Boudhanath Stupa: When to Go and What You Are Seeing

Boudhanath is the great white stupa of Kathmandu, and many visitors remember it as a highlight of their time in the city. It stands in the north-east of the capital, not far from the international airport, at the heart of a lively Tibetan Buddhist neighbourhood. Pilgrims walk around it from before dawn until late in the evening, and anyone is welcome to join them. This guide explains what you are looking at, when to go, what it costs and how to visit with care.

What Boudhanath is

A stupa is a Buddhist monument built to hold sacred relics and to be walked around in devotion. Boudhanath (also written Bouddhanath, and known locally as Boudha) is the largest spherical stupa in Nepal and one of the largest in the world, rising to a height of about 36 metres. Seen from the ground it is a vast white dome on a stepped base, crowned by a gilded tower painted with a pair of eyes on each of its four sides.

Tibetan Buddhists see the stupa as the embodiment of the enlightened mind of the Buddhas, and it is believed to hold relics, including bone relics associated with the Kassapa Buddha. In 1979 UNESCO inscribed it as one of the seven monument zones of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site, together with sites such as Pashupatinath, a short distance away.

A short history, and the 2015 earthquake

The early history of Boudhanath is told in chronicles and legends more than in firm dates. Newar chronicles mention a stupa here as early as the 5th century CE, and one Newar legend credits the Licchavi king Manadeva, who reigned from around 464 to 505, with building it as an act of atonement. An inscription links the later king Shivadeva to the site. Historians think the structure you see today most likely dates from the 14th century.

Tibetans tell a different story. In their account, a woman from a family of poultry farmers asked the king for permission and land to build a great stupa, and he answered "Jarung!", "let it be done". The stupa's Tibetan name, Jarung Khashor, is drawn from that moment, when the permission "slipped from his tongue".

After the Tibetan uprising of 1959, many Tibetan refugees settled around the stupa. Over the following decades they and their supporters built more than 50 monasteries (gompas), along with guesthouses, cafés, workshops and shops. That is why Boudha today feels so different from the Hindu and Newar quarters of the old city.

The earthquake of 25 April 2015 badly cracked the stupa's spire. The upper part was taken down and rebuilt, and the stupa reopened on 22 November 2016. The work, which used more than 30 kg of gold, was paid for entirely by private donations, and Boudhanath was the first earthquake-damaged World Heritage monument in the valley to be restored.

What you are seeing: reading the stupa

Every part of the stupa carries meaning. Interpretations vary between teachers, but the most common reading, from the ground up, is this:

• The base. The stupa sits on a broad, stepped square base laid out as a mandala, a sacred diagram of the universe. Its four sides are often linked with love, compassion, joy and equanimity.
• The dome. The great white dome is read as the universe, or as a vase of treasure holding the Buddha's wisdom and compassion.
• The 108 small Buddhas. Around the foot of the dome, small images of the Buddha Amitabha sit in niches. The number 108 is sacred in Buddhism.
• The eyes. On each face of the square tower, a pair of half-closed eyes looks out over the valley. They are often explained as the union of method, or compassion, and wisdom.
• The "nose". The curling sign between the eyes, which looks like a question mark, is the Nepali numeral one. It stands for a single path to enlightenment.
• The thirteen steps. The tapering gilded tower above has thirteen steps, read as the stages on the path to full enlightenment, with an umbrella and pinnacle at the very top.

Strings of prayer flags run from the pinnacle to the edges of the base, and a ring of prayer wheels is set into the wall around the bottom of the stupa.

Walking the kora

The heart of a visit is the kora, the walk around the stupa. Pilgrims, monks, elderly residents with prayer beads and families on their way to work all move in the same direction, and you simply join the flow.

• Always walk clockwise, keeping the stupa on your right. Turn prayer wheels clockwise too.
• Go at your own pace. Some people walk once; devout pilgrims walk many circuits. Nobody minds if you step aside to sit and watch.
• The upper level. A gateway on the base usually leads up onto the stupa's terraces for a closer view of the dome. Keep walking clockwise there too, and respect any signs that close off parts of it.
• Butter lamps. In the evening, butter lamps are lit around the square and in the monasteries. Lighting one, with a small offering, is a quiet way to take part.

When to go

The stupa is at its most atmospheric at the two ends of the day.

• Early morning. At first light the square belongs to pilgrims and the cafés are only just opening. This is the best time for a calm walk and soft light on the dome.
• Late afternoon and evening. As the light fades the kora fills again, butter lamps are lit and the whole square glows. It is lively but rarely hurried.
• Middle of the day. Hotter, brighter and busier with tour groups. Fine for a first look, but not the best of Boudha.

