Fodor's Expert Review Dhamekh Stupa

Dappled with geometric and floral ornamentation, the stone-and-brick Dhamekh Stupa is the largest surviving monument in Sarnath, at 143 feet in height and 92 feet in diameter at the base. Built around 500 AD, Dhamekh is thought to mark the place where the Buddha delivered his sermon, though excavations have unearthed the remains of an even earlier stupa of Mauryan bricks of the Gupta period (200 BC). An Ashoka pillar with an edict engraved on it stands near the stupa.