Pilgrimage to & – 17 Days

Get ready to embark on an inspirational  - where the Buddha passed one of the most ancient and holy sites in journey to the most important Buddhist away into Mahaparinirvana, visit the . sites in India and Nepal. Explore the Parinirvana Temple, Parinirvana What’s Included legendary Stupa in Nepal and the Ramabhar Stupa (cremation and where the Buddha was stupa) of the Buddha.  16 nights – 3-4 star accommodation born, before traveling to India where he  Vaishali – where the Buddha ordained most nights, see website for details. attained Enlightenment, gave his first the first Buddhist nuns; cured people  15 breakfasts, 12 lunches, 13 dinners teachings and passed away into of a great plague; pillar; and the  Boat cruise on River Ganges Mahaparinirvana. Take a boat ride on Buddha’s relic stupa.  All entry fees to the holy sites and the River Ganges, visit holy mountain  Bamboo Grove - where the Buddha museums sites such as Vultures Peak and explore spent many rains retreats.  All land travel in Nepal and India the ancient ruins of the famous Buddhist  Vulture’s Peak - where the Buddha  Four economy class flights: Kathmandu university, Nalanda. Lastly, finish the taught the Heart Sutra, visit Shariputra’s to Bhairahawa, Varanasi to Delhi, Delhi at the stunning caves of cave. to Aurangabad, Aurangabad to Delhi  Ajanta and Ellora in Aurangabad. Nalanda – incredible ancient ruins of the  Two small bottles of water each day Nalanda Buddhist University; Shariputra’s  Specialist local guides at some sites stupa and museum housing hundreds  Airport arrival transfer in Kathmandu of Buddhist artifacts uncovered during  Touring of Kathmandu, Lumbini, the excavations. Kushinagar, Vaishali, Rajgir, Bodhgaya,  Bodhgaya - the Mahabodhi Stupa where Buddha attained Full Enlightenment Varanasi, Sarnath, Ajanta and Ellora underneath the Bodhi tree; ample time Caves. for personal practice, meditation and  All tips for the drivers, waiting staff and reflection; visit to a nearby village to see shoe minders how the locals live.  Fees for the main guide/teacher and  Mahakala Cave – a small but powerful their assistants cave associated with the protector deity in Vajrayana , also considered What’s Not Included

by many where Buddha meditated for  Airfares to Kathmandu and flight 6 years before attaining enlightenment. home out of Delhi  Varanasi - take an unforgettable boat  Visa fees for Nepal and India ride along the burning ghats on the River  Personal travel insurance Ganges; view the exotic Ganga Aarti  Excess baggage charges (light offering) ritual.  Taxis or rickshaws taken outside the HIGHLIGHTS AND INCLUSIONS  Sarnath - where Buddha gave his first normal group travel sermon on the Four Noble Truths; visit  Communication costs (Wi-Fi, phone Trip Highlights the Dhamekh Stupa and Archaeological calls, etc.) Museum.  Kathmandu - The majestic Boudhanath  Aurangabad – the magnificent Ajanta and  Optional day tour in Delhi on Day 13 Stupa, symbolic of the Buddha’s mind Ellora Caves carved out to form  Laundry and all items of a personal  Morning nun’s puja, high on the impressive prayer halls and monasteries nature mountains of Kathmandu* decorated with beautiful murals and  Any meals, snacks or drinks not part of  Lumbini - the birthplace of the Buddha, stone carvings of the Buddha. the group buffet meals (including the Maya Devi Temple and World Peace breakfast at Druk Amitabha Mountain,

Pagoda. * Alternatively visit the lunch at Ellora Caves, lunch in Delhi on  Kapilavastu—where the Buddha grew up. Stupa (also known as 'Monkey Temple'), Day 13, and 3 dinners in Aurangabad).

Enthusiastic Buddhist www.enthusiasticbuddhistpilgrimages.com 1 Pilgrimage to Nepal & India – 17 Days

