Hajipur

Hajipur is a large and fast-growing city in the Mithila region of Bihar, located across river Ganges from the capital Patna.

Get in

Hajipur is well served by trains, with direct services from most cities in Bihar as well as some long-distance trains from Delhi and Kolkata. Also, trains from the Nepal border area, from cities such as Gorakhpur and Raxual terminate here. Nearby Patna has an even larger selection of trains.

• 1 Hajipur Junction railway station. (updated May 2019)

• 2 Jay Prakash Narayan Airport (Patna Airport or Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, PAT ^IATA). is a domestic airport.  

Get around

There are a few car rental companies available in hajipur.

By auto rickshaw

Shared 'Tempo' as they are called are the easiest and cheapest way to get around in hajipur and its regions. However, in case you are trying to reserve an auto, it would be better to know the distance well in advance because that is not the preferred means of transportation for the locals and it would mean being charged exorbitant rates.

By bus

Though public transport is non existent there are a few buses plying on the main routes. Prices are generally 20-30% lesser than Tempos. However, they are less comfortable. However, after many trials throughout the decade, bsrtc runs multiple buses on all major routes inside and outside the city including neighbouring cities and satellite towns like Patna, Sonepur, Vaishali.Buses originate from the iconic gandhi maidan, and most of them visit the main railway station, Hajipur jn.

The BSTDC (Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation) offers deluxe bus/car rental services for the following destinations: Bodhgaya, Ranchi, Rajgir, Pawapuri, Nalanda & Vaishali.

See

• 1 Mahatma Gandhi Setu. The bridge over the river Ganges connecting Hajipur and Patna. 
• Deep Narayan Singh museum (next to Gandhi Ashram Park). Small local history museum, named after independence hero and first minister of Bihar, Deep Narayan Singh, who was born in Hajipur. (updated May 2019)
• Vaishali Stupa. Buddhist site with one of the oldest stupa. (updated May 2019) situated about 23km from hajipur.

Do

• 1 Vaishali-Ashokan Pillar (48 km north of Patna). You can visit this site. 
• 2 Sonepur Cattle Fair (Sonepur Mela). Largest cattle and animal fair in Asia. It is held in November in Sonepur which across the Gandak from Hajipur. (updated May 2019)

Eat

• Litti chokha is a local specialty. Litti is a primarily ball-shaped stuffed preparation, and the shape of the ball varies depending on the preparation. With a shell made of wheat flour, the taste of litti very much depends on the filling, which includes gram flour and a combination of condiments and spices. Chokha a preparation of smoked eggplant/brinjal or tomato, accompanies litti. The smoked tomato or eggplant is mashed and dressed with coriander leaves, shredded green chilies and mustard oil, which gives a distinct flavor to the chokha.

Go next

• Hajipur (Vaishali) - A city on Bank of Ganga famous for its banana, Buddhist temple and handicrafts.