Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) - Kathmandu

The Legend of Swayambhunath - Legend says that once the Kathmandu valley was a lake in which Swayambhunath hill existed as an island. On top of that hill stood a natural crystal stupa. Buddha, when visiting the place, declared that it was a wish-fulfilling stupa and whoever is touched by the wind that passes over the stupa receives the seed of liberation from the cycle of existence.

Boudhanath - Kathmandu

There is nowhere quite like Boudhanath. Asia’s largest stupa pulses with life as thousands of pilgrims gather daily to make a kora (ritual circumnavigation) of the dome, beneath the watchful eyes of the Buddha, which gaze out from the gilded central tower. Tibetan monks in maroon robes and with shaved heads wander the prayer flag–decked streets while pilgrims spin prayer wheels and stock up on yak butter and tsampa (roasted barley flour). This is one of the few places in the world where Tibetan Buddhist culture is accessible and unfettered, and the lanes around the stupa are crammed with monasteries and workshops producing butter lamps, ceremonial horns, Tibetan drums, monks’ headgear and the other paraphernalia essential for Tibetan Buddhist life. The stupa shook ominously in the 2015 earthquake, but only sustained some minor damage; it has now been fully restored.

Pashupatinath Temple - Kathmandu

One of the most sacred Hindu temples of Nepal - Pashupatinath Temple is located on both banks of Bagmati River on the eastern outskirts of Kathmandu. Pashupatinath is the most important temple dedicated to god Shiva. Every year this temple attracts hundreds of elderly followers of Hinduism. They arrive here to find shelter for the last several weeks of their lives, to meet death, be cremated on the banks of the river and travel their last journey with the waters of the sacred river Bagmati, which later meets the holy river Ganges. Hinduists from every corner of Nepal and India are arriving here to die. It is believed that those who die in Pashupatinath Temple are reborn as a human, regardless of any misconduct that could worsen their karma.