Dharma RoadsA field guide for pilgrims and curious travellers
Buddhist pilgrimage sites of the world
41 sacred Buddhist sites: where they are, when to go, how to get there, visas and costs.
Bangladesh (8)
Paharpur, Naogaon · BangladeshSomapura MahaviharaThe largest Buddhist monastery south of the Himalayas, built by the Pala king Dharmapala in the 8th century, w…
Cumilla · BangladeshShalban Vihara, MainamatiRuins of a 7th–8th century monastery on the Lalmai hills, with a site museum of bronze Buddhas and terracotta …
Cox's Bazar · BangladeshRamu Buddhist TemplesCenturies-old Barua and Rakhine viharas, including a 100-foot reclining Buddha, rebuilt after the 2012 attacks…
Bandarban · BangladeshBuddha Dhatu JadiThe hilltop Golden Temple, built in Myanmar style, holding relics of the Buddha above the Chittagong Hill Trac…Mahasthangarh
Bogura · BangladeshMahasthangarhThe ruins of Pundranagara, one of the oldest cities in Bengal, with Buddhist and Hindu remains from the 3rd ce…Bhasu Vihara
near Mahasthangarh, Bogura · BangladeshBhasu ViharaRemains of two monasteries and a temple, often identified with the Po-shi-po monastery described by the Chines…Jagaddala Mahavihara
Dhamoirhat, Naogaon · BangladeshJagaddala MahaviharaA late Pala-era monastic university founded around 1100 CE under King Ramapala, known as a centre of Vajrayana…Sitakot Vihara
Nawabganj, Dinajpur · BangladeshSitakot ViharaA square brick monastery from around the 5th–6th century, with 41 monks' cells around a central courtyard.…South Asia (11)
Bodh Gaya · IndiaMahabodhi TempleWhere Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. The holiest site in Buddhism.…
near Varanasi · IndiaSarnathThe Deer Park where the Buddha gave his first sermon. Dhamek Stupa marks the spot.…
Uttar Pradesh · IndiaKushinagarWhere the Buddha passed into parinirvana. A 6 m reclining Buddha lies in the Mahaparinirvana Temple.…
Bihar · IndiaNalanda and RajgirRuins of the great monastic university, and Vulture Peak, where the Buddha taught the Heart and Lotus sutras.…
Rupandehi · NepalLumbiniBirthplace of the Buddha. The Maya Devi Temple and Ashoka's pillar of 249 BCE stand in the sacred garden.…
Sanchi · IndiaGreat StupaIndia's oldest stone stupa, begun by Emperor Ashoka, with gateways carved with Jataka tales.…
Maharashtra · IndiaAjanta and Ellora CavesRock-cut monasteries with murals painted up to 2,000 years ago.…
North Central Province · Sri LankaAnuradhapuraAncient capital and home of the Sri Maha Bodhi, grown from a cutting of the original Bodhi tree in 288 BCE.…
Kandy · Sri LankaTemple of the ToothSri Dalada Maligawa houses a tooth relic of the Buddha, the island's most revered object.…
Central Province · Sri LankaDambulla Cave TempleFive caves with more than 150 Buddha images under painted rock ceilings.…
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa · PakistanTakht-i-BahiA hilltop Gandharan monastery from the 1st century CE, where Buddhist art first took Greek form.…Himalaya (5)
Kathmandu · NepalBoudhanath and SwayambhuTwo great stupas at the centre of Newar and Tibetan Buddhism, ringed by monasteries and butter-lamp shrines.…
Ladakh · IndiaHemis and ThikseyHigh-desert gompas stacked on ridges above the Indus valley at 3,500 m.…
Arunachal Pradesh · IndiaTawang MonasteryIndia's largest monastery, founded in 1681 at 3,000 m near the Bhutan border.…
Paro · BhutanParo TaktsangTiger's Nest monastery, fixed to a cliff 900 m above the Paro valley where Guru Rinpoche meditated.…
Lhasa, Tibet · ChinaPotala Palace and JokhangThe former seat of the Dalai Lamas, and Tibet's holiest temple at the end of the Barkhor pilgrim circuit.…Southeast Asia (8)
Yangon · MyanmarShwedagon PagodaA gilded 99 m stupa believed to hold relics of four Buddhas.…
Mandalay Region · MyanmarBaganMore than 2,000 temples and stupas scattered over a plain beside the Irrawaddy.…
Bangkok · ThailandWat Pho and Wat Phra KaewThe Emerald Buddha in the Grand Palace, and a 46 m reclining Buddha covered in gold leaf.…
Central Thailand · ThailandAyutthayaRuined Siamese capital, home of the Buddha head wrapped in tree roots at Wat Mahathat.…
Chiang Mai · ThailandWat Phra That Doi SuthepHilltop temple reached by a 306-step staircase lined with naga serpents.…
Siem Reap · CambodiaAngkorThe Khmer temple city: the smiling faces of the Bayon, and Angkor Wat, a Hindu shrine that became Buddhist.…
Northern Laos · LaosLuang PrabangGilded wats on the Mekong, and the dawn tak bat, when hundreds of monks collect alms.…
Central Java · IndonesiaBorobudurThe largest Buddhist monument in the world: nine terraces, 504 Buddha statues and 2,672 relief panels.…East Asia (6)
Dunhuang, Gansu · ChinaMogao Caves492 Silk Road cave shrines with murals spanning a thousand years.…
Sichuan · ChinaLeshan Giant BuddhaA 71 m Maitreya Buddha carved into a river cliff in the 8th century.…
Gyeongju · South KoreaBulguksa and SeokguramA Silla-era temple and a granite grotto Buddha facing the East Sea.…
Nara · JapanTodai-jiA 15 m bronze Buddha inside one of the largest wooden buildings in the world.…
Wakayama · JapanKoyasanA mountain monastery town founded by Kukai in 816, with about 50 temples that take guests.…
Kharkhorin · MongoliaErdene Zuu MonasteryMongolia's oldest surviving monastery, enclosed by a wall of 108 stupas.…Beyond Asia (3)
Dordogne · FrancePlum VillageThe mindfulness practice centre founded by Thich Nhat Hanh, open for retreats.…
Dumfriesshire · United KingdomKagyu Samye LingThe first Tibetan Buddhist centre in the West, founded in 1967.…
Los Angeles · United StatesHsi Lai TempleOne of the largest Buddhist temples in the Western Hemisphere, from the Fo Guang Shan order.…