The state of Bihar (Hindi: बिहार) in eastern India, is one of the oldest inhabited places in the world with a history going back 3000 years. The rich culture and heritage of Bihar is evident from the innumerable ancient monuments that are dotted all over the state. Bihar is home to many tourist attractions and is visited by large numbers of tourists from all over the world.[1] Around total 6 million tourists visit Bihar every year.[1]
Megasthenes (B.C. 350–290 B.C.) visited the region in reign of Chandragupta Maurya.[2] His observations were recorded in Indika. Dionysius was son of Megasthenes, who visited Pataliputra in reign of Ashoka. Hsuan-Tsang and I Ching visited Nalanda to study in the 7th century. This state is the place of Mahavira, the 24th and last Tirthankara, Aryabhata, Great Ashoka, Chanakya, Gautama Buddha, Mahavira, Guru Gobind Singh, Chandragupta Maurya, Vātsyāyana, Sher Shah Suri, Maa Tara Chandi Temple, and many other great historical figures.[3]
Bihar ranked 8th in the top 10 states/UTs of India in number of foreign tourist visits in 2017.[4] The year 2019, saw highest number of tourists in Bihar, with over 35 million tourists, including 11.9 million foreign tourists.[5]
- ^ a b "Incredible !ndia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2011-02-26. Statics Tourism in Bihar on Indian Government's tourism website Archived 2008-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ v,6
- ^ Pliny the Elder, "The Natural History", Chap. 21 Archived 2013-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "India Tourism Statistics at a Glance 2018" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
- ^ "2019 saw highest number of tourists in Bihar". Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2021.