About Sarnath

Country: India | State: Uttar Pradesh

Ideal Trip Duration: 1-2 Days

Nearest City to Sarnath: Varanasi (10 Kms)

Best Time to Visit Sarnath: October to March

Peak Season: November to February

At a distance of 10 km from Varanasi, 135 km from Allahabad, 163 km from Aurangabad, 191 km from Gorakhpur, 233 km from Rewa, 244 km from Patna, 248 km from Gaya, 306 km from Lucknow, and 338 km from Kanpur, Sarnath is a revered Buddhist pilgrimage center located in the Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh. Situated at the confluence of Ganga and Varuna Rivers, it is one of the sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India and also one of the must include places in Varanasi Tour Packages.

Also known as Ishipatna, and Mrigadaya, Sarnath is one of the four most important Buddhist pilgrimage centers of India, the other three being Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, and Kushinagar. According to the legend, Lord Buddha after attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya came to Sarnath and delivered his first sermon to his five disciples. Deer Park is the place where Buddha came to give his first sermon. Sarnath is also the place where the original Sangha was formed and a new order of religious doctrine (Dhamma) was laid. Sarnath is also sacred to the Jains as it is the site of asceticism and death of Shreyamshanath, the 11th Tirthankara.

After Lord Buddha, Sarnath went through a series of historical upheavals, right from 3rd Century BC to approximately 10th to 12th Century BC. The great emperor Ashoka visited the holy land around 234 BC and constructed a stupa. During the Golden Age of Gupta King Chandragupta II (376-414 AD), Sarnath developed as a flourishing center of art and culture. This prosperity continued till 1017 AD when Mahmood Gajni began to plunder and destruction of all monuments in Sarnath. These monuments were extensively plundered for building materials and have been in ruins since then, until 1815, when Colonel Colin Mackenzie, the first Surveyor General of India, started the first systematic excavation of the site of Sarnath. He was followed by Alexander Cunningham, founder of the Archaeological Survey of India, while the last major excavation at Sarnath was conducted by Daya Ram Sahni in 1921-22.

A quiet and spiritual town, Sarnath is a city of historical marvel with numerous Buddhist stupas, museums, excavated ancient sites, and beautiful temples that prove to be a source of immense wonder and astonishment to tourists due to their mystical and serene setting. Being proximity to Varanasi, Sarnath is often flocked with devotees from the Hindu religion along with Buddhists, and Jains. Dhamek Stupa, the Chaukhandi Stupa, Ashoka Pillar, Mulagandha Kuti Vihar, Deer Park, Archaeological Museum, Tibetan Temple, Thai Monastery, Japanese Temple, and Chinese Temple are some of the prominent places to visit in Sarnath.

Being an important Buddhist pilgrimage spot, Sarnath celebrates Buddha Purnima with a lot of enthusiasm. It is the most important festival of the year at Sarnath that falls on the full moon day in the month of Baisakh and usually falls in April / May. Pilgrims gather at Sarnath from across the world. Another popular festival of Sarnath is the founding day of the Mulagandha Kuti Vihara which is celebrated on the first full moon of November.

About 25 km from Sarnath, Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi is the nearest airport that has well-connected flights from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Gaya. Sarnath has its own railway station but very few trains are running through. Varanasi Junction Railway Station is the nearest major railhead and is about 10 km from Sarnath. It is well connected by trains with Chhapra, Kanpur, Amritsar, Muzzafarpur, Jammu, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Indore, Tatanagar, Chandigarh, Guwahati, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Patna, Kochi, Jaisalmer, Mumbai, Bangalore, Dehradun, Haridwar, Pune, and Chennai. Varanasi is well connected with buses from Agra, Delhi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, and Lucknow. From Varanasi, one can reach Sarnath by bus or by hiring a taxi, or auto.

Since Sarnath is a small place, it does not have too many options to stay and eat, but some monasteries offer a free stay for monks. Varanasi is the right place to stay as it has many accommodation options right from budget to luxury and 5-star properties. One can visit Sarnath as a day trip from Varanasi while holidaying in Uttar Pradesh. There some eateries in Sarnath that offer north Indian food along with Chinese and Tibetan dishes.

The best time to visit Sarnath is from October to March when the weather is pleasant and suitable for sightseeing. One can also prefer to visit the place during monsoon as the rains bring down the scorching heat that making the climate pleasant and cold. Better to avoid visiting Sarnath during the summer months as the place experiences scorching heat and it becomes difficult for sightseeing. However, a lot of devotees visit Saranath during the festivals of Buddha Poornima (May) and Maha Shivaratri.

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Other Info
Internet Availability: Average
STD Code: 0542
Languages Spoken: Bhojpuri, Hindi, Bengali and English
Major Festivals: Buddha Purnima
Notes/Tips:
None

How to Reach Sarnath

By Air

Nearest Airport: Varanasi - Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (25 Kms)

By Train

Nearest Train Station: Sarnath Railway Station (0 Kms)
Varanasi Junction (10 Kms)

By Bus

Nearest Bus Station: Varanasi (11 Kms)

Top 10 Places to Visit in Sarnath

Heritage | Pilgrimage

#1 of 12 Places to Visit in Sarnath

At a distance of 2 km from Sarnath Railway Station, and 8 km from Varanasi Junction, Chaukhandi Stupa is an ancient monument located in the heart of Sarnath. It is one of the notable monuments of the Buddhist culture, and among the must include places in Sarnath Tour Packages.

