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]]>Nepal’s leading tourism venture ‘BuddhistCircuits.com’ is organizing a ‘Buddhist circuit tour‘ in the month of July 2019.
The organization announced its Buddhist Circuit fixed departure tours that would start from the Full Moon Day on July 16, 2019. The company announced this at the first Buddhist International Travel Mart that was held in Lumbini, recently.
“Buddhist Circuit tours have been designed for those who want to follow the route taken by the Buddha from his birthplace,” said Bikram Pandey, president of Buddhist Circuits.com.
“The sites associated with the life of the Buddha are important pilgrimages for over 500 million Buddhist followers throughout the world. This is the first time a fixed departure tour associated with the Buddha’s life has been launched. As the Full Moon Day is associated with the life of the Buddha, we will be organizing this tour every Full Moon Day. However, the tour can be organized regularly, if demand picks up,” says Pandey.
A Glance at Buddhist Circuit 2019
As part of the tour, tourists get a chance to visit Buddhist heritage sites in the Lumbini-Kapilvastu region.
The path of ‘Great Renunciation’ begins from the eastern gate of the ruins of Tilaurakot Palace in Kapilvastu, the place from where Siddhartha Gautam renounced his luxurious life and left the palace before becoming Buddha.
The trip then continues to Indian cities such as Nalanda, Vaishali, Rajgir, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, and Kushinagar via the Belhiya border point, before the final return to Lumbini.
The tour package also involves the extension of tourists’ stay in the Lumbini-Kapilvastu region and also aims to generate income to locals.
A Glance at Lumbini Tourism
According to the Lumbini Development Trust, Lumbini received 1.53 million tourists in 2018 recording a 16.54 percent year-on-year rise.
Out of the total arrivals, 1.18 million were recorded from Nepal, besides 193,635 Indians and 169,904 third-country tourists.
According to studies, tourists visiting Nepal spend 13-15 days on an average in the country and those visiting Lumbini hardly stay for 30 minutes, says a 2013 study.
To improve this scenario, the government is hoping big on the Gautam Buddha International Airport that is expected to be live by the end of 2019 and is planning to promote Buddhist pilgrimage on a large scale.
According to the International Finance Corporation, the Buddhist Circuit is a most-sought for 450 million population practicing Buddhists and also travelers interested in history, culture or religion.
Hope the Buddhist Circuit Tour will add to the government’s efforts in boosting the tourism potential of Buddhism centers.
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]]>One of the most-visited locations in Nepal with a great historical importance, Lumbini attracts not only Buddhists but also the people of other faiths and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
The place has been divided into two zones, with the Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries situated in the western zone and the Theravadin monasteries in the eastern zone.
Heaven on Earth
Chinese travelers Huan Tsang and Faeihan extolled the beauty of Lumbini in their writings and described the place as “Lumbini – where the lord was born is a piece of heaven on earth and one could see the snowy mountains amidst a splendid garden-embedded with stupas and monasteries!”
Sakymanuni Buddha, also known as Tathagata or one who has found the Truth, is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Vaishnava sect of Hinduism. He spent the first 29 years of his life in Lumbini before he renounced the world and achieved enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.
Temples in Lumbini
The most popular attraction of Lumbini, the Maya Devi temple is located at the place where Maya Devi gave birth to the Lord Buddha.
Some of the other famous temples in Lumbini include the International Gautami Nuns temple, Nepal Buddha temple and Dharma Swami Maharaja Buddha Vihara.
The temples of Lumbini are characterized by a medieval architecture with large monolithic images of Buddha.
Other Tourist Attractions
Some of the major attractions of Lumbini include the Lumbini Museum, Gotihawa, Kudan, Niglihawa, Sagarhawa, Ramgram Stupa, Tilaurakot, Ashoka Pillar, Puskarni, Kapilvastu and Aroarakot among others.
The World Peace Pagoda with a huge sparkling and smiling statue of Lord Buddha is another prominent monument of sightseeing interest for tourists to Lumbini.
Popular Culinary Delights
Lumbini is situated on the border with India and hence, Indian food is quite common here in addition to the staple Nepali cuisine.
Vegetarian foods including momos, noodles, curries, pakoda, samosa, tikiya chat and pani puri are the most common delicacies that can be enjoyed in Lumbini.
Top 21 Tourist Attractions in Lumbini
Travel to Lumbini
Lumbini is well connected by road from various places in Nepal with frequent bus services from major cities like Pokhara and Kathmandu.
Two stretches of railway from Raxaul in India to Amlekhganj and Janakpur in Nepal also connect to Lumbini.
Nepal Airlines and other domestic carriers including Nepal Buddha Air, Kathmandu, Cosmic Air, Gorkha Airlines, Royal Nepal Airlines, Skyline Airways and Yeti Airlines fly regularly to Bhairahawa near Lumbini.
A visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, provides a great opportunity for visitors to experience inner peace and spiritual growth.
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