Bhagalpur Vikramshila Buddhist University Heritage

The ruins of Vikramshila Mahavihara on the Ganga's bank in Bhagalpur district mark the site of one of ancient India's premier Buddhist universities (8th-12th century CE), founded by Pala emperor Dharmapala as a counterpart to Nalanda — a centre for tantric Buddhism that sent teachers including Atisha to Tibet. The Vikramshila Archaeological Site Museum displays Pala-period bronze Buddha and bodhisattva figures, terracotta plaques, and monastery architectural remains excavated from the 100-metre-diameter circular monastic complex. Bhagalpur's Ganga dolphin sanctuary protects the critically endangered Gangetic river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) in a 60km stretch of river between Sultanganj and Kahalgaon — one of the last viable dolphin populations in the Ganga.