The roots of the temple dates back to 8 March 1992, when Dr Hennie Senekal, former church minister and the chief executive of Bronkhorstspruit City Council visited Taiwan for promoting investment prospects in the town. Almost six hectares were donated to the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order for building an educational complex and Chinese Buddhist cultural. Later, Fo Guang Shan Religious Affairs Committee had asked Venerable Hui Li to establish a temple with the main aim of promoting Buddhism in Africa. The construction of the temple started in October 1992. The estimated expenditure of construction of entire complex was almost 60 million African Rand.

Following the temple, the Nan Hua Temple Guesthouse, Nan Hua Village, a Pureland Ch’an retreat centre, African Buddhist Seminary (ABS) and Assembly Hall were constructed. Later, various branches of Nan Hua Temple were opened in various other cities in South Africa such as Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Newcastle. The temple committee actively participates in charity, community, prison outreach and cultural programs. The popularity of the temple has increased by leaps and bounds across the world. It is located at an hour’s drive from the African city of Johannesburg.

Officially the Nan Hua Temple was opened in the year 2005 by Most Venerable Hsin Pei, the current and seventh global head abbot.

The temple complex includes a professional Pureland meditation retreat centre, which is situated almost two kilometers away from the temple. Entrance to this centre is open to everyone and is not discriminated on the basis of nationality, religion, sex, etc. The centre has a monastic residence, a big meditation hall, as well as residences for all meditation practitioners.

A visit to Nan Hua temple is an aesthetic treat. The huge front gates, attractive buildings and the ornamented steps to the temple are very impressive. During special occasions such as birthday of Lord Buddha the grounds are decorated. The large statues of Buddha and elaborate architecture are similar to the typical Buddhist temples.

Bronkhorstspruit was developed as an important railway station between Gauteng and Mpumalanga. It was one of the first serious clashes in the First Boer War, which took place in the year 1880. Today, the Bronkhorstspruit dam is a major tourist attraction. Thick grass borders the banks of the dam and acts as great cover for bass waiting to hunt their prey.

The meaning of Rajgir is home of Royalty. This town is associated with Buddhism and Lord Buddha, who has spent few years here. During his stay in Rajgir, he had delivered sermons as well as had proselytized emperor Bimbisar. The town has a Jivekarmavan monastery, which is believed to be the favorite residence of Lord Buddha in Rajgir. It is said that the teachings of Lord Buddha was recorded during his stay at Rajgir. This town was selected as the venue for first Buddhist Council. Rajgir has some of the most beautiful Jain and Hindu Jain temples. Other than a place for worship, this town is developed as a winter and health resort, thanks to the warm water ponds in Rajgir.

Best time to visit:

The best time to visit Rajgir is between October and March.

Things to see

Cyclopean Wall

When constructed, this 40 Km long bordered the ancient town of Rajgir. It was constructed using the huge undressed stone that were carefully fitted together. It is an important Pre-Maurayan structure and traces of wall are found at the exit of Rajgir towards Gaya.

Jarashand ka Akhara

This place is said to be the Ranbhumi where the battle between Bhima and Jarasandh took place during Mahabharat.

Ajatshatru Fort

This fort was constructed by Ajatshatru during 6th century BC. It has a 6.5 sq.m Ajatshatru’s Stupa that is believed to be constructed by him.

Shanti Stupa

The huge Vishwa Shanti Stup is constructed on a 400 m high hill. It is built in plush marble and four corners of the structure have sparkling statues of Buddha. You have to take the ropeway to reach at the top of the hill.

Venu Vana:

Venu vana was constructed by king Bimbisara as a residence to Lord Buddha.

Karanda Tank

It is believed that Lord Buddha took a bath in Karanda Tank.

Veerayatan

Veerayatan is a renowned museum and Jain Temple.

Jain Temple

The Rajgir town is surrounded by almost 26 Jain Temples, which are extremely difficult to approach.

Hot Springs

Hotsprings are located at the foot of the Vaibhava Hill, which is later followed by a staircase that leads to various temples. There are separate bathing areas designated for men and women. The hot water comes from Saptdhara, which has its origin from the “Saptarni Caves”.

Bodh Gaya is located in the state of Bihar in India. As the site of Lord Buddha Shakyamuni’s enlightenment, it is considered as the most revered of all sacred Buddhist sites in the world.