PILGRIMAGE LEADER Stupa which is a spiritual hub for Mindah. We will then visit many lovely Tibetan Buddhists in particular, who Buddhist temples nearby, including the Mindah-Lee Kumar is a Buddhist teacher visit to circumambulate this deeply- World Peace Pagoda (one of many and practitioner from Canberra, Australia. beautifully constructed built She has been studying Buddhism for worldwide to inspire peace and har- over ten years. mony among all). Stay overnight in She was ordained Lumbini. as a nun for three years in the tradi- tion of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. She completed a total of three years solitary retreat in the same tradition. Her aim is to make Buddhist teachings as relevant and as practical as possible and DAY 4: Kapilavastu she posts her work on her website, The Enthusiastic Buddhist. After breakfast, we will visit Kapilavastu where the Buddha lived as a prince DETAILED ITINERARY before leaving his palace. In the after- symbolic structure. We will also visit noon, we return to Buddha’s birthplace DAY 1: Arrival in Kathmandu, some surrounding , including in Lumbini Gardens where you can Nepal one housing a three-storey high statue meditate in the peace and tranquility of of , the future Buddha. You will the park. Friday. Upon arrival into Kathmandu, have ample time to circumambulate you’ll be met at the airport and and meditate at Boudhanath Stupa and DAY 5: Kushinagar transferred to the hotel. You are even do some shopping. Around welcome to arrive earlier than this date Boudhanath Stupa are the best places Departing Lumbini we will clear and we can arrange a transfer and any to purchase quality Newari handcrafted immigration at the Nepal/Indian border extra night’s accommodation upon dharma items, including statues and enroute to Kushinagar. Arriving in request. In the evening, we will have an thangkas. Kushinagar, we visit the Parinirvana introductory meeting with all pilgrims Stupa and the Ramabhar Stupa (the at the hotel followed by a buffet dinner. Please note in the event that we cannot cremation stupa) to pay our respects to Stay overnight in Kathmandu. attend the nun’s puja, we will make a the place where the Buddha passed trip to Swayambhunath Stupa (also away into Mahaparinirvana. This is an Day 2: Nun’s Morning Puja known as ‘Monkey Temple’), one of the excellent place for us to reflect on the and Boudhanath Stupa most ancient and holy sites in impermanence of our own lives as well Kathmandu, dating back to as early as as contemplate the extraordinary We will begin our first day of our the third century BC. possibilities if we choose to live a life of pilgrimage with an early 5am start to kindness, virtue and meditation. journey up the mountains to Druk DAY 3: Lumbini Stay overnight in Kushinagar. Amitabha Mountain nunnery. Here we will experience the resonating and After breakfast, departing Kathmandu, DAY 6: Vaishali wondrous chanting of Tibetan nuns we catch a short scenic flight toward while they do their morning puja. After the border of Nepal where we visit Early this morning we will depart this we will have breakfast at the Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha. Kushinagar and drive through rural nunnery while enjoying their mountain Here we visit the Maya Devi Temple India to Vaishali. Vaishali was views. which houses the birthstone marking frequented by the Buddha and is the the Buddha’s exact birthplace. The place where he spent his last rains Then we will head back to spend the afternoon activities include a short retreat (a three-month meditation rest of the day exploring Boudhanath teaching and group meditation led by retreat during the monsoon period).

Enthusiastic Buddhist Pilgrimages www.enthusiasticbuddhistpilgrimages.com 2 Pilgrimage to Nepal & India – 17 Days

Here the Buddha cured the local people stupa, we will head over to the museum DAY 9: Bodhgaya of a great plague and famine, ordained to view the hundreds of Buddhist the first Buddhist nuns, one of them artifacts uncovered during the This morning we return to the main being his step mother, Prajapati excavations. Then, with great temple for free time to do personal Gautami, and also announced his anticipation we will journey onwards to practice. impending departure from earth (his the most popular Buddhist pilgrimage Mahaparinirvana). This afternoon we site of all time, Bodhgaya, the place The afternoon is also free for you to will visit the Ashoka pillar and the where Buddha attained Full spend more time in the temple Buddha’s relic stupa before journeying Enlightenment underneath the Bodhi grounds. onward to Rajgir where we will stay tree. Stay overnight in Bodhgaya. overnight. DAY 10: Mahakala Cave DAY 8: Bodhgaya This morning we take a short drive This morning right after breakfast, we where we will walk uphill to visit the will visit the Mahabodhi Stupa and the cave commonly known as Mahakala Bodhi Tree in the main temple grounds Cave. This cave is associated with the which marks the spot where the protector deity in Vajrayana Buddhism, Buddha attained Full Enlightenment. as well as considered by some as the After exploring each of the significant place where Buddha meditated for six places in the temple grounds associated years before attaining enlightenment. with the Buddha’s awakening, we will make a visit to a nearby village to see After lunch, we will explore some of the Day 7: Bamboo Grove, how the locals live. many Buddhist temples close to our Vulture’s Peak and Nalanda hotel, including some Bhutanese, Japanese, Thai and Tibetan temples. Today after breakfast, we will make a The rest of the day is free for you to brief visit to Bamboo Grove where the spend more time in the blessed sanctu- Buddha spent many rains retreats, ary of the Mahabodhi temple grounds. before taking a scenic walk up to Vulture’s Peak where the Buddha gave DAY 11: Varanasi one of his most revered teachings, known as the Heart Sutra. After a short Shortly after breakfast, we will depart talk and guided meditation at early from Bodhgaya to travel to Shariputra’s cave (one of the Buddha’s Varanasi, an ancient Indian city chief disciples) we’ll head back downhill formerly known as Banaras. Following a and visit the ancient ruins of the late lunch we will make a trip to the Nalanda Buddhist University. This was a River Ganges where we will take an thriving center of higher learning for unforgettable boat ride along the thousands of Buddhist monastics be- burning ghats where the Hindus tween the fifth to the twelfth century cremate the deceased and view the AD, before it was razed to the ground Following lunch, we will visit Sujata’s exotic Ganga Aarti (light offering) ritual. by Muslim invaders in 1193. After stupa commemorating the village girl exploring the archaeological excava- who offered the Buddha his first meal tions of Nalanda and the Shariputra after breaking his fast.

