Nalanda

I enjoyed Nalanda, probably because my expectations were low. We arrived just after 9 a.m. from Patna (2h by car on a good road, once you’ve managed your way out of the congested city center). I would suggest arriving this early as the site attracts larger numbers of daily visitors than you can imagine for an archaeological site in rural Bihar. It seems to be included in many of the group tours of the pilgrims visiting the Mahabodhi Temple, so there will be plenty of Asian groups around. Also, it’s a nicely landscaped park that attracts the locals from the nearby large city of Bihar Sharif. 

The extent of the site surprised me the most. I had mostly seen pictures of Temple 3 beforehand, and as it is the most complete it will attract your attention immediately after entering the complex. But there are many more parts worth seeing, especially among the temples. The monasteries follow a specific mould and once you’ve seen one of those, it’s enough.

Interpretation and signage at the site are very minimal, and that doesn’t help finding the more interesting spots. You’ll easily miss a side path. At first, I was pleased to see that they added QR codes for more information next to each building, but after scanning it turned out that it contained the same text as painted on the stone panels. 

A simple map plus useful explanations can be found here. Worth a closer look are:

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Most about this place has already been said in a greatly written review so I shall now only add that it has since been inscribed and got a nice price hike. Twice!

I arrived here by car from Patse and there were so many locals around, school groups, monks, selfie-posting teenagers, selfie-posting monks, a whole food market along University Road, I didn't expect to get through it all. However, there are actually parking spaces just past the entrance gate. So you pay that hefty entrance tickets for a bunch of walls. Mostly. There is one impressive building still standing tall but there is no way you would know this place was a big ancient university with monasteries and temples unless you read all signs. It's brick walls now. The area is not big. I figured this is all I can see and went through the loop within 30 minutes. Next up the museum and off we go again. Very disappointed. Makes me wonder what people expect to see here. Agree that the history behind it is important though, not agreeing that I should seek out the place to see it. The road from Patna is also very annoying and perhaps next time I would stay on the toll road longer.

Nalanda epitomizes both what India has to offer in uninscribed sites and also its perennial inability to bring these forward to successful conclusion!! The Web is full of calls for it to be inscribed (often uninformed in suggesting that fault lies with UNESCO rather than with the governments of India and Bihar!). The most recent (early 2013) have been from the Nobel Laureates for Economics Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz.

So what is so special? Well the ruins at Nalanda are of what is claimed to be the world’s first international residential university, with students coming from as far away as Tibet, China Greece, Persia, Korea, Japan and Java. It is claimed that, in its time, it was the most prestigious seat of learning in Asia. The Tang dynasty pilgrim Xuanzang left detailed descriptions of its size and magnificence. It operated between the 5th and 12th Centuries when it was sacked by Muslim invaders who burnt its libraries and destroyed its buildings. It accommodated over 10000 students and 2000 teachers across an enormous site. During excavations between 1915–37 and 1974–82 11 monasteries and 6 temples were uncovered across a sq km – but over 90% of the site is still thought to be unexcavated.

The structures are all in brick and reminded me of the Vihara in Pahapur Bangladesh (see my review) which is on a far smaller scale. The monasteries are all virtually identical in layout and consist of quadrangles of cells around a central …