Gaya

Gaya (गया Gayā) is a major pilgrimage city in Bihar for Hindus. It is visited for doing piṇḍ dān (funeral offerings for the benefit of the soul of the deceased) and for visiting Bodh Gaya and Vishnupad temple.

Understand
Gaya is a ritual place and it is famous for Pind daan. People from all over the country, as well as Hindus from abroad, come here to perform pind daan puja for their deceased ancestors. This rituals brings peace to the wandering souls. Many people come here during the monsoon months (September - October) for the pitripaksh tarpan (prayers offered for the dead). The pilgrims take a dip in the seasonal holy river 'Phalgu' during this season. There is huge gathering of people for 2 weeks for pitripaksha mela.

Nowadays it is an ordinary district headquarter of India and bears a polluted, not so clean and dusty look though it still draws thousands of Hindu pilgrims as a pilgrimage and place for a compulsory piṇḍ dān (funeral offerings to the deceased) for Hindus.

Get in
Gaya is well connected through air, rail and road.

By plane

 * The second option is Patna, which is 125 km away and well connected by rail and road service.
 * The second option is Patna, which is 125 km away and well connected by rail and road service.

By train
is the hub for many trains passing through Bihar. There are lots of trains directly from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Patna.

By bus
There are many private A/C, non-A/C and luxury buses operating daily. You can get a bus from Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Patna, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, and overnight buses from Siliguri.

By car
You can easily visit Gaya by car. There are many car rental companies available. Nalanda Travels provides cabs on rent for Rajgir, Nalanda, Patna, Vaishali, Varanasi.

Do
Worship in Vishnupad temple of lord Vishnu. Worship in Mangla Gauri (first wife of lord Shiva) Asthan.

Eat
The main sweets are Enursa, Tilkut and Lai all of which are exclusive to the city. One can easily get these in shops at Tekari Road and Ramna Road. Two of the famous sweet stores are Kaveri and Pramod misthan bhandar.

Go next

 * Barabar and Nagarjuni Hill Caves ( N of Gaya) — the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, mostly dating from the Mauryan period (322–185 BCE), and some with Ashokan inscriptions.
 * Bodh Gaya &mdash; the main attraction in the area is the Buddha Temple in Bodhgaya, here Buddha acquired the Power of Knowledge. Buses are common from Gaya to Bodh Gaya during peak season. Auto rickshaws cost about ₹200 and an air conditioned taxi costs ₹300-₹350.
 * Bramhjauni Hill
 * Kakolat Falls
 * Nalanda - The famous Nalanda University was situated here, and its remains are the city's main attraction.
 * Pawapuri
 * Rajgir