Kushinagar

Buddhist destination Kushinagar promises tranquillity

Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh): Welcome to the land of the Buddha. A breather from most other religious destinations, which, ironically, reel under chaos, Kushinagar - the place where Gautam Buddha breathed his last - is a place where you can pray in peace or simply soak in the beauty of the architectural marvels and the natural surrounding. Situated 51 km east of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Kushinagar is one of the four important religious destinations for Buddhists. This is the place where the Buddha delivered his last sermon, and died. The other three important destinations are Lumbini, Bodh Gaya and Sarnath.

It's of little surprise then that the place, which is well endowed with greenery, is flocked by tourists - both domestic and foreign - through the year, but especially so in the cooler months between October and April. It is estimated that nearly two million tourists visit Kushinagar every year. "Many tourists come to Kushinagar to pray and to pay their respect to the place where Lord Buddha delivered his last sermon and finally rested in peace. From among foreign countries, we mainly have people coming from Thailand, Japan, China, Korea, Sri Lanka and Myanmar," said Bhadant Choudhury, a Buddhist monk at the Mahaparinirvana temple.

One of the main attractions of the place, the Niravana Chaitya or the Main Stupa, was excavated by Carlleyle in 1876 and stands at a height of 2.74 metres. A copper vessel was unearthed at this site and it bore an inscription in 

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