Travel Guide Nalanda

12 km from Rajgir. Built in the5th century CE by the Gupta emperors, Nalanda University evolved from a simple vihara (monastery) into the largest Buddhist university in ancient India within a few decades. The renown of its teaching spread beyond India's borders, to such an extent that monks from Tibet, China, Ceylon, Burma and even Korea flocked there for the chance, after a difficult entrance examination, to be admitted. Up until the 12th century, when it was destroyed by Bhaktiar Khalji's Afghan cavalry, no fewer than 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers lived here permanently. Xuanzang, the famous 7th-century Chinese monk-traveler, lived there for twelve years. His meticulous descriptions have enabled archaeologists and historians to reconstruct much of the site's history. Today, the well-preserved ruins are set in a lovely 15-hectare park.