The main temple complex has a famous Mahabodhi Stupa. It also has a progeny of the main Bodhi Tree, sitting under which Lord Buddha gained enlightenment. The village has various temples and monasteries from different nations that have Buddhist tradition such as Thai, Tibet, Japan, etc.

Best time to visit

The best time to visit Bodhgaya is between October and March.

Things to See

Basically, Bodh Gaya is a pilgrimage destination for the Buddhists across the world and the popular tourist attractions in the village are related to this.

Mahabodhi Temple

This temple is located in the eastern area of the huge Bodhi Tree. It has a superb architecture. The basement of is 48 sq ft and has a slight shape of a Pyramid. The temple is almost 170 feet tall and Chatras are placed at the pinnacle of the temple. The temple has a tower in all four corners, thus providing poise stability to the structure.

Bodhi Tree

The huge Bodhi Tree that you see today is the fifth succession of the original tree where Lord Gautam Buddha had attained enlightenment. You can also see a Vajrasana, which is believed to be the seat of stability. It is nothing more than a stone platform, where Lord Buddha is supposed to have sat in meditation. He used to sit under the tree and gaze in the east.

Animesh Lochan Chaitya

It is said that Lord Gautam Buddha had spent seven days at Animesh Lochan Chaitya. He sat there looking at the great Bodhi tree out of gratitude, and didn’t even twinkle his eyes.

Chankramana

Chankramana symbolizes the holy spot of the meditative perambulations of Lord Buddha after pious enlightenment. It is said that wherever Lord Buddha would touch the ground with his feet a beautiful lotus would bloom.

Ratnagarh

It is believed that Lord Buddha had spent seven days at Ratnagarh. It is the place, where five colors were flowing from his body.

There are various other tourist attractions in Bodhgaya. Few of the popular ones are 80 feet huge Statue of Lord Buddha, Buddha Kund, Lotus Tank, Rajayatana, Chinese Temple & Monastery, Brahm Yoni, Burmese Temple, International Buddhist House & Japanese Temple, Buddhist Monastery of Bhutan, Thai Temple & Monastery, Archaeological Museum and Tibetan Monastery.

Opening timings

The Mahabodhi Temple is open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., while the other monasteries are open from 5 a.m to noon and later from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

According to the mythological stories, the Karla caves date back to the second century BC. These caves are renowned for their Chaitya Hall, intricate pillars and sculptures with creative architecture. The beautiful Chaitya hall has amazing structural design. Also, the rooftop of the caves is designed using teakwood and the pillars are marvelously carved.

The caves complex has various carved chaityas and viharas, which are designed as the dwelling places for the monks staying in the caves. One of the most notable features of Karla caves is the vaulted interiors and arched entrances. The outside facade of the caves has intricate details carved on it and has an imitation of fine wood. In addition to this, there is a huge central motif that boosts a horseshoe arch.

Karla caves have few striking pillar, and one of the pillars have four lions placed at the top. The same structure is now used as the national emblem of India. It has various sculptures that are cut out of rock, and are based on different forms of human life and numerous animals.

One of the most interesting parts of the caves is the Buddhist style of architecture. The caves are cool during summer and cozy during winter. The caves are well adapted to the changing weather Indian conditions, and spiritual and material conditions as well as. The concept of these cave strikes a fundamental chord of the Indian spirituality, which is being one with the nature. The Buddhist monks have carefully carved out the replicas of stupas, images, chaitya halls and shrines. The Karla Caves is one of the finest examples of Buddhist architectural style.

This popular tourist attraction has a stone stupa and almost 37 pillars, which are chiseled with the different figures of prosperous women and men on elephants, and prostrating before the Lord Buddha.  You will see bouncing sunshine that falls inside the shrine and further lends a serene aura.

Reach Karla Caves

If you are planning to travel by air, than the nearest airport to reach Karla caves is in Pune. It is located at a distance of 55 kilometers from Karla. On the other hand, the nearest local railway station is Malavil, which is located hardly 5 kilometers away from the caves. Other major railway station is Pune, which is well connected with various cities in India.

General Cunningham had carried out the excavations at Kushinagar. It was later revealed that some antique structures and artifacts related to various sects of Buddhism were found after excavations. Some of the common threads of Buddhism such as splendid Viharas, temples, Chaityas, and Tibetan monasteries are found at Kushinagar as well. The town was known as Kasia and Kushinara.

