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Taxila is an ancient city and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab, Pakistan, about 32 km northwest of Islamabad, famous for the ruins of a Gandharan capital whose earliest remains date to around 1000 BC. Its top sights are the Indo-Greek city of Sirkap, the Dharmarajika Stupa, Jaulian Monastery and the Taxila Museum.
Taxila was one of the capitals of Gandhara. Its king accepted Alexander the Great in 326 BCE, the Mauryans followed, and Indo-Greeks, Scythians, Parthians and Kushans all ruled here before the Huns devastated it in the 5th century. Alexander Cunningham rediscovered the ruins, John Marshall excavated them, and UNESCO listed them in 1980.
The sites are spread out, so plan a full day by car to see Bhir Mound, Sirkap, Sirsukh, the Jandial Temple and the hilltop monasteries. The Mughal Wah Gardens, Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hasan Abdal and Khanpur Dam are all a short drive away.
Sirkap is the ruined Indo-Greek city of Taxila, built around 180 BC by the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius and laid out on a neat grid. Walk its main street past house foundations, shops, the Apsidal Temple and stupa bases, and go early in the day, before the heat builds.
Bhir Mound holds the oldest excavated city at Taxila, with remains dating to around 800-525 BC, and it was still lived in when Alexander the Great arrived in 326 BC. Its maze of rubble walls and narrow lanes is part of the UNESCO site, and there is little shade, so carry water.
Sirsukh is the last of the three great ancient cities of Taxila, founded by the Kushans after 80 CE across the Lundi ravine from Sirkap. Its wall runs about 5 km and is 5.4 m thick, and the city was left empty after the White Huns invaded in the late 5th century.
Jandial Temple near Taxila stands 630 m north of the northern gate of Sirkap and is famous for its Ionic columns. Excavated in 1912-13 under John Marshall, it has been called the most Hellenic building found in Pakistan, with a Greek plan of porch, hall and rear chamber.
Dharmarajika Stupa, the Great Stupa of Taxila, is believed to stand over relics of the Buddha enshrined by the emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. A ring of chapels and a large monastery grew up around it, and the complex is a highlight of the Taxila UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Jaulian Monastery, whose name means seat of saints, is a 2nd-century CE Buddhist monastery on a hill at Taxila. Its stupa court keeps rows of votive stupas with stucco Buddha figures, and monks' cells line the courtyard. The short climb rewards you with wide views of the valley.
Mohra Muradu is a Buddhist stupa and monastery in a quiet valley near Taxila, about 1.5 km from the ancient city of Sirsukh. Built around the 2nd century CE and renovated in the 5th, it has a main stupa, a votive stupa and monks' quarters, with mountain views all around.
The Double-Headed Eagle Stupa in Sirkap at Taxila is named after the double-headed eagle carved above one of the niches on its base. Its facade mixes Greek-style pilasters and pediments with Indian arched niches, a vivid sign of the many cultures that met in ancient Taxila.
Taxila Museum holds one of the finest collections of Gandharan art, from the 1st to the 7th centuries CE, most of it excavated from the ruins of ancient Taxila. See Buddha statues, stucco heads, coins and jewellery here first, and the ruins become much easier to understand.
Wah Gardens, or Mughal Garden Wah, near Hasan Abdal and a short drive from Taxila, date from the reign of Akbar, when Raja Man Singh laid them out on the old road to Kashmir. Shah Jahan ordered the buildings rebuilt in 1639, and the Department of Archaeology has restored the pools and pavilions.
Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, north-west of Taxila, is one of the most important Sikh shrines, where a handprint of Guru Nanak is believed to be imprinted on a boulder beside a spring-fed pool. Sikh pilgrims come in large numbers for Baisakhi. Cover your head and remove shoes.
Khanpur Dam on the Haro River, about 50 km from Islamabad and a short drive from Taxila, forms Khanpur Lake, which supplies water to Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Completed in 1983 and 51 m high, it sits in a hilly gorge and draws visitors for boating, fishing and picnics.
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Rabbani Market Faisal Shaheed Rd Taxila Bazar, Taxila
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