KUSHINAGAR SIGHTSEEING

NIRVANA CHAITYA

Carlleyle excavated Nirvana Chaitya in 1876 AD, located just behind the Mahaparinirvana Temple. A copperplate was found in the excavation, which contained the text of the "Nidana-Sutra". It says that Haribala, who has also installed the great Nirvana Statue of Buddha in the temple, deposited the plate in the Nirvana-Chaitya. A copper vessel was also found, which contained silver coins of Kumargupta, the Gupta emperor during the 5th century A.D.

MAHAPARINIRVANA TEMPLE

Mahaparinirvana Temple lies behind the Nirvana Stupa on the same plinth level behind it. The temple is famous for an impressive reclining Nirvana statue of Lord Buddha, which is 6.10 m long. The statue is made of a single piece of a red sand stone. The statue represents the "Mahaparinirvana" with Buddha reclining on his right side and his face towards the west. The statue is placed on a large brick-platform with stone-posts at the corners. According to an inscription on the statue dated back to the 5th century AD, Mahavihara Swami Haribala presented it.

MATHA KUAR SHRINE

Matha Kuar Shrine is a huge statue of Lord Buddha carved out of one single block of stone. The statue represents Buddha as seated under the "Bodhi Tree" and touching the ground with his right hand known as the "Bhumi Sparsh Mudra". The inscription at the base of statue can be dated back between the 10th and 11th century AD.

MEDITATION PARK

Recently developed near the main Nirvana Temple, this park has artificial water bodies with raised lush-green platforms for meditation srrounded by sal- trees and other afforestations, representing a complete Buddhist-ambience.

RUINS & BRICK STRUCTURES

These are located around the main Nirvana Temple and Main Stupa. These are the remains of various monasteries of different sizes constructed from time to time in the ancient period.

RAMABHAR STUPA

Ramabhar Stupa, also called a Mukutbandhan-Chaitya, is the cremation -place of Buddha. This Site is 1.5 km east of the main Nirvana Temple on the Kushinagar- Deoria road. This Stupa has a huge circular drum with a diameter of 34.14 meters on the top consisting of the two or more terraces and is 47.24 meters in diameter at the base.

INDO-JAPAN-SRILANKA TEMPLE

Indo-Japan-Srilanka temple is a marvel of Buddhist architectural grandeur of modern times.

WAT THAI TEMPLE

One of the most beautiful and much visited destinations is the Wat Thai Temple, Kushinagar. One of the famous temples in Uttar Pradesh as well as the Indian sub continent it is centrally located in Kushinagar and attracts tourists from all over. The Wat Thai Temple, Kushinagar, can be seen from everywhere in Kushinagar which makes it all the more interesting. This is one of the holy places in Kushinagar.

Nestled amidst acres of sprawling greenery it covers a huge area and it is one of the ideal serene destinations. The Wat Thai Temple, Kushinagar, was designed earlier to serve as a forest monastery. The location of the Wat Thai Temple, Kushinagar has a rich variety of flora where you can find many different flowers, orchids and trees.

The Wat Thai Temple, Kushinagar was built in order to commemorate the golden jubilee celebrations of King Bhumibol's accession to the throne of Thailand. To celebrate this special event the Wat Thai Temple, Kushinagar was built which is now one of the major tourist attractions. Opened to the public in the year 2001 it is one of the excellent temples in Kushinagar.

Tourists can find beautiful Tourist attractions of Kushinagar. One of the major destinations is the Ramabhar Stupa. The interesting tourist places are the beautiful temples and Stupas. Besides this you can plan a visit to the Meditation Park and Japanese Garden. The Nirvana Temple, Mahaparnirvana Stupa, Mathakuar Shrine as well as the Kushinagar Museum are a few of the important tourist places.

The Japanese temple is also one of the beautiful temples in Uttar Pradesh and the Chinese temple with Oriental design and décor will also attract the tourists. The temples have a Buddhist décor. Besides this the city has a number of parks and gardens and even historical monuments.

MUSEUM

The Buddha Museum contains finds from excavations at the site. The museum has 248 precious antiques related to coins, statues and sculptures, architectural remains & bronze statues.

The proposal was mooted to found a museum for preserving the archaeological wealth from the region and the present building came into existence in 1992-93. it is located at about 1 km. Sough-East from the Kushinagar bus stop, ½ km. From the Mahaparinirvana temple and about 3 Km. From the Kasia bus stand. The nucleolus of the collection represents sculptures, terracottas particularly the Buddhist icons, architectural remains, bronzes, clay seals, banner paintings (Thankas) and a few coins. Besides , some Hindu and Jaina antiquities are also on view. The Stucco statue of Lord Buddha in the meditation posture is a superb specimen. It represents zenith of the Gandhara School of Art.