Bodh Gaya Tours & Experiences

Things to do in Bodh Gaya

Chant and meditate at the Mahabodhi

The temple committee opens the Mahabodhi daily from 5 am to 9 pm. Half an hour of sutta chanting and meditation starts at 5.30 am; in the evening, the Mahayana chant begins at 6 and the Pali chant at 6.30. Our 3 Days Bodhgaya Rajgir and Nalanda Tour Package brings you here on its first afternoon.

Walk the paths and light a lamp

Walk the paths that ring the temple and its Lotus Pond on two or three levels; our Bodh Gaya travel guide explains the seven sacred spots inside the complex. On the south side, the committee's lamp house has seven glass rooms for oil lamps and a brass pot for incense, to keep smoke off the temple and the tree.

The kheer offering and Sujata Garh

At 10 am the temple offers kheer, rice cooked with milk and sugar, the dish Sujata is said to have given the Buddha. Then cross the Niranjana to Bakraur, 2 km away, where an ASI-protected stupa, Sujata Garh, marks the spot of her gift.

Monasteries and the Great Buddha

Thai, Japanese, Bhutanese, Tibetan, Chinese and Burmese temples stand around the Mahabodhi; murals of the Buddha's life fill the Thai one. Close by is the 80-foot Great Buddha, which the 14th Dalai Lama consecrated in 1989.

Choosing between our tours and experiences

Our three-day tour package starts with a pickup in Gaya or Patna and uses one private car and driver to the end, adding a local guide at the principal sites and a night each in Bodh Gaya and Rajgir. It suits anyone who wants the temple and Bihar's other Buddhist sites in one short trip. Single-activity experiences are listed separately. See Bodh Gaya tour packages and Bihar's tours and experiences.

When to go for these

• Bihar Tourism's season for Bodh Gaya is September to April.
• January dawns are cold: about 9°C in Gaya by IMD's averages, rising to about 23°C by day.
• In April and May, afternoon averages reach 39°C and then 40°C, so keep to the early and evening sessions.
• Buddha Purnima, the Vaisakha full moon in May, brings a procession from the Great Buddha to the Bodhi Tree; winter, the season of Monlam prayers, draws the most monks.

Planning tips

• Phones, tablets, laptops and large bags go to the temple committee's deposit counter, shoes to its shoe house at the main entrance.
• The committee has run a camera ticket counter, but Bihar Tourism lists cameras as prohibited: ask at the gate.
• Dress modestly and keep silent inside the complex.