Many visitors have had their lives transformed by visiting the ashrams of Sai Baba, Mata Amritanandamayi , and Sri Aurobindo . The Buddhist Trail , in East India, leads from Patna and includes Bodhgaya , the spot where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. In Nalanda was a university where the Buddha himself once taught, said to have contained 9 million books. In Konark is a 13th century Sun Temple , one of very few in India. Whether or not to give donations to street beggars is a question all visitors to third world countries must eventually make.
Some visitors budget a set amount of small change every day.
Others say their gifts only encourage helplessness. It has been observed that tourists usually are more aware of beggars than the locals are. The Indian government tourism office discourages giving donations. Mount Kailash has been identified as one of the three most powerful sacred places on Earth. It is in western Tibet, and most visitors get there by flying to Lhasa from Chengdu or Kathmandu, and then making a long, slow drive by truck or 4x4 to Darchen, at the foot of the mountain.