Boudhanath Stupa

Boudhanath, also called Boudha or Khasti Chaitya, is the largest stupa in the Kathmandu Valley and the focus of Tibetan Buddhist life in the city. It stands about 8 km east of downtown Kathmandu on an old trade route between Tibet and India, and it is visible from the air as planes land at Tribhuvan International Airport. Chronicles mention a stupa here as early as the 5th century, while the present structure most likely dates from the 14th century. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

The stupa is laid out as a giant mandala, rising around 36 metres from stepped terraces to a whitewashed dome, a gilded tower painted with the eyes of the Buddha, and a spire. The earthquake of 25 April 2015 cracked the spire, and the whole top was taken down and rebuilt with private donations, reportedly using more than 30 kg of gold. It was reconsecrated in November 2016, the first damaged World Heritage monument in the valley to be restored.

Many Tibetans settled around the stupa after 1959, and the community has since founded more than 50 gompas and monasteries, along with guesthouses, restaurants and craft workshops. The best times to come are dawn and dusk, when pilgrims walk clockwise around the stupa in a kora and spin the prayer wheels set into the outer wall. On full moon nights, especially at Buddha's birthday, butter lamps are lit on the terraces, and the dome is freshly painted for Losar, the Tibetan New Year. A shrine to the protector goddess Hariti, known locally as Ajima, stands at the northern entrance.

Walk with the crowd in a clockwise direction and keep your voice down near worshippers. Most of the smaller monasteries around the square can be visited, though follow any signs about photography and remove your shoes where asked. The Chiniya Lama, whose family has long held a role at the stupa, traces the line back to a Chinese yogi given land in front of it in the 19th century.

Boudha is one of the most visited Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the valley, alongside Swayambhunath, and many visitors pair the two on separate halves of a day, finishing at Boudha in the evening when the kora is at its busiest.