Chaukhandi Stupa is the first monument to encounters as one enters Sarnath. This ancient Buddhist site has evolved from burial mounds and served as a shrine for a relic of Buddha. Originally, the Chaukhandi Stupa has been built as a terraced temple during the Gupta period between the 4th and 6th centuries to mark the site where Lord Buddha first met a group of five ascetics to whom he later went on to preach his first teachings. Later Govardhan, the son of a Raja Todar Mal, the governor under Emperor Akbar, modified the stupa to its present shape in the year 1588 CE to commemorate the visit of Emperor Humayun to Sarnath.

It is a lofty mound of brickwork whose square edifice is surrounded by an octagonal .....

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Heritage | Pilgrimage

#2 of 12 Places to Visit in Sarnath

At a distance of 1 km from Chaukandi Stupa, 1.5 km from Sarnath Railway Station, and 9 km from Varanasi Junction, Dhamek Stupa, also spelled Dhamekh and Dhamekha, is a massive stupa located at Sarnath in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Within the complex of Archaeological Remains of Sarnath, it is one of the popular Buddhist monuments in Sarnath and among the must-visit places as part of Varanasi Tour Packages.

Dhamek Stupa is one of the most important sights in Sarnath as it marks the exact spot where Lord Buddha preached the first sermon to His five disciples after attaining enlightenment in Bodh Gaya. In several of the ancient sources, the site of the first sermon is mentioned to have been at a ??Mriga-Dayaa-Vanam?? or a sanctuary for animals. After the parinirvana of Lord Buddha, his mortal remains were cremated and the ashes divided and buried under eight mounds with two further mounds encasing the urn and the embers. Little is known about these early stupas, particularly .....

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Museum

#3 of 12 Places to Visit in Sarnath

At a distance of 500 m from Dhamek Stupa, 1.5 km from Sarnath Railway Station, and 9 km from Varanasi Junction, Archaeological Museum is a museum located in Sarnath. Just beside the Archaeological Remains Complex, it is one of the popular museums in Varanasi, and among the top places to visit in Sarnath.

Popularly called as Sarnath Museum, the Archaeological Museum in Sarnath was established in the year 1910 CE by Sir John Marshall, the then Director-General of Archaeology in India. It was constructed just adjacent to the excavated site at Sarnath to keep the antiquities found from the site. The museum building was started in 1904 and was completed in 1910. It is the oldest site museum of the Archaeological Survey of India. As the findings are mostly from Buddhist monasteries or vihar, the plan of the building was designed by James Ransome on the pattern of a Sangharam or a vihar. The whole building is made of sandstone with a flat roof.

The museum contains five galleries .....

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Heritage

#4 of 12 Places to Visit in Sarnath

At a distance of 1.5 km from Sarnath Railway Station, and 9 km from Varanasi Junction, Archaeological Buddhist Remains or Monastery Ruins is an excavated site in Sarnath. Just Beside Archaeological Museum, it is one of the popular archaeological sites in India, and among the must-visit Sarnath Tourist Places.

The Archaeological Remains of Sarnath started attracting the scholars since the 19th Century. As a result excavation works of Sarnath started first of all by Sir Alexander Cunningham (1835-36), Major Kittoe (1851-52), Mr. C. Horne (1865), Mr. F.O. Oertal (1904-05), Sir Johan Marshal (1907), Mr. H. Hargreaves (1914-15), Mr. Daya Ram Shani (1927-32). Then after a gap of about 82 years once again excavation work is conducted by Sarnath Circle, Sarnath of Archaeological Survey of India.

The colossal ruins lie in the same compound as Dhamek Stupa. The excavation sites of Sarnath have impressive collections of monasteries, stupas, temples, inscriptions, sculptures, and other .....

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Pilgrimage

#5 of 12 Places to Visit in Sarnath

At a distance of 1 km from Dhamek Stupa, 1.5 km from Sarnath Railway Station, and 9 km from Varanasi Junction, Mulagandha Kuti Vihar is a modern Buddhist Monastery situated in Sarnath. It is one of the popular Buddhist temples in Sarnath and among the prominent places to visit in Sarnath.

Situated near the main chowk of Sarnath, the Mulagandha Kuti Vihar is basically a monastery and temple which was built in 1931 by Angarika Dharmapala, the founder of Mahabodhi society and is still maintained and run by the Mahabodhi Society. Brimming in history and soaked in spirituality, it was built to commemorate the original Mulagandha Kuti Vihar located in the Archaeological Remains of Sarnath.

