Start at Varanasi, Not Bodh Gaya
Most people building this circuit assume Bodh Gaya in Bihar is the logical starting point. It is the most important site in Buddhism, the place of the Enlightenment, but it is not the most logical entry into the UP leg of the circuit. If you are flying in, Varanasi's Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport is the better hub. It puts you 10 kilometres from Sarnath on day one, and from Varanasi you can move northeast toward Kushinagar and then double back west toward Shravasti without retracing the same road twice.
