Nalanda railway station [Station Code - NLD] serves the small town of Nalanda, a world famous place known for the site of an Ancient Mahavihara, which was one of the earliest and greatest universities in the history. Nalanda is located 11 km away ( by rail) from Rajgir, a major Tourist destination and 12 km away (by rail) from Bihar Sharif, the nearest major city and transport hub and the district headquarters, connected by NH 120.
# Tourism in Nalanda Town
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more... Part of Buddhist tourism circuit
∆ One of most prominent sites in Buddhism
Pic. 1 :- Excavated remains of ancient Nalanda Mahavihara, a World Heritage Site. The ancient site of learning established by Kumaragupta, the Pala Emperor in 5th century CE flourished till the destruction by Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1190s. At its peak, it housed 10,000 students from all over the world and 2,500 teaches. Today, it is considered a legendary institute of learning of the past. The current excavated archaeological remains spanning about 23 hectares in area was declared as A world Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2016.
Pic. 2 :- Thai Temple, Pushkarni Lake, A bird and view of Begampura Wetlands, Nalanda - home to many migratory birds during winters.
Pic. 3 :- The site museum of Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) at Nalanda. Opened in 1917, it is the oldest site museum of ASI in Bihar. It houses the artefacts unearthed from Nalanda and nearby areas.
Pic. 4 :- Black Buddha Temple, the famous Bargaon Sun Temple and Pond. The black idol of Sun god in the temple dates to about 7 th century CE and a ruins of ancient sun temple is also located on the banks of the holy Pond.
Pic. 5 :- Xuan Zang Memorial Hall, a memorial hall built to commemorate the great Buddhist pilgrim scholar from China, Xuan Zang. The memorial hall houses the remains of the skull of Xuan Zang.
Pic. 6 :- Kundalpur Digambar Jain Teerth Kshetra, Nalanda. There are many splendid temples dedicated to Jain Tirthankars. This place is also believed as birthplace of Mahavira, the last Tirthankar of Jainism by Digambar sect of Jains.
Along with these, there are few others places to visit in small town of Nalanda. It also houses the campuses of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda and Nalanda Open University, Nalanda. The town is also the birthplace of two of the most favourite disciples of Buddha, Sariputta and Maudgalayana.
Rajgir, Pawapuri, Giriyak, Telhara and Bihar Sharif all located near Nalanda houses several sites of importance of pilgrimage, archaeology and heritage.
