Aura of India: Cities in Bihar: Patna, Gaya, Rajgir and Bhagalpur to Visit

The beehive-shaped Golghar granary in Patna

Photo: Kumartheharshit, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

Patna on a winter afternoon, by the old granary of Golghar, a short walk from the Ganges.

Bihar's cities are plain, crowded and busy with their own lives, and each one is a door to a much older place an hour or two away.

Patna, the long city on the river

Patna stretches for miles along the south bank of the Ganges, from the cantonment at Danapur in the west to the old quarter of Patna City in the east. It is the only true big city in the state. The Bihar Museum, on Nehru Path, is the best introduction to the state's past; it is closed on Mondays. The domed brick granary of Golghar stands near Gandhi Maidan, the great open ground at the centre, and Takht Sri Patna Sahib, the gurdwara at the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, is in the narrow lanes of the old city. In the evening, people walk on JP Ganga Path, a riverside road finished in 2025.

The airport is close to the centre, with a new terminal since June 2025. Patna Metro runs on a short first stretch of 6.2 kilometres, from the inter-state bus terminal through Zero Mile and Bhoothnath to Malahi Pakri. It is useful for the bus terminal and little else for now; the underground line to Patna Junction is due in 2028.

Gaya and Bodh Gaya, two towns with two purposes

Gaya, renamed Gaya Ji by the state in 2025, is a Hindu pilgrim city on the Phalgu river. Families come to the Vishnupad temple to make pind daan, offerings of rice balls for their ancestors, and the town fills during Pitripaksha, the fortnight for the dead in September or October. Bodh Gaya is a separate and much quieter town about 15 kilometres south. Most visitors sleep in Bodh Gaya and go into Gaya only for the temple or the train. For the shrines of both towns, read Bihar's sacred places.

The fastest trains reach Gaya Junction from Patna in about an hour and a quarter. Gaya's airport lies about five kilometres from Bodh Gaya and has seasonal winter flights from Buddhist countries.

Rajgir and Bhagalpur, the towns of the old universities

Rajgir is a small town in a ring of rocky hills, and the best base for Nalanda, whose ruins lie about 12 kilometres away. A daily train from Patna stops at Nalanda and ends at Rajgir in about three and a half hours.

Bhagalpur, about four hours east of Patna by the fastest train, is a weaving city known for tussar, a wild silk with a soft gold sheen. It is the base for the ruins of Vikramshila, a Buddhist university founded by the Pala king Dharmapala, at Antichak, about 38 kilometres away. The Ganges between Sultanganj and Kahalgaon has been a sanctuary for the river dolphin since 1991.

North of the river: Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Purnia

Muzaffarpur, about an hour and a half from Patna by the fastest train, is a market town best known for shahi litchi, a fragrant fruit with its own geographical indication, picked in late May and early June. Darbhanga is the cultural centre of Mithila, the old region of Maithili speech and painting. The Anand Bagh palace of its maharajas dates from the 1880s and was rebuilt after the 1934 earthquake. Darbhanga's airport has direct flights to several large cities and is the easy way to the painting villages of Madhubani. Purnia, further east, is a transit town on the road towards Siliguri and the hills.

A route between the cities

Most first trips make a loop south of the Ganges. Spend a day in Patna, then take a fast train to Gaya and an auto on to Bodh Gaya. Rajgir is about two hours from Bodh Gaya by road. Give a day to Rajgir, Nalanda and the Jain temple pond at Pawapuri, then return to Patna by the daily train from Rajgir.

The cities north and east of Patna are separate trips. Muzaffarpur is an easy train ride, Darbhanga is easiest by air, and Bhagalpur is a long morning on the train down the river. Avoid travelling into Bihar in the days before Chhath, in October or November, when every train is full.

Cities to know

Patna (Patna): the capital and gateway; 2,049,156 people in 2011, counting the city and its suburbs.
Gaya (Gaya Ji): the Vishnupad temple and rites for ancestors.
Bodh Gaya (Gaya Ji): the Mahabodhi temple, and the place to stay in the south.
Rajgir (Nalanda): hills, hot springs and the base for Nalanda.
Bhagalpur (Bhagalpur): tussar silk and Vikramshila.
Muzaffarpur (Muzaffarpur): north Bihar's market town and litchi orchards.
Darbhanga (Darbhanga): Mithila culture, palaces and an airport.
Sasaram (Rohtas): the tomb of Sher Shah Suri in its square lake.

In Bihar the city is usually the way in, and the reason you came is a short journey further on.

Plan your visit

Best season	October to March, though trains into Bihar are packed before Chhath in October or November. The plains bake from April to June, and the rivers of north Bihar flood in the monsoon.
How to reach	Airports at Patna, Gaya and Darbhanga. Main stations: Patna Junction, Rajendra Nagar Terminal, Danapur and Patliputra in Patna, plus Gaya, Muzaffarpur and Bhagalpur.
Getting around	Trains between the cities. Autos, e-rickshaws and app cabs in Patna, plus the short metro line; autos in Bodh Gaya and Rajgir; a hired car for Nalanda and Pawapuri.
Where to stay	Patna: Fraser Road, Boring Road or Bailey Road. Bodh Gaya rather than Gaya. Rajgir town for Nalanda. Near the station in the other cities.
How long to spend	A day in Patna, one or two in Bodh Gaya, two around Rajgir and Nalanda, and a day for each other city. For the whole state, see the Bihar guide.
Permits and rules	No permits. Alcohol has been banned in Bihar since 2016, for visitors too.

Open Patna, Bihar in Google Maps

Questions people ask

Is there a list of Bihar's most developed cities?

Not an official one. What can be measured is size: in the 2011 Census, Patna's urban area had about 2 million people, more than four times Gaya's, with Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur next.

Does Patna have a metro?

Only a short first stretch: 6.2 kilometres and four stations, from the inter-state bus terminal to Malahi Pakri. Khemnichak is due to open by December 2026, and the underground line to Patna Junction is planned for 2028.

Should I stay in Gaya or Bodh Gaya?

Bodh Gaya, unless you have come for rites at the Vishnupad temple. It is quieter, nearer the airport and has more rooms.

Is Gaya now called Gaya Ji?

Yes, since May 2025, and Bihar Tourism uses the new name. Many timetables and people still say Gaya.

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Cities in Bihar: Patna, Gaya, Rajgir and Bhagalpur to Visit