Bodhgaya is one of the four major pilgrimage sites of Buddhists located in the Bihar state of India. Other sites are Kushinagar, Lumbini and Sarnath. The place holds religious importance for being the place where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment in Mahabodhi complex, under a banyan tree which later became famous as Bodhi Tree. It is revered by Hindu and Buddhists alike who flock in masses every year to worship Buddha and see the sacred spots in the city. The main draw of the city is Mahabodhi temple which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Buddha was born as Sakya Prince, Siddhartha of Kapilavastu which is now in Nepal. During 6th century BC, he renounced his family at the age of 29 in search of the supreme truth. After traveling to different places for years, he finally attained enlightenment in Uruvela (now Bodhgaya). It was under a Banyan tree that he achieved enlightened knowledge after years of meditation and austerity. Bihar has played a major role in the birth and evolution of the Buddhist religion.
Mahabodhi Temple – historically called Bodhimanda Vihara in Pali, this temple is the main highlight of Bodhgaya. One of the earliest Buddhist shrines used to be a large monastic settlement. In order to mark the spot where Buddha attained enlightenment, Mauryan King Ashoka built a small shrine inside this temple. The sacred Bodhi tree is also present here. The place is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Animesh Lochan Chaitya – meaning 'open eyes', is another significant place linked with the divine spiritual journey of Lord Buddha. Legend says that in the second week after achieving enlightenment, Buddha spent seven days at this place continuously looking at the Bodhi tree without his blinking eyes.
Chankramana – referring to 'Jewel Path', is a raised path where Buddha meditated while ambling in the third-week post-enlightenment. It is believed that lotus grew wherever Buddha placed his feet.
Ratnagarh – is the place where Buddha spent one week. And meanwhile, five vibrant colors miraculously emitted from his body.
Buddhist temples and Monasteries of several counties – People of Bhutan, China, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet and Vietnam have built beautiful temples and monasteries around Mahabodhi temple. These boast noteworthy things to see like the 200-year old statue of Buddha in Chinese temple, alluring pagoda shape of Japan's Nippon temple and an enormous bronze statue of Buddha in Thai temple.
MarcoFrance1965
UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE !
I just came back from a 12 days Rajasthan tour. It was just myself and my 14 year olde daughter. I found Caper surfing the web and had non suggestion from friends and had never read comments or reviews about it. Totally "blind-choice". I was very lucky. The organization was really excellent. The agent that followed us, Mr. Praveen Juyal did a great job. I decided our itinerary and he punctually gave me suggestions on the best management of my choices. The hotel choice was fine and confirmed expectations. We had tour guides in every site seeing location and they were all extremely professional, very punctual and really kind and polite.
But I must say that what made the trip even better was our driver; Mr. Deshraj.
One of those persons that you really wish you could meet once in your life. Not only an excellent driver but always helpful, respectful and friendly. He explained us many things about Indian life along the journey and sometimes stopped for short breaks in beautiful places on the road that were not even mentioned in the guide books. My only regret is that at the end of the trip I didn't have much money left and I left a tip probably not adeguate for the kind of service but I will definitely send him try to sort this maybe in a next trip. Thank you very much Caper and Deshraj.
Dreamer802943
A Memorable Trip
We recently concluded a 12 day driving tour of New Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan with Caper Travel. It was most enjoyable !! The logistics arrangements were excellent - from tour planning , hotel selection , vehicle condition to driver. Mr Alok handled the planning, and Mr Vikram was our Tempo driver throughout the journey. Mr Vikram was very helpful , accommodating and patient throughout the tour, despite long hours of driving on the roads ( not to mention India traffic}. We would not hesitate to recommend Caper to our fellow travellers who are thinking of visiting India. Thank You Caper !
goochie33, London, United Kingdom
Golden triangle goa and mumbia
Just come back from an amazing 2 week trip to India. First we done the golden triangle which we chose to do the train trip from Delhi to Agra a must you have to do if not just for the experience. All the cities were wonderful but be prepared to see lots of temple one seems to run into another but wow the taj was my highlight along with the Hindu temple in Delhi. The driving the cows the dogs are everywhere are all an experience. Goa was beautiful we stayed at the taj exotica. In mumbia we done a city tour and ended our trip in the taj for afternoon tea another must. It is a exhilarating trip but one I will never forget. From booking with Manika to all the drivers and guides they were always there to meet us from the airport and hotels on time. They really looked after us thank you all.
Aileen M
Wonderful trip
We have just returned from our first trip to India and we must say it was absolutely fascinating. The itinerary was first class and covered everything we could have wished for. On arrival we were met by a very nice rep and driver who took us to our hotel and sorted out the necessary paperwork with us. We had our driver Vishan for our time in the north and he was terrific, kept the vehicle spotless and kept us supplied with water. We then flew to the south of India and met up with our driver Suhdeer who again was very nice and very informative about things as we drove along. The guides we had on all our trips were excellent and again very informative.
The only down side to it all was that in our package we paid for the drivers accommodation, food and allowance only to find out that the drivers don’t receive this money and if they want accommodation they have to pay for it themselves. We ended up paying one of our drivers an amount for the nights that we had him for him to get somewhere to sleep and food as we were concerned that if he slept in his car he wouldn’t be rested enough to take on the next day driving for 4-5 hours.
All in all Caper Travel are excellent in their planning and can’t fault them for that.
Urquiola, New York City, New York
Caper travel
Recently traveled to India on a private guided tour with Caper Travel. Ms. Mumtaz Khan worked with me on arranging my itinerary.
She was always available to answer all my concerns immediately. On my arrival in Delhi I was welcome with warm smile at the airport by a young gentleman name Kapol Joshi . My experience with the company was amazing and I would highly recommend to anyone traveling to India.
I would also like to mention the personal attention I received at Amritsar by Aman Shara and his lovely wife who welcomed me and my son to their home
and soon to open their beautiful hotel.
Any Query? Please write us at info@india-travel-packages.in