The city of Kushinagar is located in Uttar Pradesh, almost 53 km away from Gorakhpur. Popular attractions at Kushinagar are Nirvana Stupa and temple, Mahaparinirvana temple, Wat Thai temple, Ramabhar Stupa and a Japanese temple.

Nirvana Stupa is made of bricks and was excavated in the year 1867 by Carlleyl. It is 2.74 meter tall. After excavations copper vessels and the Brahmi inscription were found from the site. The Mahaparinirvana temple has a 6 meters huge statue of reclining Buddha, which is carved from Chunar sandstone.  The Wat Thai temple is unique temple, which was constructed to celebrate the triumph of King Bhumibol. There is a Chinese temple, an International Buddha trust, a Meditation Park and the Birla temple in the vicinity of the temple.

The Ramabhar Stupa is located at a distance of 1.5 kilometer from the Mahaparinirvana Temple. The huge Stupa is 49 feet tall and marks the place where the Buddha was cremated. In various ancient Buddhist texts, the Ramabhar Stupa is known as ‘Mukut-Bandhan Vihar’. Kushinagar has a beautiful Japanese temple that has eight metals statue of the Lord Buddha. The statues were imported from Japan.

The nearest airport to Kushinagar is at Gorakhpur, which is located at a distance of 44 kilometer. Also, the nearest railway station is Gorakhpur, which is well-connect to various important cities in the country.

Kushinagar offers various accommodation facilities. There are several Dharmashalas and charitable trusts in the city. Few of the renowned hotels in Kushinagar includes Hotel LOTUS NIKKO, International Guesthouse, Nepalese, Hindu brila Buddha Dharmashala and the Pathik Niwas. The Uttar Pradesh Tourism also provides excellent accommodation options.

King Sihanouk releases traditional harem of majestic apsaras also called as heavenly nymphs. The Palace taught classic ballet and trained many much before the era of Pol Pot, the traditions of which did stretch to a long time, and the apsara art even now resounds to glorify the divinity of the king.

Apsara is distinct to Cambodia. Apsara was formulated by Emperor Sihanouk’s mom in hopes of bringing the history into life. Dancing was at a bad shape at the time of Pol Pot reign with very few teachers and dancers left. This included an elderly woman who was skilled in the art of making costumes for the dance that were sown in detail onto dancers just before performances.

Much of Cambodia’s majestic Apsara dance resembles closely to the ones in Thailand and India. It has the same style of hand movements incorporated, same sequences, identical headwear and lame costumes. Traditionally, Apsara Dance involved only female dancers except the monkey’s role played by a man. Nowadays, you would find male dancers in the group. Folk dances in Cambodia such as ‘fishing dance’ and ‘wishing dance’ are spiritually connected invoking responses from the Gods for a better catch, good harvest and good rainfall.

The sculptural reliefs on monuments in Angkor region depicts apsara and musicians holding similar instruments to those seen in Khmer instruments namely a three stringer fiddle and single stringer bow instrument.

During Pol Pot reign, Khmer Rouge went on a killing spree targeting well known singers and famous performer and songwriter of Cambodia by executing all the very first day of its regime.

Apsara dances go on for about two hours with each dance telling a different story. The young girls are brilliant and beautiful with their costumes attired in bright gold, pink, blue and red. The reflection of the lamps onto the dancers does spread to the people watching the dance. Their hand movements are simply awesome. Their delicate wrists made the appropriate bends and pointed their little fingers in all angles possible. Their feet look pointed and very small and most of the time they would do slow steps, but at the same time having tremendous control over their bodies. They turn around on the tip of their topes and hands all stretched like falcon’s wings. All in all, it’s a magnificent piece of art with classy make-ups and bright costumes making the dance very unique.

The lake was officially declared as a national scenic place in 1994 and holds a high level when it comes to world tourism. The clarity of the lake is such that if you attempt to see what’s underneath it, you might still have a decent chance to investigate it further. The lake is bordered by snowy mountains that are just magnificent and tranquil. When compared to other sacred lakes, the lake of Ba Songcuo stands a bit above considering its unique features and the views it portrays.

