Bodh Gaya Kathina Chivara Tour

Depart from Katunayake International Airport for Madurai. Our guide will welcome you on arrival at Madurai airport and transfer you to the hotel. Overnight stay in Madurai.

Board the sleeper train towards Sanchi. This roughly 27-hour journey travels from Tamil Nadu through several states to Bhopal in central India, passing endless stretches of farmland and a variety of communities along the way — an experience you won't forget.

Disembark the train at Bhopal and travel onward by bus to Sanchi. Overnight stay in Sanchi.

Spend time exploring and worshipping at the Sanchi sacred site, then depart by bus towards Kaushambi. Worship the ruins there, including Ghoshitarama, before continuing on to Varanasi.

A free day to spend in merit-making at Varanasi's sacred grounds on the banks of the Ganges.

Worship at the monastery where the Buddha resided, the place where He met the five ascetics, and the site of the first sermon, then view the Dharmapala Museum. In the evening at 6pm, join the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta sermon held at Mulagandhakuti Vihara.

Travel to Bodh Gaya and join the procession carrying the Kathina robe, followed in the evening by the night pirith chanting.

Take part in offering the Kathina Chivara and the Sangika Dana to the Sangha — the central ceremony of this pilgrimage — together with the Sarvagna Dhatu Poojawa, the veneration of the Buddha's relics.

A day devoted to Bodh Gaya's sacred grounds, following a set schedule: observe precepts at 6am; offer dana to the Maha Sangha and precept-holders at 7.30am; worship the Sattasatiya — the seven sites of the Buddha's first seven weeks — at 9am; offer dana again at 11am; and at 4.30pm perform Bodhi Puja and relinquish the precepts before the Sri Maha Bodhi. Also worship the site of Sujata's milk-rice offering and the place of his ascetic practices.

Visit the site in Rajgir where the chariot wheel sank in, the place where relics were enshrined, the Saptaparni Cave, Gijjhakuta (Vulture's Peak), the site where King Bimbisara was imprisoned, and the hot springs and Veluvanarama, then view Nalanda University.

Travel to Vaishali and worship at the Kutagara Hall and the relic stupa, then depart for Kushinagar. There, offer robes at the bed of the Buddha's Parinibbana and worship the cremation stupa and other sacred sites.

Depart for Lumbini in Nepal, birthplace of Prince Siddhartha. View Tilaurakot — regarded as Nepal's Kapilavastu — along with its monastery ruins and the remains of the royal palace.

Offer Sangika Dana, then cross back into India through Kapilavastu towards Sravasti. At the Jetavanarama sacred grounds, worship and offer Sangika Dana, then visit the site of Anathapindika's mansion, the place where the Angulimala Sutta was preached, and the site of the Twin Miracle.

Depart for Sankassa — the place where the Buddha is said to have descended from the Tavatimsa heaven — for worship, then continue on towards Agra to view the Taj Mahal.

Travel to New Delhi to see special sites in the city, including the National Museum's Kapilavastu relics and the place associated with the Satipatthana Sutta, along with landmarks such as India Gate and the Lotus Temple.

Board the train south towards Madurai, a journey of around 37 hours. (For guests on the 16-day tour option, this marks the conclusion of the pilgrimage, with the return journey to Sri Lanka from here.)

Continue the train journey to arrive in Chennai, with time set aside for shopping before the return journey.

Transfer for your return journey to Sri Lanka, bringing this 18-day pilgrimage to a close.