Ratnagiri Buddhist Site
ରତ୍ନଗିରି
The most important Buddhist monastery site in the Diamond Triangle, with finely carved door frames in its large monastery and enormous Buddha heads.
Ratnagiri sits on a hill about 70 km northeast of Bhubaneswar. From the 5th to the 13th century it was an important Buddhist center, rivaling Nalanda. The site preserves two large monasteries, a great stupa and hundreds of small votive stupas. The chlorite door frames of Monastery 1 are exquisitely carved, and the courtyard contains a huge seated Buddha and a Buddha head. The nearby archaeological museum displays excavated Buddha, Avalokiteshvara and Tara images. Together with nearby Lalitgiri and Udayagiri, it forms the Diamond Triangle. A hired-car day trip takes about 5 to 6 hours of driving round trip, and the museum is closed on Fridays.
Opening hours
Sunrise to sunset; museum closed Fri
Nearby sights
- Udayagiri Buddhist Complex, Odisha
- Lalitgiri
- Barabati Fort
- Nandankanan Zoological Park
- Ram Mandir, Bhubaneswar
- Chausath Yogini Temple, Hirapur
- Odisha State Museum
- Brahmeswara Temple