Set against a pastoral landscape, the small hamlet of Kushinagar, 53 km west of Gorakhpur, is revered as the site of the Buddha`s Mahaparinirvana, his death and cremation, that marked his final liberation from the cycles of death and rebirth.

During Buddha`s lifetime, Kushinara, as it was then called, was a small town in the kingdom of the Mallas, surrounded by a thick forest cover.

It remained forgotten, until the late nineteenth century, when archaeologists rediscovered the site, and began excavations.

Today, Kushinagar is rediscovering its roots, as a center for international Buddhism, and is home to many viharas, including a Tibetan gompa devoted to Sakyamuni, a Burmese vihara, and temples from China and Japan.