Nalanda

Nalanda operated from around the fifth century to the twelfth as a monastic university drawing students from China, Korea, Tibet, Central Asia and Southeast Asia, teaching Buddhist philosophy alongside logic, grammar, medicine and astronomy; the Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yijing studied here and left detailed accounts. Estimates of its population run to thousands of monks and hundreds of teachers. It was destroyed around 1200 and its library, by the traditional account, burned for months. The excavated site shows brick monasteries in rows with cells around courtyards, temples, stairways and a large stupa, and it was inscribed by UNESCO in 2016.

Highlights

• The monastery rows - brick viharas with cells around open courtyards.
• The great stupa - the stepped Sariputta stupa at the site's centre.
• The excavated lanes - streets between the monastic and temple blocks.
• The site museum - sculpture, seals and objects recovered here.

When to go

October to March; Bihar summers are severe and the site is open brick with no shade. Mornings are best. The museum closes on Fridays.

What to expect

The remains are foundations and low walls; the scale needs imagination. There is no shade at all. Guides at the gate vary widely in accuracy. Facilities are limited.

Nearby

Rajgir lies south; Bodh Gaya is southwest.