For the wider year, the clear skies of autumn and spring make Kathmandu at its most pleasant, while the summer monsoon brings warm, wet afternoons. Our guide to when to visit Nepal covers the seasons month by month.

Festivals at Boudhanath

Two festivals are especially worth knowing about:

• Gyalpo Losar, the Tibetan New Year, in February or March, set by the Tibetan lunar calendar and observed by Tibetan and Sherpa communities. In the days before it, the lanes of Boudha smell of incense, juniper smoke and fried khapse pastries, and during the celebrations crowds gather at the stupa.
• Buddha Jayanti, the full moon that marks the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death, in April or May. In 2027 it falls on Thursday 20 May, a public holiday in Nepal.

Festival days are wonderful to witness but can be crowded, so plan a little extra time and keep your belongings close. If you are travelling at these times, let us know and we can shape your days around them.

Tickets, dress and etiquette

Entry fee. Foreign visitors pay NPR 400 at the ticket booths on the streets leading into the square, and visitors from South Asian (SAARC) countries pay NPR 100. The fee is collected by the Boudhanath Area Development Committee. Nepali citizens do not pay. Fees change, so treat these figures as a guide.

Dress. Covered shoulders and knees are respectful, especially if you plan to enter a monastery.

Monasteries. Many gompas around the square welcome quiet visitors, but they are working religious houses, not museums, and not every one is open at any given time. Remove your shoes before entering a shrine room and ask before taking photographs. If a ceremony is under way, wait quietly at the back or come back later.

Photography. Photographs of the stupa and the square are generally fine. Inside monasteries and shrines you need permission first, and it is kind to ask before photographing monks, nuns or pilgrims at close range.

Beyond the stupa

Boudha rewards a little wandering. The lanes behind the square lead to many of Boudha's monasteries. Shechen Monastery, close to the stupa, was re-established in Nepal by the Tibetan master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche in the 1980s and is home to more than 300 monks. On a hill nearby, Kopan Monastery, founded in 1969, is known for teaching meditation to visitors from abroad; its month-long course is held each November and December.

Around the square you will also find thangka painting studios, incense and singing-bowl shops, and rooftop cafés that look straight across at the stupa's eyes. A tea on a rooftop at dusk, watching the kora below, is one of the simplest pleasures in Kathmandu.

Visiting with Luxury Retreats Nepal

Boudhanath is part of several of our journeys, each timed for dawn or dusk:

• Our Sacred Kathmandu Valley tour begins Day 2 with the dawn kora at Boudhanath, then spends the afternoon at Pashupatinath. On the Luxury level you stay at Dwarika's Hotel, and on the Comfort level at Hotel Barahi.
• The Buddhist heritage tour with Lumbini visits Kopan and Shechen before an evening butter-lamp offering at the stupa, then continues to the Buddha's birthplace. Our Lumbini guide explains that part of the journey.
• For a slower pace, the Kathmandu forest mindfulness retreat pairs a morning meditation at Kopan with the evening kora, and the meditation retreat in Nepal includes teachings with monks at a Boudhanath monastery.
• Couples on our Himalayan romance honeymoon end a guided day in Kathmandu with dinner on a rooftop facing the stupa.

Luxury Retreats Nepal is an independent travel company. If you would like Boudhanath added to a longer trip, contact us and we will plan the timing with you.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to visit Boudhanath Stupa?

At the time of writing, foreign visitors pay NPR 400 and visitors from SAARC countries pay NPR 100, at booths on the approach streets. Nepali citizens enter free. Fees can change, so check on the day.

What is the best time of day to visit Boudhanath?

Early morning and late afternoon into the evening. At dawn the square is quiet and full of pilgrims; at dusk the butter lamps are lit and the kora is at its liveliest. The middle of the day is hotter and busier.

Which way should I walk around the stupa?

Always clockwise, with the stupa on your right. Turn the prayer wheels clockwise as well.

Can non-Buddhists visit Boudhanath and its monasteries?

Yes. Everyone is welcome to walk the kora, and many monasteries accept quiet visitors. Dress modestly, remove your shoes in shrine rooms and ask before taking photographs.

How long should I spend at Boudhanath?

An hour is enough to walk the kora and look at the stupa. Two to three hours lets you visit a monastery or two and sit in a rooftop café as the light changes.

Was Boudhanath damaged in the 2015 earthquake?

Yes. The spire was badly cracked and was taken down and rebuilt with private donations. The stupa reopened in November 2016.