Road trip to Bhallar Buddhist Stupa Taxila

Bhallar Buddhist Stupa is visible from far off across the Havelian rail bridge over river Haro, near Taxila.

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History of Bhallar Buddhist Stupa

The current shape of Bhallar Stupa was built by Asoka loyalists somewhere after the 5^th century AD. It has stood the test of time since then because it was pretty high in the mountain back then.
Buddha is said to have made an offering of his head at this very site.
A sacred Buddhist site here, is also mentioned in the travelogue of Chinese Traveler Fa Hien (Hu Tsiang) who came to the Buddhist “holy land” of Taxila in the 4^th century AD.
Hu Tsiang had come to Taxila to seek original text of Buddhist holy books when he came across this stupa. The place housed a monastery that doubled up as a travelers’ rest house.
It was at Bhallar stupa that the Buddhist holy man Kumaralabha compiled his religious treatise.

Bhallar is 70 Km from Islamabad and it takes 1.5 hours to get there on the Wah Cantt – HMC road.

The road is narrow till HMC factory, after which it breaks down.

Islamabad- wah cant main gate – u-turn and take HMC road – Haro river crossing

Only those people should visit Bhallar Stupa site who have an interest in History and Archeology, otherwise, there is not much to see for them.

The view from the majestic Bhallar stupa is beautiful.

Bhallar is situated on top of the Sarda mountain range, so you have to climb about 10 minutes to reach the top.
There are ruins of a Buddhist monastery at the site too.
This Stupa is located at a distance of 15 km from the Buddhist complex of Taxila which comprises
- Jaulian Buddhist Monastery
- Mohra Morado Buddhist Monastery and Stupa
- Dharmajika Stupa
- Bhamala Stupa
- Pipplan Monastery and Stupa
- Badalpur stupa

The best time to visit Bhallar Stupa is in winters when the blood oranges of Khanpur and Taxila are ripe for plucking.

The place is safe for families and women and is a peaceful place to have a picnic.

Iqbal Khattak says:

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So, Fa Hien who came to Taxila in 4th century BC mentioned Bhallar Stupa in his travelogue approximately a thousand years before it was built in 5th century AD or even after that?

1. WIK says:
  
  at
  
  Thanks for highlighting my incorrect use of words. Fa Hien saw a buddhist site here in 4th century, not necessarily the one Asoka successors built later on in the 5th century AD