Gujarat's finest Buddhist site
Dev ni Mori represents one of the most important chapters in Gujarat’s pre-Islamic religious history: a major 4th–5th century CE Buddhist stupa complex in the Meshvo valley. Excavated in the 1960s before the Meshvo reservoir submerged the site, Dev ni Mori yielded extraordinary finds — a sculptural corpus of Gupta-period Buddhist art that includes terracotta figures of rare quality, inscribed copper caskets containing Buddha relics, and architectural fragments that speak to a sophisticated Buddhist artistic tradition in ancient Gujarat.
The physical site is now beneath the Meshvo Reservoir. The finds are at the Vadodara Museum — essential viewing for anyone tracing Gujarat’s Buddhist heritage. (Museum at Vadodara. Reservoir area accessible.)
Dev ni Mori stupa, Aravalli.
A brick stupa that may have held the Buddha's relics
Dev ni Mori, Aravalli.
A substantial Buddhist monastery and stupa complex stood in the Meshvo valley of what is now Aravalli district, active around the fourth century CE.
Its terracotta Buddha images and sculpture are of exceptional Gupta-period quality — among the finest Buddhist art found anywhere in Gujarat.
Archaeologists from Vadodara excavated and documented the site in the 1960s, ahead of the Meshvo reservoir flooding the valley.
A relic casket was recovered bearing an inscription, and the finds are now held and displayed in Vadodara.
Reasons to make the time
Archaeology
This was a working Buddhist monastic centre in Gujarat in the Gupta period — a chapter of the state's history most visitors never hear about.
Submerged
The site itself lies beneath the Meshvo reservoir. There is nothing to walk around, and that has to shape how you plan a visit.
Relics
The excavation produced a relic casket, terracotta Buddha heads and figures, and architectural fragments of real quality.
History
It is the best evidence that Buddhism had a substantial presence in this part of western India.
Museum
Vadodara is the essential half of the trip — the museum holds what the valley no longer does.
Discovery
It is a genuinely unusual site to visit: a place whose significance is entirely displaced from where it happened.
What to look for inside
THE STUPADev ni Mori
A fourth-century Buddhist stupa complex, now under the Meshvo reservoir.
THE RELICSVadodara Museum
Where the terracottas, sculpture and relic casket from the site are displayed.
How to spend an hour or two
Visit Meshvo Reservoir
Understand before you go that the site is submerged; the reservoir is what you will actually see.
Go to Vadodara Museum
Plan the Vadodara Museum into the same trip — that is where the finds from the excavation are.
Study Gupta sculpture
Look closely at the terracotta work, which is of a quality that stands with the best Gupta sculpture.
Pair with Shamlaji
Build it into an Aravalli circuit with Shamlaji, a few kilometres away and a very different kind of site.
Read the history
Take in what it means — a substantial Buddhist establishment in Gujarat, in a landscape now entirely Hindu and Adivasi.
A moving stop
Treat it as a piece of history rather than a monument, and it becomes one of the more interesting stops in the district.
Dev ni Mori Buddhist site.
Gupta-era Buddhist stupa
Dev ni Mori was a 4th–5th century CE Buddhist stupa complex — excavated before flooding in 1969 and yielding Gupta-era terracotta, copper reliquary caskets and carved architectural fragments now at the Vadodara Museum. (Illustrated emblem; reservoir area accessible.)
The rest of the district is covered in our Aravalli travel guide.
4th–5th century CE Gupta-period Buddhist stupa
Terracotta sculptures of exceptional quality
Copper reliquary caskets with Buddha relics
Submerged 1969; finds at Vadodara Museum
When to go
October to March is the comfortable season across Aravalli, and the best time for the reservoir and the wider district.
The monsoon fills the reservoir and greens the valley, but the approach roads can flood and become difficult.
April to June is hot with little shade around the water; go in the early morning if you go at all.
⏰ October to March is ideal for Aravalli.
Timings & entry
- Open daytime hours
- Cool season best
- Morning ideal
- Check locally
- Check locally
- Good road connections
- Combine places
- Cool months best
Getting there
By Air
Ahmedabad airport (~130 km).
By Rail
Himmatnagar / Modasa.
By Road
NH-48 / Modasa.
What to eat in Aravalli
LOCAL FLAVOURS
Hearty Gujarati thalis, famous farsan and roadside street food.
Gujarati Thali
The Meshvo reservoir covering the valley where the stupa stood.
Farsan
Terracotta Buddha heads and figures, in the Vadodara collection.
Street food
The relic casket recovered from the excavation.
Adivasi cuisine
The Aravalli hill country around the Meshvo valley.
Know before you go
More to see close by
HERITAGEMalpur
An old princely town of the region
RIVERVatrak Riverfront
Calm banks of the Vatrak river
FORESTPolo Forest
A jungle valley of ruined medieval temples
Aravalli Hills Traverse
The world’s oldest mountains — the Aravalli range in Gujarat, ancient Pre-Cambrian ridges rolling through Aravalli…
Shamlaji Kartik Fair
Gujarat’s most spectacular tribal fair — the Kartiki Purnima at Shamlaji, when tens of thousands of…
2Shamlaji Carvings
Marvel at the temple’s intricate sculptural panels
Where to eat near Dev ni Mori
THALIGujarati Thali
Hearty home cooking.
FARSANFarsan
Gujarat's famous snacks.
STREETStreet food
Local dhabas.
A vegetarian region
Aravalli's kitchens lean hearty and vegetarian — thalis, farsan and tribal millet dishes abound.
Dev ni Mori FAQ
Can I see the stupa?
No. The stupa and monastery lie beneath the Meshvo reservoir, which flooded the valley after the 1960s excavation. There is no standing monument to visit at the site itself.
Where are the relics?
In Vadodara. The terracottas, sculpture, architectural fragments and the relic casket recovered from the excavation are held and displayed there, and seeing them is the real point of the trip.
Is this a temple?
A Buddhist stupa and monastery complex of around the fourth century CE, whose sculpture and terracotta work are among the finest Buddhist art recovered anywhere in Gujarat.
Entry?
The reservoir site is free to visit; the Vadodara Museum charges a nominal entry.
When?
October to March, when the Aravalli district is at its most comfortable and the roads are reliable.
How long?
A morning at the reservoir and the surrounding valley. The museum in Vadodara is a separate half-day and worth treating as such.
Related places across Gujarat
QUIRKYRotary Dolls Museum
Over 1,500 dolls from across the world
2Vansda Night Safari
Spot leopards & owls in the deep teak woods
3Vijaynagar Jain Ruins
Silent medieval temples deep in the woods
LAKEGaurishankar Lake
A serene reservoir & lakeside walks
ISKCON Anand
A graceful Krishna temple in the city
WETLANDHalvad
Lakes & salt flats rich in birdlife
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Published 24 June 2026 · Updated 24 August 2026