8 days, 7 nights · Varanasi to Lucknow

Eight-day Buddhist circuit tour: from the enlightenment to the final passing

Name: RUTZ.IN
Address: New Delhi, Delhi, IN
Telephone: (877) 860-3388

Eight days covers the arc of a life. The six-day circuit takes the enlightenment at Bodhgaya and the first sermon at Sarnath; the eight-day one adds Vaishali, where the last sermon was given, Kushinagar, where the Buddha died and was cremated, and Sravasti, the monastery where he spent more rainy seasons than anywhere else. It is the full Indian circuit, and it runs one-way from Varanasi to Lucknow.

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8 days7 nights

~1,100 kmOne-way, Varanasi to Lucknow

6 sitesThree of the four great places

Oct-MarThe comfortable season

RUTZ.IN reservation · fixed fare · card or UPI

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The full arc

What the two extra days complete

Of the four places Buddhist tradition holds to be the most significant, three are in India — Bodhgaya for the enlightenment, Sarnath for the first sermon, Kushinagar for the death — and the fourth, Lumbini, is across the border in Nepal. The six-day circuit reaches two of the three. The eight-day version reaches all three, which is the difference between a section of the story and the whole of it.

Kushinagar is about 250 kilometres north-west of Bodhgaya and holds the Parinirvana temple with its six-metre reclining Buddha, carved in the fifth century, and the Ramabhar stupa on the cremation site. It is a small town and it is very quiet, which suits the place.

Sravasti, a further 250 kilometres west, is less visited still. The Jetavana monastery there was the Buddha's base for something like twenty-five rainy seasons, and the excavated grounds, with the Anandabodhi tree, are among the most peaceful of the whole circuit. From there Lucknow is about 170 kilometres and has good air connections, which is what lets the circuit run one-way instead of doubling back.

The reclining Buddha at the Parinirvana temple

The added sites

Vaishali, Kushinagar and Sravasti

Three quiet places that most short circuits miss entirely.

Vaishali

Where the last sermon was given and where the second Buddhist council was held. An Ashoka pillar with a lion capital still stands, along with the Relic Stupa. It sits on the Bodhgaya-to-Kushinagar road.

Kushinagar

The Parinirvana temple with the reclining Buddha, the Mathakuar shrine and the Ramabhar stupa marking the cremation site. Monasteries from several countries have built here too, though far fewer than at Bodhgaya.

Sravasti

The Jetavana monastery grounds, the Anandabodhi tree and the ruins of Saheth and Maheth. The Buddha spent more rainy seasons here than anywhere, and it is the quietest major site on the circuit.

The driving

Five legs running north-west

About 1,100 kilometres one-way, with nothing driven twice.

Varanasi to Bodhgaya — about 250 km, 5.5 hours South-east into Bihar through Sasaram.
Bodhgaya to Rajgir and Nalanda — about 180 km round trip A day out to the university and the hill, returning to Bodhgaya.
Bodhgaya to Kushinagar via Vaishali — about 330 km, 7.5 hours with the stop North through Patna and across the Ganga, with Vaishali on the way.
Kushinagar to Sravasti — about 250 km, 6 hours West across the Uttar Pradesh plain through Gorakhpur and Basti.
Sravasti to Lucknow — about 170 km, 4 hours South-west to the airport for the outbound flight.

Lumbini

The fourth great place, and what crossing the border involves

Lumbini, the birthplace, is in Nepal about 170 kilometres from Kushinagar via the Sonauli crossing. Pilgrims completing all four great places go there, and it is a reasonable extension — but it is a genuine international border, and we would rather set out what that means than let it be discovered at the post.

Foreign nationals need a Nepali visa, available on arrival at Sonauli for most nationalities; Indian nationals need photo identification but not a visa. Taking an Indian-registered vehicle across requires its own paperwork, and the practical arrangement we use is to hand over at the border: our chauffeur takes you to Sonauli, and a vetted Nepal-side vehicle and driver meet you on the other side, with the same coordinator holding both halves.

That is honest about what we operate ourselves and what we arrange through partners. If Lumbini matters to you, say so when you book and the desk will price the extension and set out the paperwork in writing before you commit, rather than after. The contact page is the place to start that conversation.