While moving around the lake, you get a feeling of seeing everything in one masterpiece namely snowy mountains, forests, lakes, waterfalls, historical relics, pastures and also ancient temples in a single picture. The views the lake showcases are distinctively different pertaining to the 4 seasons in a year. Travelers with botanical interests have the opportunity to view rare wild plants and some really get mesmerized and describe the land to be truly heavenly. Views of mountain reflections around the clear waters are admirable. Bird watchers have an opportunity to spot white cranes and Delphi seabirds that soar up in the sky while fish could be seen swimming in peace in the clear waters. A good camera taken along would describe the beautiful landscapes even better and pleasant memories would remain forever. The lake changes according to different seasons in a year. The views seen during spring may be very different to those seen during summer, but the eyes never fail to capture the beauty as it’s completely serene and blissful throughout the year. About a few hundred meters from the lake’s bank, you could find an island called Zhaxi Island. Also named as Hollow Island mythically, it certainly is a mysterious and mystical place, and we leave it to you to decide whether it’s truly hollow or not.

Let’s talk about a sacred journey referring to Kochi, Kerala here. It was the first ever colony of Europe in India and the center for trading spices on the Southern Western Coast of India. The next journey would include traveling to Munnar, a lovely hill station, filled with never ending tea plantations, mountains and pristine valleys, exotic fauna and flora, smell of spices and breathing fresh scented air that seems to be speaking its own language while giving us enough oxygen to think and respect Mother Nature. You could also indulge in an overnight cruise through the silent backwaters where the rivers shine bright, have a look at the natural freshwater lakes, beautiful palm grooves, serene lagoons, relax and rejuvenate yourself on the lush green sanctuary spreading up to 14 acres that overlooks the deep blue sea and clean white sands. You could also enter an Ayurvedic Center for any treatment if desired. You also have the chance to undertake Yoga classes including meditation sessions for some days, as many foreign tourists visit India in hopes of learning Yoga. Finally, you could travel to Madurai that’s also known as Temple City and have a glimpse of stunning architectural wonders of ancient India and also visit temples of Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram. These temples are of high value to Indian sentiments and carry a lot of meaning when Hindus embark on a journey here. These are considered holy sites and places of worship. The journey ends in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and you could go on a sightseeing tour or shop before you head back.

Santa Maria de Montserrat Monastery in Spain

This monastery is located near Barcelona in Montserrat Mountain, Catalonia. The magnificent rock formation could be seen from many a miles. The mountainous rocky background also known as Montserrat that means toothed mountain in Spanish is of sedimentary rock.

Yumbulagang Monastery in Tibet

This monastery is situated along Yarlong River near Lhasa in Naidong. The history of this monastery spans a long 2000 years. This magnificent structure is adorned with murals and painted walls showcasing Tibet’s history. The word Yumbulagang means palace of son and mother according to Tibetan language.

Tibet Potala Palace in Tibet

This stands on the Marpo Ri Hill just above Lhasa valley and is a great structure in Tibet. There is a cave present that’s considered to be holy and home to Avilokiteshvara (Bodhisattva Chenresi).

After the death of Guru Nanak, his disciples continued to visit this site frequently and hence it became a sacred shrine for them. This lake was originally structured and enlarged by Ram Dass (1574-1581) the 4th Sikh Guru and the temple of God was build under the leadership of Arjan (1581-1606), the fifth Sikh Guru. From early 1600s to mid 1700s all the Sikh gurus (from the sixth one to the tenth one) were engaged in defending their temple and religion against the Mughals. The Mughals destroyed this temple a lot of times but the Sikhs managed to rebuild it beautifully each time. From the year 1767, the Sikhs became militarily stronger and the Hari Mandir finally got its share of peace.

The architecture of this temple is drawn on both the Mughal and Hindu artistic styles and it represents a pretty unique co-evolution between the two. Maharaja Ranjit Singh decorated the Golden Temple with plenty of rich ornaments, big quantities of precious stones, and a golden glide. Inside the sanctuary, there is a big platform studded with jewels and there is Adi Grantha here which is the Sikh sacred scripture. It contains devotional prayers, poems, and hymns written by ten Sikh gurus and different Hindu and Muslim saints. These hymns are chanted all day from morning to sunset with an exquisite arrangement of drums, stringed instruments, and flutes.

There is enchanting beautiful music echoing across the lake and which puts you in a powerful yet delicate state of trance. The spring is fed by a sacred lake and the pilgrims immerse themselves night and day in water which symbolizes cleansing of soul and not actual body bath. Close to temple complex, there are big pilgrims dorms and dining halls and this is where all the persons from different religion and race get lodging and food for free.