The history of Patna can be traced back continuously over the last about 3000 years. Today, Patna is the capital of Bihar State in India but in the ancient times Patna, known as Pataliputra was associated with two of the oldest religions in the world, those of Buddhism and Jainism. The then capital Pataliputra was the capital of the empires of the Mauryan, Shunga and the Gupta dynasties. Thereafter, it was an important part of the Delhi Sultanate followed by the Mughal Empire. Patna has been ruled by the Nawabs of Bengal and then the East India Company, later the British Raj. It has actively participated in India’s fight for independence and later it became known as the most populated city after Kolkata. At one time, under Ajatshatru, Pataliputra was the world’s largest city. Patna is therefore filled with history going back in time. The best way to reach Patna is by air. However, Patna has good accessibility by road and rail too. Let us see these aspects in greater detail.

Patna is linked with highways to all major cities in the vicinity. However, the quality of these roads varies. There is a plan to create a highway from Delhi to Patna so that you can complete the journey in 11 hours. There is at least one brave soul who has done this journey of around 1100km. He took 32 hours and he spent 12 hours taking rest at Allahabad. He states that it is possible right now to do this trip in less than 24 hours if the driver takes two breaks for meals and two breaks for tea.

If one were to drive to Mumbai from Patna, the distance is 1800km and it may take more than a day and a few hours one way. NH27 would be the highway one would be on. However, it must be noted that as per reports the road between Patna and Gaya, a distance of about 110km, is not in a good shape. It is advisable to check the condition of roads before travel.

Patna Junction which was opened for service in 1862, is today one of the busiest of all the railway stations in India. Patna is located on the route between Delhi and Kolkata and is therefore accessible by a large number of superfast and mail/express trains from all the major stations in the country. Therefore, one can safely plan a rail travel to Patna from most of the important cities in India.

Patna’s Jai Prakash Narain Airport is Bihar’s major airport. Built in 1973, it is today among the 22 busiest airports in the country. The airport has domestic as well as international flights. There are regular flights from Patna to Kolkata and Delhi besides Pune, Chennai, Mumbai, Goa and Indore among several others.

Patna has multiple modes of conveyance for use within the city. There are auto rickshaws which are convenient and cheap. There are rickshaws too when one has short distances to commute. There are city buses too but reports suggest that these are often over-crowded and sometimes unreliable. One can also hire taxis which according to reports do not run on meter but on the time taken or on distances covered. Patna Metro Rail project is yet to be executed.