Boudhanath Temple – Nepal – Lonely Traveler

I can consider myself as a lucky person to stay in Nepal during the day of Buddha Jayanti. You may travel Nepal at anytime, but it needs to have a luck to be there during this particular time. But strange enough, I have almost thrown away this opportunity. I was sitting idle at home all the day and was unsure about going outside as it was a little bit warm weather outside. Finally enough is enough, and left the house to observe the full moon of Buddha Jayanti from the Boudhanath Temple.

Just before the sunset we have hired a taxi (for 250 Rs) to reach at the Boudhanath Temple. Though I have been staying in Kathmandu nearly for a month, but it was my first time visit over there, and It wasn’t a day like regular one. It was packed with lot of tourists and local observers. Usually it takes around 25 Rs (I think) to enter inside the temple. But today it was free (or should I say hard to maintain the ticketing system). People were moving around the temple like the water stream.

People inside the temple were wandering around the Boudhanath temple on a clockwise direction. After entering the temple we have completed one cycle by walking with the other devotees and the tourists. The moon was poised at the eastern side of the temple and added a bonus beauty for the temple. The temple was superb and the moon was magnificent on the sky. Along side these, the people were lighting the candles around for good futures and prospers. Lot of tourists have also joined with them on that candle lighting ceremony. A lot of tourists from Japan, China, Thailand were seen around the Boudhanath temple.

There are lot of rooftop restaurants around the Boudhanath Temple. Mainly the tourists use to sit over there and enjoy the beauty of the temple from the top. We have climbed one of those and had some snacks and enjoyed the beauty of the temple. Initially lot of people were encircling around the temple at every floors. But after 7:00 pm at night the security guards started whistling and cleared the top floors. Only the ground floor (the one is outside the temple, or around the temple) remained open for the visitors to encircle. It was harsh you know, you should not stop enjoying people so early (at 7:00 pm) at night. It’s their holy night and they should enjoy this as long as they want! FIY, the streets of Nepal uses to be closed before the 8:00 at night.

We have stayed there for another hour and then returned back to home by a Taxi for 300 Rs. I had a tight bargaining with the taxi driver. It started as 500-200, then 400-250, and finally settled with a 300-300 from both sides 🙂 It’s only a 20 minutes (or less) taxi drive the temple to our apartment.

What is Buddha Jayanti

Buddha Jayanti is basically the full moon of Baisakh (the first month of Nepali Calendar. This year it’s Baishak 31 of 2071). This particular day is the birthday, enlighten day, and death day of Lord Buddha. Devotees around the country use to observe this sacred day and the government of Nepal has declared the day has a holiday. FYI, Buddha was born at Lumbini of Nepal at 543 BC. It was the 2558th Buddha Jayanti that we have observed at Boudhanath Stupa.

The full moon of the Buddha Jayanti night is known as Buddha Purnima.

How to Go to Boudhanath temple:

Every single taxi drivers from the town knows about this temple. Just tell them about the Boudhanath Temple or Boudhanath Stupa. After that you shouldn’t be worried about to find this out. It will be around 400-500 Rs maximum for a taxi from anywhere of the town to this temple. GPS coordinate of the temple is: 27°43’15.26″N, 85°21’42.71″E

The full moon of Buddha Purnima has sighted at the eastern sky behind the temple.

Where to stay:

Tourism is one of the main incomes of Nepal in recent days. That’s why there are plenty of hotels and resorts all over the country. Here is a list of hotels near Kathmandu for you. It is always better to reserve your room before traveling anywhere.

List of hotels in Kathmandu