Booking

How to book the eight-day circuit

Book the transport direct on the booking page, fare fixed before payment. The circuit finishes at Lucknow rather than returning to Varanasi, which saves a long final leg; tell the desk your outbound flight so the last day is timed on it. For hotels, monastery guesthouses and any Lumbini extension, ask through the contact page. Cancellation is free beyond 72 hours, then 10%, 50% and 100%.

Day by day

The eight-day itinerary, leg by leg

A one-way route from Varanasi to Lucknow across Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, with the two long transfers on days five and six.

Day	Where	What the day covers	On the road
Day 1	Varanasi	Met at the airport. The ghats in the afternoon and the Ganga Aarti in the evening.	Airport to the ghats ~25 km, 1 hr
Day 2	Varanasi and Sarnath	A dawn boat on the Ganga, then Sarnath for the Dhamek stupa, the excavations and the museum.	Sarnath ~10 km from the city
Day 3	Varanasi to Bodhgaya	South-east into Bihar, arriving for the Mahabodhi temple in the evening light.	Varanasi-Bodhgaya ~250 km, 5.5 hrs
Day 4	Bodhgaya, Rajgir and Nalanda	The Mahabodhi at dawn, then north-east to Vulture's Peak at Rajgir and the Nalanda excavations, returning to Bodhgaya.	~180 km round trip
Day 5	Bodhgaya to Kushinagar via Vaishali	North through Patna and across the Ganga, stopping at Vaishali for the Ashoka pillar and the Relic Stupa.	Bodhgaya-Kushinagar ~330 km, 7.5 hrs with the stop; depart 07:00
Day 6	Kushinagar to Sravasti	The Parinirvana temple and the Ramabhar stupa in the morning, then west across the plain through Gorakhpur.	Kushinagar-Sravasti ~250 km, 6 hrs
Day 7	Sravasti	The Jetavana monastery grounds, the Anandabodhi tree and the Saheth and Maheth ruins, at the quietest site on the circuit.	Under 20 km all day
Day 8	Sravasti to Lucknow	South-west across the plain to Lucknow, with time for the Bara Imambara if the flight allows.	Sravasti-Lucknow ~170 km, 4 hrs

What it costs

The 8-day Buddhist circuit: two ways to buy it

Eight charter days at the published rate, for the car rather than per person. The circuit finishes about 300 kilometres from where it started and there is no repositioning surcharge.

Transport package — firm, published

Every kilometre of the 8-day circuit in a private chauffeured car: the chauffeur, the vehicle, fuel, and the driver's meals and accommodation on the road. Priced at the published charter-day rate × 8 days, the same figure as the rates page.

From $15,600 - $18,720 per car for the whole circuit
On the international card · Premium MPV · GST extra · tolls, parking and state entry taxes at cost

Book the transport direct

All-inclusive — stays, meals and entries

The same itinerary with hotels, breakfasts, monument entries and a licensed guide arranged for you. Because we contract stays per departure date and per hotel category, this tier is quoted on request rather than published — we will not print a per-person figure we cannot hold.

Send the dates and the hotel category you want (3-star, 4-star, heritage or palace) through the contact page and the desk returns a written quote, itemised, within one working day.

Ask for the all-inclusive quote

Vehicle class	Cars	Per charter day 10 hours / 300 km	8-day circuit International card, USD
Premium MPV 6 passengers, 5 bags	Toyota Innova Hycross & Kia Carnival	$1,950 - $2,340	$15,600 - $18,720
Executive sedan 3 passengers, 2 bags	Mercedes-Benz E-Class & BMW 5 Series	$1,700 - $2,040	$13,600 - $16,320
Luxury SUV 5 passengers, 4 bags	Toyota Fortuner, Land Cruiser & Mercedes-Benz GLS	$2,250 - $2,700	$18,000 - $21,600
Group van 12 passengers, 12 bags	Force Urbania & Tempo Traveller (executive)	$3,200 - $3,840	$25,600 - $30,720

What the transport package includes

A private, air-conditioned vehicle of the class you book, held for the whole circuit — the same car from the first pickup to the last drop, never shared and never re-assigned.
One professional chauffeur for the whole circuit, holding a commercial licence and a state transport badge, police-verified and background-checked, in uniform and speaking English and Hindi.
Fuel, the chauffeur's own meals and accommodation on every outstation night, and the vehicle's permits, fitness certificate and insurance.
All airport, railway-station and hotel transfers inside the itinerary, with the flight tracked on the arrival leg and 60 minutes of waiting included after landing.
A named coordinator at the desk for the whole trip, reachable on one number, who holds the run sheet and moves a leg when a day runs long.
A written confirmation before departure carrying the chauffeur's name and licence number and the vehicle registration, so a security office or a hotel can check it against the operator record.

