Three Buddhist Circuits have been identified by the Ministry of Tourism in the country to be developed with the help of Central Government/State Government/Private Stake Holders.  These include the following:-

Circuit 1:        The Dharmayatra or the Sacred Circuit

 This will be a 5 to 7 days circuit and will include visits to Gaya (Bodhgaya), Varanasi (Sarnath), Kushinagar, Piparva (Kapilvastu) with a day trip to Lumbini in Nepal.

Circuit 2:        Extended Dharmayatra or Extended Sacred Circuit or Retracing Buddha’s Footsteps

This will be a 10 to 15 day circuit and will include visits to Bodhgaya (Nalanda, Rajgir, Barabar caves, Pragbodhi Hill, Gaya), Patna (Vaishali, Lauriya Nandangarh, Lauriya Areraj, Kesariya, Patna Museum), Varanasi (Sarnath), Kushinagar, Piparva (Kapilvastu, Shravasti, Sankisa) with a day trip to Lumbini in Nepal

Circuit 3:        Buddhist Heritage Trails (State Circuits)

i.                    Jammu and Kashmir - Ladakh, Srinagar (Harwan, Parihaspora) and Jammu (Ambaran).

ii.         Himachal Pradesh - Dharamshala, Spiti, Kinnaur and Lahaul.

iii.        Punjab - Sanghon.

iv.        Haryana – Jind (Assan), Yamunanagar(Sugh).

v.         Maharashtra -Aurangabad (Ajanta, Ellora, Pithalkora Caves), Pune (Karla Caves), Mumbai (Kanheri Caves), Pune (Bhaja Caves) and Nashik (Pandavleni Caves).

vi.        Andhra Pradesh - Amravati, Nagarjunakonda, Vizag (Borra Caves, Salihundum Caves).

vii.       Madhya Pradesh - Sanchi, Satdhara, Andher, Sonari, Murulkurd.

viii.      Odisha (Dhauli, Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri, Udaygiri, Langudi, Khandagiri).

ix.        Chhattisgarh – Sirpur.

x.         West Bengal - Kolkata (Indian Museum)

xi.        Sikkim - Rumtek, Enchay and other Monasteries.

xii.       Arunachal Pradesh –Tawang and Bomdila.

This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge), & Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a reply to an Unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha today.

NB/NK/PS