After making candle light offerings in the main temple, the rest of the day is free for you to read, meditate or simply sit under the Bodhi tree and watch the pilgrims of various countries and Bud- dhist traditions as they circumambulate the Mahabodhi Stupa.

Enthusiastic Buddhist Pilgrimages www.enthusiasticbuddhistpilgrimages.com 3 Pilgrimage to Nepal & India – 17 Days

We will then return for a lovely buffet the Jain caves were constructed around handicrafts in the markets outside the dinner at our hotel. Stay overnight in the 9 – 10th century. caves. Varanasi. This morning we will view the Buddhist DAY 16: Delhi Day 12: Sarnath caves and the spectacular Kailasanatha Hindu temple flanked by beautiful large After lunch we transfer to the airport to Today we visit Sarnath, the place where stone elephants. Following a late lunch catch a late afternoon flight to Delhi the Buddha gave his first sermon on the at the caves, we will return to relax at where we will stay overnight. Four Noble Truths. This place is marked our hotel. Evening is free. by the Dhamekh Stupa and surrounded DAY 17: Departing Delhi by the beautiful Deer Park. After Today our amazing pilgrimage comes to an end. After saying goodbye to our new found friends we check-out of the hotel and journey home with a heart full of the extraordinary blessings and memories of our trip.

DAY 15: Ajanta Caves HEALTH AND TRAVEL exploring the ruins at Sarnath there will Today we drive to the Ajanta Caves be a short talk and group meditation located outside Aurangabad. Starting This pilgrimage requires a fair bit of led by Mindah. This morning we will around the 2nd century BC, 29 caves walking at times (especially up and also visit the Archaeological Museum were carved out to form impressive down steps at Vulture’s Peak in Rajgir) which houses a rich collection of Bud- prayer halls and monasteries which so a reasonable degree of fitness is dhist sculptures and artifacts excavated were decorated with beautiful murals required to participate on this from the site at Sarnath. After lunch we and stone carvings of the Buddha. pilgrimage. Also sitting crossed legged will take an afternoon flight to Delhi. These paintings and sculptures are not on the ground at times (in particular at only visually inspiring but they seem to Buddhist sites and inside temples) may DAY 13: Delhi to Aurangabad resonate with the devotion of the be necessary as it is not always possible workers and the practitioners that once to arrange chairs for seating. A ground Today there is an optional day tour in inhabited them. All in all, these caves sheet will be supplied for your comfort, Delhi to see Red Fort and India Gate. are unforgettable and we have a whole though you may wish to bring a small day to explore them. cushion or purchase one around This afternoon we make a transfer to Boudhanath Stupa. the airport to board an evening flight to Aurangabad. Transfer to our hotel to This pilgrimage includes lovely scenic rest for the night. Stay overnight in drives through the countryside and at Aurangabad. times these journeys may be up to 4-6 hours in length. As a result we cannot DAY 14: Ellora Caves guarantee all toilet stops will be held at designated toilet facilities, and ‘nature After breakfast we take a drive to visit stops’ may be required as part of the the magnificent Ellora caves. These travel. Also please note special dietary caves are particularly well-known for requirements cannot be catered for as their impressive size. They include not the group meals will be taken at the only Buddhist caves, but also Hindu and hotels which have their own set menu. Jain caves as well. The Buddhist caves For more information and pricing were built around the 5th – 8th visit: century, while the Hindu caves were As we depart, there is the option to do made around the 6th – 8th century and some shopping of some local Enthusiastic Buddhist Pilgrimages enthusiasticbuddhistpilgrimages.com

Enthusiastic Buddhist Pilgrimages www.enthusiasticbuddhistpilgrimages.com 4