Buddhist pilgrimage sites

Sites associated with Buddha's life

Four main pilgrimage sites listed by Buddha himself

Gautama Buddha himself had identified the following four sites most worthy of pilgrimage for his followers, observing that these would produce a feeling of spiritual urgency:

• Bodh Gaya: (in the current Mahabodhi Temple, Bihar, India), is the most important religious site and place of pilgrimage for buddhists around the world, the Mahabodhi Temple houses what is believed to be a direct descendant of the Bodhi Tree where Prince Siddhārtha attained enlightenment (Nibbana) and became known as Gautama Buddha.
• Lumbini: birthplace of The Buddha as Prince Siddhartha Gautam (in Taulihawa, Lumbini, Nepal) is an important religious site and place of pilgrimages for Buddhism. It is also approved by UNESCO for World Heritage sites as a holy place for Buddhism and world religions.
• Sarnath: (formally Isipathana, Uttar Pradesh, India) where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), and He taught about the Middle Way, the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.
• Kuśinagara: (now Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India) where Gautama Buddha died and attained Parinirvana.

The Eight Great Places of pilgrimage

In addition the four sites mentioned earlier (Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar), the Buddhist texts later written by Buddha's followers also mention four more sacred sites where a certain miraculous event is reported to have occurred, thus completing the list of "Attha-mahathanani" (Pali for "The Eight Great Places") in India:

• Rajgir: Place of the subduing of Nalagiri, the angry elephant, through friendliness. Rajgir was another major city of ancient India, with Nalanda nearby (14 km), a major center of Mahayana Buddhist learning.
• Vaishali: Place of receiving an offering of honey from a monkey. Vaishali was the capital of the Vajjian Republic of ancient India.
• Sravasti: Place of the Twin Miracle, showing his supernatural abilities in performance of miracles. Sravasti is also the place where Buddha spent the largest amount of time, being a major city in ancient India.
• Sankassa: Place of the descending to earth from Tavatimsa heaven (after a stay of 3 months teaching his mother the Abhidhamma).

Other sites related to Buddha's travels

Some other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal connected to the life of Gautama Buddha are mostly located in the Gangetic plain.

Alphabetically by states

• Andhra Pradesh: Amaravati, Nagarjuna Konda
• Bihar: Gaya, Kesariya, Nalanda, Vaishali, Pataliputta, Vikramshila
• Haryana (in the order of travel by Buddha): Kamashpura Aastha Pugdal Pagoda (Kumashpur, place where Buddha delivered the Mahasatipatthana sutta),. Kurukshetra Stupa, Topra, Srughna (Sugh Stupa) and Chaneti Stupa were all visited by the Buddha where he gave discourse after visiting Mathura he travelled along Grand Trunk Road in Haryana (also see Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Haryana).
• Madhya Pradesh: Sanchi
• Uttar Pradesh: Devadaha, Kosambi, Mathura, Pāvā (Fazilnagar, Varanasi

Chronologically by routes

In the order of places traveled by Buddha. Please help expand this incomplete list.

• Uttar Pradesh-Haryana travel route of Buddha
  • From Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Buddha travelled along Grand Trunk Road in Haryana (also see Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Haryana).
  • Kamashpura Aastha Pugdal Pagoda (Kumashpur) in Sonipat city, the place where Buddha delivered the Mahasatipatthana sutta),.
  • Kurukshetra Stupa on the banks of sacred Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra city
  • Topra between Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar, now has a large open air museum park housing several replica of Ashoka's edicts including largest Ashoka Chakra in the world
  • Srughna, now known as the Sugh Ancient Mound, on outskirts of Yamunanagar city
  • Chaneti Stupa, on outskirts of Yamunanagar city