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Swayambhunath Stupa
A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Swayambhunath 'spontaneously arisen protector', is an exceptionally powerful holy site on the western side of Kathmandu. Legend has it that Swayambhu hill stands at the spot where a sacred, light-radiating lotus once glittered in the lake that covered what is now the Kathmandu Valley. To make the spiritual power of the site accessible to more beings, the Bodhisattva Manjushri took his sword and cleaved a canyon through the foothills encircling the Kathmandu Valley. The water flowed out, the valley was born and the hill rose up, to be crowned by a stupa. Interestingly, geologists now confirm that the Kathmandu Valley was indeed submerged in the distant past... The earliest records of religious construction on the site date from the 5th century.

Swayambhunath is crowned by a magnificent Stupa visible from much of the valley. The Stupa, accessible from the bottom of the hill via 365 steps (or more forgiving spiral paths), is surrounded by a multitude of splendid Buddhist and Hindu religious monuments and a healthy population of rather mischievous monkeys. Pilgrims circumambulate the Stupa requesting blessings and protection from every calamity from smallpox to drought, and make wishing prayers according to their personal aspirations. It is a fine place to offer butter lamps and enjoy the fabulous view of Kathmandu.

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