Four main pilgrimage sites listed by Buddha himself Gautama Buddha himself had identified the following four sites most worthy of pilgrimage for his followers, observing that these would produce a feeling of spiritual urgency: •
Bodh Gaya: (in the current
Mahabodhi Temple,
Bihar,
India), is the most important religious site and place of pilgrimage for buddhists around the world, the
Mahabodhi Temple houses what is believed to be a direct descendant of the
Bodhi Tree where Prince Siddhārtha attained enlightenment (Nibbana) and became known as Gautama Buddha. •
Lumbini: birthplace of The Buddha as Prince Siddhartha Gautam (in
Taulihawa,
Lumbini,
Nepal) is an important religious site and place of pilgrimages for Buddhism. It is also approved by UNESCO for World Heritage sites as a holy place for Buddhism and world religions. •
Sarnath: (formally
Isipathana,
Uttar Pradesh,
India) where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon (
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), and He taught about the
Middle Way, the
Four Noble Truths and
Noble Eightfold Path. •
Kuśinagara: (now
Kushinagar,
Uttar Pradesh,
India) where Gautama Buddha died and attained
Parinirvana.
The Eight Great Places of pilgrimage In addition the four sites mentioned earlier (
Lumbini,
Bodh Gaya,
Sarnath and
Kushinagar), the Buddhist texts later written by Buddha's followers also mention four more sacred sites where a certain miraculous event is reported to have occurred, thus completing the list of
"Attha-mahathanani" (
Pali for
"The Eight Great Places") in India: •
Rajgir: Place of the subduing of Nalagiri, the angry elephant, through friendliness. Rajgir was another major city of ancient India, with
Nalanda nearby (14 km), a major center of Mahayana Buddhist learning. •
Vaishali: Place of receiving an offering of honey from a monkey. Vaishali was the capital of the Vajjian Republic of ancient India. •
Sravasti: Place of
the Twin Miracle, showing his supernatural abilities in performance of miracles. Sravasti is also the place where Buddha spent the largest amount of time, being a major city in ancient India. •
Sankassa: Place of the descending to earth from
Tavatimsa heaven (after a stay of 3 months teaching his mother the
Abhidhamma).
Other sites related to Buddha's travels ,
Himachal Pradesh Some other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal connected to the life of
Gautama Buddha are mostly located in the
Gangetic plain.
Alphabetically by states •
Andhra Pradesh:
Amaravati,
Nagarjuna Konda •
Bihar:
Gaya,
Kesariya,
Nalanda, Vaishali,
Pataliputta,
Vikramshila •
Haryana (in the order of travel by Buddha):
Kamashpura Aastha Pugdal Pagoda (Kumashpur, place where Buddha delivered the
Mahasatipatthana sutta),.
Kurukshetra Stupa,
Topra,
Srughna (
Sugh Stupa) and
Chaneti Stupa were all visited by the Buddha where he gave discourse after visiting Mathura he travelled along
Grand Trunk Road in Haryana (also see
Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Haryana). •
Madhya Pradesh:
Sanchi •
Uttar Pradesh:
Devadaha,
Kosambi,
Mathura,
Pāvā (
Fazilnagar,
Varanasi Chronologically by routes In the order of places traveled by Buddha. Please help expand this incomplete list. •
Uttar Pradesh-
Haryana travel route of Buddha • From
Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Buddha travelled along
Grand Trunk Road in Haryana (also see
Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Haryana). •
Kamashpura Aastha Pugdal Pagoda (Kumashpur) in Sonipat city, the place where Buddha delivered the
Mahasatipatthana sutta),. •
Kurukshetra Stupa on the banks of sacred
Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra city •
Topra between Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar, now has a large open air museum park housing several replica of
Ashoka's edicts including largest
Ashoka Chakra in the world •
Srughna, now known as the
Sugh Ancient Mound, on outskirts of Yamunanagar city •
Chaneti Stupa, on outskirts of Yamunanagar city ==Other pilgrimage places by country==