Taxila, UNESCO Gandhara Buddhist Heritage Site

Taxila was one of the great centres of Buddhist learning in the ancient world, part of the Gandhara civilization that flourished here from roughly the 1st century BCE to the 5th century CE. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980, its scattered ruins, Dharmarajika Stupa, Jaulian Monastery, Sirkap, sit alongside a museum housing one of the finest Gandhara artefact collections anywhere.

History

Taxila's history stretches back over 2,500 years, serving successively as a centre under the Achaemenid, Greek, Mauryan and Kushan empires before becoming one of the most important Buddhist learning centres in Asia, drawing scholars and pilgrims from across the ancient world until its decline around the 5th century CE.