Takht-i-Bahi is a ruined Buddhist monastery of the 1st century CE near Mardan, listed by UNESCO in 1980, with courtyards, stupas and monks' cells on a rocky hill.
The monastery stands on a ridge, with the stone walls rising in terraces. It was used for about six centuries before it was abandoned, and it has survived unusually well, partly because its position on a hill made it hard to loot. The climb takes about fifteen minutes. Visit in the morning, because the stone gets very hot.
Combine it with the Peshawar Museum in the same day to understand what you are looking at.
Highlights
- The main stupa courtyard
- Monks' cells and the assembly hall
- The ruins of the nearby fortified town, Sahr-i-Bahlol
