Patna

Patna, the capital of Bihar and the second-largest city in eastern India, sits on the southern bank of the Ganges where the river is joined by the Sone and the Punpun. Its history is among the deepest of any city on earth: as Pataliputra it was the capital of the Maurya and Gupta empires, the seat of Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara and Ashoka during a golden age that ran roughly from 500 BCE to 400 CE. Later rulers — the Palas, Sher Shah Suri, and the Mughal-era governor Azim-ush-Shan, who renamed it Azimabad — all governed from here. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, was born in the old city. Vestiges of the ancient capital survive at Kumhrar, Agam Kuan, Bhikhna Pahari and Bulandi Bagh.

Today Patna is a busy, fast-growing and often chaotic city that wears its poverty openly, but it is also an important commercial and education hub for the region and a natural base for the Buddhist and Jain circuit — Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda, Bodh Gaya and Pawapuri are all within a few hours' drive. The city stretches in a long ribbon along the Ganges, with the colonial-era core around Gandhi Maidan and Bankipore at its heart and newer districts running west toward Bailey Road and Danapur.

The best time to visit is the cool, dry winter from November to February, when daytime highs sit in the low 20s°C. Summers from April to June are punishingly hot (highs near 40°C), and the monsoon (late June to September) brings heavy rain and the risk of Ganges flooding.

By Plane

Jay Prakash Narayan Airport (Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, IATA: PAT) is the city's domestic airport, a few kilometres southwest of the centre near Bailey Road. It has direct flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Indore and Ranchi, with the heaviest frequencies to Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Prepaid taxis and app-cabs (Ola/Uber) run into the centre; autorickshaws are also available outside the terminal.

By Train

Patna is a major hub on the East Central Railway. Three stations serve the city: Patna Junction (code PNBE), the main station near the centre; Rajendra Nagar Terminal (code RJPB) to the east; and Hajipur Junction (ECR) across the Ganges, where many trains from the Nepal-border area (Raxaul, Gorakhpur) and the North-East arrive. Express trains connect directly with New Delhi (Rajdhani, Sampark Kranti, Vikramshila, Magadh, Tejas Rajdhani), Howrah/Kolkata (Rajdhani, Jan Shatabdi, Vande Bharat), Mumbai, Ranchi, Varanasi and most southern metros. Book reserved seats well ahead through IRCTC. Note that Hajipur is only 11 km away but the cross-river trip over the long Ganges bridge can take 40 minutes to two hours in traffic; shared rickshaws from the south side of Patna Junction cost about ₹30.

By Car / Road

Patna is connected by National Highways 30, 31 and 19 to the rest of the country. Approximate road distances: Vaishali 40 km, Muzaffarpur 80 km, Nalanda 90 km, Rajgir 103 km, Bodh Gaya 130 km, Varanasi 300 km, Kolkata 535 km, Delhi 988 km. The Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC) runs deluxe bus and car-rental services to Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Pawapuri, Nalanda and Vaishali. Inter-state buses leave from the terminus at Bankipore (near Gandhi Maidan) and Mithapur for Gaya, the Nepal border (Raxaul/Birganj), Ranchi, Siliguri, Jamshedpur and Purnia.

The cheapest and most common way around the city is the shared "tempo" (large autorickshaw), which runs fixed routes for roughly ₹5–15 a hop; drivers rarely overcharge on shared runs, though reserving an auto privately invites high quotes, so agree the fare first. BSRTC city buses ply the main routes (about 20–30% cheaper than tempos but less comfortable), originating from Gandhi Maidan and stopping at Patna Junction. The Patna Metro is under construction; as of late 2025 only three Blue Line stations — ISBT, Zero Mile and Bhootnath — were operational. Ola and Uber both work in the city. Car rental is available but self-driving is stressful for those unused to Indian traffic.

