Swayambhunath

Swayambhunath crowns a wooded hill just west of Kathmandu, and from almost anywhere in the valley you can see its white dome and gilded spire, painted on all four sides with the half-closed eyes of the Buddha. For the Newar Buddhists of the valley it is one of their three holiest sites, for Tibetan Buddhists second only to Boudhanath, and Hindus worship here too. The families of macaques that roam the terraces give it its popular name, the Monkey Temple. UNESCO listed it as World Heritage in 1979.

Its origin is told as myth. According to the Swayambhu Purana, the valley was once a lake, and a lotus sown in it by a Buddha of an earlier age bloomed with a light that had created itself — swayambhu, "self-arisen". The bodhisattva Manjushri then cut through the hills with his sword to drain the water, and the stupa was later built to enshrine the light. History is harder to pin down: a damaged inscription records work ordered by the Licchavi king Vrsadeva, and the monument has been rebuilt many times since, notably in the fifteenth century under an abbot from Bodh Gaya and in 1504 by the Tibetan master Tsangnyön Heruka. In the seventeenth century King Pratap Malla built the long eastern stairway still used by pilgrims.

The stupa itself is a lesson in Vajrayana symbolism. The hemispherical dome represents the void from which the world emerges; the cube above it carries the painted eyes; and the thirteen gilded rings of the spire stand for the stages on the path to enlightenment. Five meditating Buddhas sit in shrines around the base, and pilgrims walk clockwise, spinning prayer wheels. At the top of the eastern stair a huge gilded vajra, the thunderbolt sceptre, marks the platform, crowded with smaller stupas and shrines, including a temple to Hariti, the goddess who protects children.

The stupa was comprehensively restored and re-gilded with about 20 kg of gold in 2008–2010, its first major renovation since 1921. Parts of the complex were damaged in the April 2015 earthquake. The hilltop gives one of the widest views over the city and the valley.

Getting there

Swayambhunath lies about 3 km west of central Kathmandu, and Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) is about 7 km away. It can be reached on foot or by a short taxi ride from the centre. The steep eastern stairway leads straight up to the main platform; a road around the hill brings vehicles close to the south-western entrance for a gentler climb.