Boudhanath

Boudhanath is one of the oldest and most amazing places in Kathmandu. It's one of the world's great sacred places and the focal point of the Tibetan Buddhist community in Nepal. Boudhanath is lorded over by a giant circular stupa which the faithful circle in clockwise motions with sacred prayers in their hands. At the top, there's a spire with the painted eyes of Buddha which look out into the distance. It is definitely one of the most iconic images of Nepal. Surrounding the stupa there are upwards of 50 Buddhist monasteries where young monks learn their mantras and prayers. The colors are stunning

The Boudhanath stupa is 8 km away from Kathmandu. It is a large stupa with two large eyes of Buddha, and all around it you can find beautiful picturesque houses, shops and some Tibetan monks. There are 50 Buddhist monasteries in Nepal, thanks to a large influx of refugees following the invasion of Tibet by China. Boudhanath is one of the places of Nepal that has bee declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the major tourist attractions in the city. It is the largest stupa in Nepal and one of the largest in the world. It was built in the 5th century, during the reign of Mana Deva, on an octagonal base, surrounded by Tibetan prayer wheels.

It was damaged in the 2015 earthquake but with support from the Buddhist community it has been fully restored in under 2 years. On story claims the stupa was founded by a widow. When she asked the king for permission she was told it could not be bigger than the size of a single ox skin.

However the cunning widow cut the ox skin into thin strips. The result is the 6,756 square meter site which was listed by UNESCO in 1979. Take some time to wander around, watching today's widows turning the prayer wheels, looking around the shops selling singing and medicinal bowls or painted mandalas or

Wandering around this site and seeing so many monks and Nepalese worship and taking time to walk around this gigantic stupa and touch every prayer wheel opened my eyes to what else is out there.