A picture of busy streets and congestion, the city of Patna today is just a shade of the stately capital it was in the 5^th and 6^th centuries AD. Built up by the Magadh monarch Ajatashatru, it went on to dominate the annals of Indian history for centuries to come, first at the hands of the Guptas and then as the centre of the Pala Empire, which stretched deep into the Himalaya and Southeast Asia at its height. Glimmers of the former glory of what was once called Patliputra still remain between the streets and suburbs of Bihar’s capital city, with the likes of the Kumhrar ruins and the Didarganj Yakshi displayed at the Patna Museum recalling the bygone eras of the Ashoka and the Mauryan Empire. Today, more than two million domestic and foreign travellers pass through each year, many of whom engage a Patna tour guide to help discover the secrets of Nalanda as well as religiously trace the footsteps of the Buddha at Bodh Gaya and Vaishali nearby.