Rajgir is the oldest capital on this list. In the sixth century BCE it was the seat of the Magadha kingdom — walled, powerful, the political centre of a civilization that stretched across the Gangetic plain. The walls are still partially standing. You can walk them.

Siddhartha Gautama returned to Rajgir repeatedly after the first teaching at Sarnath. The city was a natural magnet: King Bimbisara was a supporter, the forested hills offered retreat, and the permanent community of seekers and students meant serious conversation was always available. On the hill called Gridhrakuta — Vulture Peak — many of the later teachings were given. The Prajnaparamita sutras, foundational to Mahayana Buddhism, are associated with this hill. The Heart Sutra begins here. So does the Lotus Sutra.

The hill is not difficult to climb. The path is paved now, and a ropeway was built in the nineteen-eighties for those who prefer not to walk. The walk takes about twenty minutes if you go at the pace the terrain asks for, which is slow. The view from the top is not dramatic — you see the valley, the other hills, the town below. What makes the summit significant is not what you can see from it but the sense, standing on the rocky plateau, that this place has been continuously significant for twenty-five hundred years. Most places become significant and then stop.