Bihar is located in the eastern part of India. It lies midway between West Bengal in the East and Uttar Pradesh in the West. It is bounded by Jharkhand to the south and Nepal to the North. It is 12th largest state in terms of geographical size and 3rd largest in terms of population. Its 85% population lives in rural areas and rest in the urban areas. Almost 58% population of Bihar is below the age of 25 which is the highest proportion of India. Bihar is divided into 38 districts with Patna is the capital. Total population of Bihar is about 8,28,78,796 with the population density of about 880 per Sq. Km. Bihar is the land of monasteries, temples , shrines and Gurudwaras. Hindi is the most common spoken language of the region while the majority of people speak one of the Bihari languages like Angika, Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Maithili, and Bajjika. Majority of the people belong to Hindu religion so the traditional Hindu festivals like Holi, Diwali, Saraswati Puja, Chhath Puja, Durga Puja are celebrated with great joy and devotion. Bihar has a vast stretch of fertile plains which are drained by Ganga and tributaries of Gandak and Koshi Rivers. Bihar is also known for its art and crafts. Its Madhubani paintings, Appliqué work, bamboo products are very famous. Harihar Kshetra and Sharwani fairs of Bihar are the biggest cattle fair in Asia.
Sightseeing of Bihar:
Bihar finds mention in the Vedas, Puranas, Epics etc and was the main scene of activities of the Buddha and the 24 Jain Tirthankaras. It has some very important places of religious importance that are worth visiting during a trip to Bihar. Some of the must visited places of Bihar are:
Nalanda
Rajgir
BodhGaya
Patna Sahib
Vaishali
Treasures of Bihar:
The Patna-Gaya highway that joins Patna to the beautiful city of Gaya is a major tourist attraction. World famous Budha Stupas, Mahabodhi Temple, Falgu River, Bodh Gaya are the treasures of Bihar.
How to Reach Bihar
By Air: Bihar has two major Airports at Patna that are very well connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Kolkata and Katmandu. Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Sahara Airways have direct flights from Metros to reach Patna.
By Rail: Bihar has a well developed network of rails that connects it to the major parts of other cities of India. Major cities like Patna, Muzaffarpur and Gaya are very well connected to the major cities of India by regular trains.
By Road: Bihar has a good network of roads connecting all major parts of the state with Patna. National Highways like 2, 31, 28, 23, 30 and 33 connect the state to all the major places of India.
Best time to visit Bihar: The best time to visit Bihar is from October to March when the temperature is moderate for moving around.
Tourist Attractions in Bihar
Bihar the land of monasteries, temples and shrines. It is also known as the land of Nirvana where one can find the religious place for everyone. It is the holiest site for both Buddhist and Jains. The tenth guru Guru Gobind singh was born in Patna the capital city of Bihar. The state is mainly visited by religious devotees. Bihar has its historical importance as well. It was a mute witness of rise and fall of some of the important dynasties like Guptas, Palas and Mauryas. The world’s earliest university Nalanda also flourished here. The ruins of ancient capitals, learning centers and religious sites dotted the map of Bihar and make it one of the major tourist attractions of India. Some of the important tourist spots in Bihar are Patna, Vaishali, Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Pawapuri, Rajgir, Deogarh (Baidyanath Dham), Kushinagar etc.
Patna: Patna the capital city of Bihar is located on the banks of river Ganga. Patna is a well known pilgrimage for Sikh as their tenth guru Guru Gobind Singh was born here. Some other important tourist destinations of Patna also include Excavations, Qila House, Khuda Baksh Oriental Library, Har Mandir, Golghar, Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Patna House and Padri-Ki-Haveli.
Bodh Gaya: This destination is associated with the life of Gautam Buddha. This small town came into prominence in 6th century with Buddha’s enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya. The great Mauryan king Ashoka built a small shrine where Buddha got enlightenment. Subsequent rulers left their mark on the shrine and it finally took the shape of famous Mahabodhi Temple. It is one of the revered pilgrimages for Buddhists.
Vaishali: Vaishali is the birthplace of Lord Mahavira the founder of Jainism . It is also the place where Lord Buddha had preached His last sermons. Vaishali has religious significance for the devotees of both Jain and Buddhist religion and is one of the major tourist attractions on a trip to Bihar.
Nalanda: The biggest tourist attraction in Nalanda is excavated remains of ancient Nalanda University Archaeological complex. Spreading across 14 hectares it has elaboratory planned monasteries on the East and Chaityas( temples) on the East. A broken statue of Buddha is housed in the chapel. The Nalanda Archaeological Museum though small in size housed an impressive collection of statues belongs to both Hindu and Buddhist religion.
Rajgir: Rajgir mans the “House of King “ was the ancient capital city of Magadha Kings. It has its religious importance as well. It is here Lord Buddha spent 12 years and the first council after Buddha was hosted here at “Saptaparni Caves”. Some other famous tourist sites that are major crowd pullers are Pippala Cave, Hot springs, Venuvana , Vulture’s Peak or Griddhakuta and Jain Temples.