the bronzes unearthed from Rajgir and Nalanda, sculptures, and Nalanda university seal. Two kilometers further from Nalanda is a Memorial Hall named after Xuan Zang; built by Chinese in honor of his teaching service at Nalanda. After exploring the area completely, you will return back to Bodhgaya for the overnight stay.
After an early morning breakfast, you will begin the 10th day of 13 days religious tour to footsteps of Buddha by taking a taxi drive to Varanasi. The drive will take about 5 hours to complete covering 255 kilometers approximately. You will drive along the modern highway for most of your journey.
Once you are at your desired location, you will check in the designated hotel and can rest for the day. Later in the evening, if you feel like exploring the city of Varanasi, which has preserved the traditions and rituals of Hindu philosophy and remained as Hindu renaissance symbol. You will spend your night at Varanasi.
On the 11th day of the 13 days footstep of the Buddha religious tour you will drive to Sarnath situated around 10 km away from Varanasi. Sarnath is a place where Buddha first came to sermonize his learning of the way to nirvana after he attained enlightenment. Situated in a tranquil park of monastery ruins is the Dhamekh stupa; marking the spot where Gautam Buddha first sermonized.
The place further consist of ruined Chaukhandi stupa which marks the spot where Buddha is believed to have first met his disciples. Mulgandha Kuti Bihar is the place where you can listen to Buddha’s first sermon being chanted daily. Other than that, archeological museum and deer park are some of the other highlights of visiting Sarnath. You will have to drive back to Varanasi for the overnight stay.
On this day, your 13 days pilgrimage tour to footsteps of Buddha comes close to an end as you will fly to Delhi. Our trip leader will drop you at the Varanasi airport and on the other end at Delhi airport our representative will be there to pick you up and transfer you to your hotel. Upon arrival at the hotel, you can relax for a bit and then take a short tour of the nearby popular places in the capital city of India and do some souvenir shopping. You will spend the last night of the tour at Delhi.
Your expedition concludes today as you will be returning back. Our representative will drop you off at the airport 3 hours prior your flight and bid you farewell.
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