Nepal is a small country but on there are four important Buddhist sites on its territory. First of all, the Buddha himself was born here. The place is called Lumbini and it is situated 250 km from the capital. There are many monasteries, temples and stupas in Lumbini built by Buddhists from different countries.
Lumbini was "lost" for centuries. Only in 1895 a massive stone pillar was discovered which now is believed to have been erected by the Indian Emperor Ashoka in 250 BC. There is an inscription on the pillar in Sanskrit “Buddha Sakyamuni, the blessed one was born here".
Another important shrine in Lumbini is the temple of Maya Devi, Buddha's mother. This temple is totally rebuilt and has a stone relief depicting the birth scene. Next to the temple there is a sacred pond where Maya Devi is believed to have taken her bath before giving birth and a sacred bodhi tree.
The second popular Buddhist pilgrimage place of Nepal is the great stupa of Swayambhunath. It is more than 2000 years old and is one of Kathmandu's oldest and most beautiful monuments. The stupa has always been an important centre of Buddhist learning. It is believed that the divine lotus once upon a time floated on a lake filling the valley of Kathmandu. The Chinese Saint Manjushri came to pay homage to it, and being unable to reach it closely he cut the valley wall to drain the water away. Then he worshiped and built a shrine in the place where the lotus settled.
The stupa is located on top of the hill and to reach it one must climb 365 steps, past huge painted images of the Buddha and traditional vehicles of Hindu gods: an elephant, a horse, a peacock, Garuda and a lion. At the entrance there is a gilded Vajra and two lion-guards.
Around the stupa there are smaller temples and shrines, monasteries and painted deity images. There is also a temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Hariti. The interesting thing is that she is seen by Buddhists as a reincarnation of Buddha's mother Maya Devi and so is worshiped by both religions.
The third place that attracts Buddhists from around the world is the Boudhanath stupa. It is one of my favourite places in Kathmandu. It is not only beautiful but has some special sense of tranquility, peace and well-being about it. While the Swayambhunath is the oldest stupa in Nepal, the Boudhanath is the largest one.
The huge white dome is set on concentric, ascending terraces in the pattern of a mandala. It is possible to climb up onto the base of the stupa and take a peaceful stroll. Around the base of this stupa is a ring of 108 images of Buddhist deities and 147 insets containing prayer wheels.
At 30 kilometers from Kathmandu there is another sacred place for Buddhists - Namo Buddha. It is located on a hill not far from the picturesque village of Panauti. According to one of the Buddhist Jataka, in one of the past lives Buddha sacrificed his body for a hungry tigress. And this event happened right at this place.
A steep road through the forest leads to the very top of the hill. And at the top there is the cave where the tigress with cubs satisfied her hunger with the body of Buddha. Near the cave there is a carved stone depicting the legend. People leave different tributes – money, flowers, drinks, silk scarves - at the cave and the stone .
There are other Buddhist shrines in Nepal of course, like the stupa of Chabahil and the Mahabuddha or the Thousand Buddhas Temple of Patan. But the four sacred sites mentioned in this post are the most important as Buddhist pilgrimage destinations.
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