The Buddhist temple in Sarnath stands out because of its unique architectural design that boasts some intricate designs and patterns that are altogether a delight for every art and history lover. There are spires on top of the huge building that make it seem like a church. The entrance foyer is .....

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Pilgrimage

#6 of 12 Places to Visit in Sarnath

At a distance of 1.5 km from Sarnath Railway Station, and 9 km from Varanasi Junction, Wat Thai Sarnath Temple is a Buddhist temple in Sarnath. Situated near Archaeological Museum, it is one of the popular Buddhist temples in Sarnath and among the prominent places to visit in Sarnath.

Popularly known as the Thai Temple, Wat Thai Sarnath Temple was built by Thai dignitaries in the year 1933. Adorned with manicured gardens, the Thai Temple is built in the Thai architectural style and is managed by Thai Buddhist Monks. Just before the entrance of the main temple, there are images of laughing Buddha along with an enactment of Lord Buddha delivering a sermon to his disciples. Another statue of Lord Buddha in Bhumisparsha mudra can be seen in the temple.

An important highlight of the Thai Temple in Sarnath is the 80-foot tall image of Buddha in a standing position. The construction of the statue is said to have taken more than a decade. There are running fountains with blooming lotus .....

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Pilgrimage

#7 of 12 Places to Visit in Sarnath

At a distance of 1 km from Sarnath Railway Station, and 9 km from Varanasi Junction, Tibetan Temple is a Buddhist monastery and temple located in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the popular Buddhist temples in Sarnath and among the prominent places to visit in Sarnath as part of the Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour in India.

Built-in 1955, Tibetan Temple is one of the highly revered places of pilgrimage in Sarnath. The Tibetan temple is presently under the administration of Lhadhan Chotrul Monlam Chenmo Trust. Built-in a traditional Tibetan architectural design, the temple includes some striking features. The entrance of the temple is guarded and beautifully adorned with intricate carvings of two lions. Inside the large open compound, one can see a light pink stupa built by the Tibetans to show their gratitude to the Indian Government for giving asylum to the fleeing Dalai Lama. It also denotes to pay tribute to all those who died in the freedom struggle of Tibet and those who continue .....

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Park

#8 of 12 Places to Visit in Sarnath

At a distance of 2 km from Sarnath Railway Station, and 8 km from Varanasi Junction, Deer Park, or Istipana is a spiritual place as well as a mini-zoo in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh. Situated just behind the Mulagandha Kiti Vihar, it is one of the prominent tourist places to visit in Sarnath.

Sarnath is home to some of the most extensive ruins amongst sacred Buddhist sites. Several stupas excavated ruins of age-old monasteries, temples, museums, gardens and various other interesting sites form prominent tourist attractions in Sarnath. The Deer Park or Isipatana is the most important among them as this is the exact site where Lord Buddha preached his first sermon to his five disciples, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna.

In ancient times, Sarnath was referred to as 'Mrigadava' meaning 'deer park' and 'Ishipatna' indicating the place where holy men fell to earth. As the story goes, Buddha as an enlightened being took the form of .....

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Pilgrimage

#9 of 12 Places to Visit in Sarnath

At a distance of 500 m from Sarnath Railway Station, and 9 km from Varanasi Junction, the Japanese Temple is a Buddhist temple situated in Baraipur locality of Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh. Next to Vishwa Shanti Stupa, it is one of the popular Buddhist temples in Sarnath and among the prominent places to visit in Sarnath.

Japenese Temple is a uniquely built Buddhist pilgrimage site in Sarnath and is managed by the Dharmachakra Indo-Japan Buddhist Cultural Society. The original name of the Japanese temple is Nichigai Suzan Horinji Temple but it is commonly referred to as 'Japanese Temple' by local guides and tourists. The architecture of the temple is in a typical Japanese style which includes a double-storey pagoda. The pleasing architecture of the temple is reminiscent of the world-renowned Japanese temples in Kyoto, Japan. Just before the entrance of the main shrine, there is a statue of Lord Buddha beneath a tree on the right side. Whereas, on the left side, there is a pillar with Japanese .....

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Pilgrimage

#10 of 12 Places to Visit in Sarnath

At a distance of 500 m from Sarnath Railway Station, and 9 km from Varanasi Junction, the Chinese Temple is a Buddhist temple situated in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh. Next to Mulagandha Kuti Vihar, it is one of the popular Buddhist temples in Sarnath and among the prominent Sarnath tourist places.

The Chinese Buddhist Temple in Sarnath was established in 1939 by the abbot of Beijing, Tao-Kai, and the president of the Eastern Asian Buddhist association, Fa-Yuan-Tsu. The gate and compound wall were erected in 1952. The building is in a bright shade of red and yellow and has beautiful Chinese designs. Inside the Chinese Temple, one can see various statues of different sizes and the Chinese lanterns hanging on the walls.

There is a huge map of the route taken by the Chinese scholar Hiuen-Tsang in the 7th Century AD in the time of the great king Harshavardhana. An important feature of the Chinese Temple is the representation of the life of Buddha through photos and write-ups in Hindi, .....

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