CityDekho
Barabar Caves

Barabar Caves

heritage site · Bihar

These are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, 24 km north of Gaya in Jehanabad district, cut under the Mauryas for ascetics of the Ajivika sect.

State
Bihar
Type
Heritage Site

These are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, 24 km north of Gaya in Jehanabad district, cut under the Mauryas for ascetics of the Ajivika sect. Seven chambers across two hills, four at Barabar and three at Nagarjuni about 1.6 km further on, so plan for the walk between them. The one to see is Lomas Rishi, whose carved doorway is the earliest surviving chaitya arch in India, a stone copy of a building made of wood. Ashoka appears in the inscriptions as King Piyadasi. Inside, the chambers are bare; all the carving is on that entrance.

Barabar Caves is known for

Oldest rock-cut cavesLomas Rishi chaitya archAshokan inscriptionsAjivika ascetics

Barabar Caves guide & itineraries

Been to Barabar Caves?

Write what you would tell a friend — where you stayed, what you would skip, the thing you wish somebody had mentioned before you went. We read every submission before it goes up.

Share your story

People also explored

Travellers viewing Barabar Caves also loved these

Bihar

Patneshwari (Maa Patan Devi)

Patneshwari (Maa Patan Devi) in Patna, Bihar is one of the Shakti Peethas, the sacred shrines of the Divine Mother in the Shakta tradition of Hinduism.

Bihar

Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary

A wandering river made this. The Burhi Gandak, a tributary of the Ganga, meandered across the plain in the geological past and left an oxbow lake behind…

Bihar

Nagi Dam Bird Sanctuary

Small, and honest about it: 2.1 square kilometres of reservoir at Jhajha in Jamui district, near the Jharkhand border, protected as a bird sanctuary since 1984.

More heritage & forts

More places you'll love

Karnataka

Daria Daulat Bagh (Srirangapatna)

Daria Daulat Bagh is the elegant summer palace of Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, set in a garden on the river-island of Srirangapatna near Mysuru.

Tripura

Neermahal

Neermahal is a striking water palace rising from the middle of Rudrasagar Lake near Melaghar in Tripura, built by the Manikya king in the 1930s as a royal…

Assam

Sivasagar

Sivasagar, once the capital of the mighty Ahom kingdom that ruled Assam for six centuries, is a town rich in monuments around its great tank.

Tripura

Unakoti

Unakoti, in the forested hills of northern Tripura, is an ancient Shaiva pilgrimage and archaeological site famous for its colossal rock-cut carvings and…

Delhi

Safdarjung's Tomb (Delhi)

Safdarjung's Tomb is a garden-tomb built around 1754 for Safdarjung, the powerful Nawab of Awadh and a prime minister of the Mughal empire.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Cellular Jail (Port Blair)

The Cellular Jail in Port Blair, known as Kala Pani, is a colonial-era prison built by the British between 1896 and 1906 to hold Indian freedom fighters in…

Delhi

Lotus Temple (Delhi)

The Lotus Temple is a Baha'i House of Worship and one of Delhi's most photographed modern landmarks, shaped like a half-open lotus with 27 marble-clad petals…

Delhi

India Gate (Delhi)

India Gate is a 42-metre war memorial arch on the ceremonial Kartavya Path, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and completed in 1931.

Maharashtra

Bibi Ka Maqbara (Aurangabad)

Bibi Ka Maqbara in Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) is a grand Mughal mausoleum built in the 1660s to 1670s for Dilras Banu Begum, the wife of Emperor…

Rajasthan

Kumbhalgarh Fort

Kumbhalgarh, a UNESCO-listed Mewar fort in the Aravalli Hills, is famed for its immense perimeter wall, which stretches roughly 36 km and is often called the…

Maharashtra

Daulatabad Fort

Daulatabad Fort (historically Devagiri) stands atop a steep 200-metre conical hill roughly 15-16 km northwest of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad)…

Karnataka

Gol Gumbaz (Vijayapura)

Gol Gumbaz in Vijayapura (Bijapur) is the mausoleum of Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah, completed in 1656.

Trending in Bihar

Bodh Gaya

Bodh Gaya

Bodh Gaya is the most sacred site in Buddhism — the place where Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree to become the Buddha. The Mahabodhi Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and monasteries built by Buddhist nations worldwide make it a global pilgrimage centre.

Nalanda

Nalanda

Nalanda was the greatest university of the ancient world, a vast Buddhist monastic centre of learning that flourished for 700 years and drew scholars from across Asia. Its red-brick ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a symbol of India's scholarly heritage.

Rajgir

Rajgir

Rajgir, set in a valley ringed by hills, was an ancient capital and a major site in both Buddhism and Jainism. The Buddha meditated and taught here; today its hot springs, the Vishwa Shanti Stupa reached by ropeway, and Griddhakuta hill draw pilgrims and travellers.

Patna

Patna

Patna, the ancient city of Pataliputra, was the capital of the mighty Maurya and Gupta empires and is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Today it is a key gateway to Bihar's Buddhist circuit and a major Sikh pilgrimage site as the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh.

Where next?

More like Barabar Caves

Heritage

Everything in BiharBrowse all destinations