What it does not include

Hotels, meals and anything consumed off the road — those are the all-inclusive tier, quoted on request rather than published.
Monument and museum entry fees, which differ for Indian, SAARC and foreign visitors and change by notification; the desk quotes the current figures with the itinerary.
Licensed local guides, which we arrange city by city on request and bill at cost.
Tolls, parking and state entry taxes, charged at cost against receipts rather than estimated into the fare.
Air and rail tickets into and out of the circuit, which the travel desk books separately.
GST, added to every figure at the applicable rate, and any night allowance where a leg runs between 10 pm and 6 am.

Airport transfers include 60 minutes of waiting after landing and meet-and-greet at the arrivals exit.
The charter day (10 hours, 300 km) includes fuel and the chauffeur's meals and accommodation on outstation nights.
Night driving between 10 pm and 6 am carries the night allowance per night; a second chauffeur is added on days over 12 hours.
Tolls, parking, state entry taxes and permits are charged at cost against receipts; monument and guide fees through the travel desk are itemised.
No gratuity is expected. GST is shown separately on every invoice. Cancellation terms are on the cancellation policy page.
Vintage cars and stretch limousines are quoted per event.
GST at 5% on chauffeured hire (18% where input credit is claimed) is added to every figure. The full international card is on the rates page; the charter builder prices a circuit of any length live, and the booking page takes the payment direct.
Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before the first pickup, then 10% inside 72 hours, 50% inside 48 hours and the full first day inside 24 hours or for a no-show — the schedule on the cancellation policy page.

Questions

The 8-day Buddhist circuit: frequently asked

Which of the four great places does this cover?

Three of the four in India: Bodhgaya for the enlightenment, Sarnath for the first sermon and Kushinagar for the final passing. Lumbini, the birthplace, is in Nepal and is arranged as an extension.

Can you take us to Lumbini?

To the border at Sonauli, yes. Our chauffeur hands over there and a vetted Nepal-side vehicle meets you, with the same coordinator holding both halves. Foreign nationals need a Nepali visa, available on arrival for most.

Why does the circuit end at Lucknow?

Because it runs one-way north-west and Lucknow has good air connections about 170 km from Sravasti. Returning to Varanasi would add roughly 400 km of repeated road.

Is Sravasti worth the extra day?

It is the quietest major site on the circuit and the place the Buddha spent the most rainy seasons. If you want the sites without crowds, it is the best of them.

How long are the driving days?

Two are long: Bodhgaya to Kushinagar at about 330 km and seven and a half hours with the Vaishali stop, and Kushinagar to Sravasti at about 250 km and six hours. The rest are short.

What are hotel standards like on this route?

Good at Varanasi, Bodhgaya and Lucknow; modest at Kushinagar and Sravasti, where monastery guesthouses are often the best option. The desk names properties rather than quoting a star rating.

Same circuit, other lengths

The The Buddhist circuit in a different number of days

6-day Buddhist circuit tour

On the route

Chauffeur service in the cities this circuit runs through

Limo service in Varanasi: the city guide Limo service in Lucknow: the city guide

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Book

Book the eight-day Buddhist circuit direct

Eight charter days price live by vehicle class, fare fixed before payment. The circuit ends at Lucknow; Lumbini is quoted as an extension.

Weddings, film units, multi-day chauffeur hire, outstation journeys and anything with more than one vehicle are quoted by a person: call (877) 860-3388 or send the outline and a coordinator replies with a written quote.

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Hotels and flights for this itinerary, through BookingWorldwide.net

The stays along this route are on BookingWorldwide.net; reserve them there or ask our desk for the all-inclusive quote, and the chauffeured legs are lined up against whichever you choose.

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Eight-day Buddhist circuit tour: from the enlightenment to the final passing

What the two extra days complete