
It is indeed a welcome development that after centuries of neglect, the Giriyak stūpa is now getting restored. The restoration work began in 2011-12. I learnt from ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) sources that the restoration of the cylindrical pillar of the stūpa has been partially completed. I along with a few students of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (Deemed University) climbed up the Giriyak hill to see the restored stūpa and capture this beautiful piece of Buddhist architecture at the break of the dawn. This was my 7th visit since 2009 when I along with my kite photographer friend Yeves Guichard first visited the place to take aerial pictures of the place using a kite. The hill is around 750 feet high and steep. The path leading to the top is around 400mt of walk. It is a 30 minute climb. We started climbing to the top at 4.45 am so that we could make it to the top before the break of dawn.
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Ongoing restoration work of Giriyak Stūpa |