Intending to give a major boost to Nalanda, Rajgir, Bodh Gaya and Vaishali, Bihar Tourism is aiming to focus on spirituality, wellness and eco-tourism in these destinations.
Swaati Chaudhury
The ancient land of Bihar is replete with multi-religious destinations and Bihar Tourism is sincerely offering an impetus to fabulous destinations like Nalanda, Rajgir, Bodh Gaya and Vaishali. The state tourism department is quite active in digital marketing.
Vinay Kumar Rai, Director, of Bihar Tourism commented, “The great historical destinations of Nalanda and Rajgir form the focal point of tourist attractions and both destinations are 10 km apart from each other. Once the capital of the Magadha kingdom, Rajgir holds immense religious significance for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. It is associated with Ramayana and Mahabharata. and Pandu Pokhar is a sacred site for Buddhists and Jains. There is Gurudwara Sheetal Kund, a historic Sikh shrine in Rajgir. Additionally, Rajgir is a famed eco-tourist destination for its Nature Safari that provides sound options for trekking, zipline flying and sky biking for adventure –buffs. The entrance of Nature Safari has a Glass skywalk made of glass and steel and spans around 130 feet in length. Soaring at a height of about 250 feet, the glass bridge lies on the foothills of Vaibhar Giri and Swarna Giri hills and is incidentally the longest glass bridge in the country. Rajgir also boasts of a suspension bridge connecting the two hills.”
Best known as the birthplace of Mahavira, Vaishali is another prominent spiritual destination. It is also the destination where Lord Buddha preached his last sermon. Rai said, “There is the sacred water tank at Vaishali known as Abhishek Pushkarni or Coronation Tank popularised during the times of Lichchavis. We are highlighting Vaishali’s Vishwa Shanti Stupa built in association with the Japanese government on the southern banks of Coronation Tank.” There is Valmiki Tiger Reserve, the only tiger reserve in the state that is connected with Chitwan National Park in Nepal.
Tourism has also spruced up the infrastructure of the region in a major way. Rai further said, “Bodh Gaya has a couple of five-star properties and four-star hotels are 10 in number. There are two convention centres in Patna with a seating capacity of 800 and 4,000. Bodh Gaya has one convention centre with a capacity of 2,000. Patna Sahib Gurudwara is a revered site for Sikh pilgrims. We have come up with a world-class museum- the Bihar Museum in Patna. We are betting big on wellness tourism and there are eight Vipasanna centres across the state.”
The state welcomed around 8 crore domestic tourists and 1 crore global tourists last year. “Till now we have received about 5 crore domestic travellers and 50,000 global tourists in the state,” added Rai.
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