Just a short distance from the town centre, Bodhgaya looks like just another small village -not like one of the most important religious places on Earth.
More photos from India.

Bodhgaya is maybe the holiest place in Buddhism as Siddharta Gautama (the historical Buddha) is said to have attained enlightenment here.
The tree brightly decorated at the Mahabodhi Temple is said to be a direct descendant of the actual one under which Buddha was meditating when this happened.
Bodhgaya itself is a pleasant small town, remarkable for the different temples erected here by the various Buddhist denominations. A very good chance to come and compare…

A dancer in a dance show in Calcutta (India).

Varanasi is maybe the “holiest” place in Hinduism. Many people believe that “death in Varanasi is Liberation” meaning that if you are cremated here, you have a good chance to escape the cycle of rebirth.
Consequently, many people come here to die, dead are brought here for cremation and there are millions of pilgrims.
There are over 100 “ghats”, some of which are dedicated to burning bodies while others are pure bathing ghats for the ritual cleansing (puja).
There also are plenty of small rowing boats for pilgrims and tourists who want to see this all from the water of the holy river Ganges.

Other names for Varanasi: Benares, Banaras, Kashi.

The ghats of Varanasi, early in the morning

The “residency” in Lucknow was demolished in the Indian mutiny of 1857. The uprising started when Indian soldiers refused to “bite the cartridge”. This referred to the way the paper cartridges containing gunpowder were opened at the time, the problem being that, in order to keep the dry, they had been greased with pork or beef fat.
This, of course, was not in accordance with Muslim and Hindu believes.

The Taj Mahal in Agra.

Well, even before I took this photo, I envisaged turning it around in the slide tray.
Hard to say which version I prefer, this one where I uplifted the building or the normal view of the reflected Taj Mahal that is upside down, because I did not turn it…
Everything clear?

The Ganges river seen from a small boat very early in the morning.

I have seen all sorts of squirrels in parks, but the chipmunks in Agra and other Indian cities were not the least shy.

Bodhgaya is a pleasant town situated at the shores of the Niranjana river.
There is, however, one thing that sets this place apart from all others: here, under a Bodhi tree, prince Siddharta achieved enlightenment and became “the Buddha”.
So, Bodhgaya is one of the holiest sites for Buddhists and there are monasteries from just about any Buddhist country.
Very interesting to visit, - but exploring rural India is just as rewarding!

This photo was taken from a small rowing boat on the Ganges river.

On the ghats of Varanasi