Taxila The Spiritual Center

Taxila is an archeological site located in Punjab, Pakistan. The city lies in the northwest direction about 25 to 30 kilometers from the capital city of Pakistan, Islamabad. It is just south of the Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Moreover, the city comes in the route of the buses moving towards the northern areas of the country from the other cities of Pakistan. Moreover, if you want to travel by air, The Pakistan International Airline (PIA) offers Islamabad to Skardu flight travelers. The Islamabad International Airport is the nearest airport to Taxila. There are two main roads that connect the city to other regions of the country and its borders.

The famous Grand Trunk road is the main route connecting the city to northern Punjab and to the Afghan border. Moreover, the Karakoram Highway connects the city to the China border and the Hunza Valley located in the northern areas of Pakistan. Furthermore, the M-1, M-2, and M-4 motorways are used to access Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, and Faisalabad. Taxila city is famous for sculpture and art, education, architecture, religion, and medicine. The city was founded in around 1000BCE and destroyed in the 5th century by a group of Central Asian tribes called Hunas. In the mid-19th century, Taxila was rediscovered by the famous archeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham.

The city is considered the capital city of the Gandhara Civilization. The major rulers of the region are Achaemenids, Greeks, Mauryans, Indo-Greeks, Scythians, Parthians, Kushans, White Huns, and the Hindu Shahi. Taxila was the hub of Buddhism and various cultures used to schedule their meetings here. In the Buddhist and Hindu traditions the city is considered holy and a center of learning. The city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. According to some studies the University of Ancient Taxila was among the world’s oldest universities. There are some of the most famous Gandhara sites and monuments located in the regions around the city.

The Taxila Museum, having a large number of artifacts of the ancient civilizations, is the main tourist destination in the city. In addition to this, there are almost 18 heritage sites in the city including the Khanpur Cave, Bhir Mound, Sirkup, Sirsukh, Dharmarajika Stupa, and Khader Mohra, Kalawan, Kunala Stupa and some others. The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation is making efforts to promote tourism in the region. In recent years they announced plans to launch a tour bus service between Taxila Museum and Islamabad. There are also many famous teachers and influencers from the city.

The most influential one was Acharya Chanakya famously known as Kautilya. He was a great political philosopher and thinker. Moreover, Panini was the famous Indian Grammarian at the ancient University of Taxila during the 5th century. There are many others on the list. The city is also home to many famous universities of the modern period. The most famous one is the University of Engineering and Technology, The university was established in 1975 as a campus of the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. It offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in various engineering departments.