• Golghar — a vast beehive-shaped granary built by Captain John Garstin in 1786 to store grain for the British army (capacity 140,000 tons); climb the spiral external stairs for views over the Ganges. Near Gandhi Maidan.
• Bihar Museum, Bailey Road — opened in 2015, a modern museum tracing the state's history across regional, historical-art, contemporary and diaspora galleries. Open Tue–Sun 10:00–19:00 (history galleries close 17:00). Indian adults ₹100, children/students ₹50; foreign adults ₹500, children ₹250; camera ₹100.
• Patna Museum — the older state museum, with over 50,000 objects spanning ancient, medieval and colonial India, including the Holy Relic Casket said to hold ashes of the Buddha and the famous Didarganj Yakshi statue. Foreigners ₹250.
• Kumhrar — excavated ruins of ancient Pataliputra, including the remains of a great Mauryan 80-pillared hall.
• Agam Kuan — an ancient deep well linked to Emperor Ashoka, beside a Shitala temple.
• Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), northwest of Gandhi Maidan — photographs, manuscripts and exhibits on Mahatma Gandhi's life, with a research library.
• Takht Sri Patna Sahib (Harmandir Sahib) — one of the five Takhts of Sikhism, marking the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, in the old city.
• Indira Gandhi Planetarium, Bailey Road — one of Asia's larger planetariums, with regular astronomy shows.

Walk the Ganges riverfront and watch the evening Ganga aarti near the ghats. Catch a show at the Indira Gandhi Planetarium or explore hands-on physics exhibits at the Shrikrishna Science Centre near Gandhi Maidan (₹30 general entry). Gandhi Maidan itself, a huge historic ground, hosts rallies, fairs and the city's Dussehra and other festival gatherings. Patna also makes an ideal launch pad for day trips and short tours on the Buddhist–Jain circuit — Vaishali, Nalanda, Rajgir, Pawapuri and Bodh Gaya can each be reached and seen in a day with an early start. The Sonepur Cattle Fair, Asia's largest, takes place across the river each November–December.

Bihari cuisine is hearty and grain-based; the signature dish is litti-chokha — baked wheat-flour balls stuffed with roasted gram flour (sattu), served with mashed aubergine, potato and tomato. Sattu drinks and snacks, khaja (a flaky layered sweet from nearby Silao), and thekua are local specialities. Patna has everything from street stalls around Gandhi Maidan to multi-cuisine restaurants and mall food courts along Boring Road and Fraser Road. Pure-vegetarian thali houses are easy to find, and the city's many sweet shops sell rasgulla, peda and khaja. Most mid-range and upscale restaurants cluster on Fraser Road, Boring Road and inside the larger hotels.

As Bihar is a dry state — the sale and consumption of alcohol have been prohibited statewide since 2016 — bars and liquor are not available, so plan accordingly. Non-alcoholic options dominate: sattu sharbat (a cooling roasted-gram-flour drink), sugarcane juice, lassi, masala chai and filter coffee are widely sold, and modern cafés along Boring Road serve espresso drinks and shakes. Stick to bottled or filtered water and avoid untreated tap water and ice from unknown sources.

• Budget: numerous guesthouses and small hotels cluster around Patna Junction and Fraser Road with rooms in the rough ₹800–1,500 range; the BSTDC-run Kautilya Vihar near the station is a reliable government tourist lodge.
• Mid-range: Hotel Patliputra Ashok (ITDC) and several business hotels on Fraser Road and Boring Road typically run around ₹3,000–5,000 a night.
• Upscale: Hotel Maurya Patna (South Gandhi Maidan) and Lemon Tree Premier, Patna are the city's leading full-service hotels, generally from about ₹6,000 a night upward.

Patna's shopping clusters around the Bankipore/Boring Road, Maurya Lok complex and Patna Market (Hathwa Market) areas. Look for Madhubani (Mithila) paintings, Bhagalpur tussar silk, sujni embroidery and appliqué work from the surrounding region, and locally made khadi and handloom cloth. Sweets and Bihari snacks make easy buys. Bargaining is normal in markets and with street vendors but not in fixed-price showrooms and malls.

• Vaishali (40 km, ~1.5 hr) — Ashokan lion pillar and ancient Buddhist stupas, where the Buddha gave his last sermon.
• Nalanda (90 km, ~2.5 hr) — UNESCO-listed ruins of the great ancient Buddhist university.
• Rajgir (103 km, ~2.5–3 hr) — hot springs, Vulture's Peak and the hilltop Vishwa Shanti Stupa reached by ropeway.
• Pawapuri (~90 km) — the Jain Jalmandir marking Lord Mahavira's nirvana.
• Bodh Gaya (130 km, ~3 hr) — the Mahabodhi Temple where the Buddha attained enlightenment.
• Sonepur (~25 km across the Ganges via Hajipur) — site of the famous month-long November cattle fair.