Boudhanath Stupa

Boudhanath Stupa is one of the largest spherical stupas in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, standing majestically in eastern Kathmandu. The stupa's massive white dome is crowned with a gilded tower bearing the all-seeing eyes of the Buddha.The site is the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal, surrounded by over 50 monasteries and gompas, and is a living place of worship, meditation, and pilgrimage for Tibetan Buddhists and international visitors alike.

The stupa stands about 36m high on a base roughly 100m across, and the thirteen tiers of its spire stand for the stages to enlightenment. The harmika and spire were cracked in the 2015 earthquake, taken down and rebuilt, and the work was paid for almost entirely by the Buddhist community rather than the state; it was reconsecrated in late 2016. The quarter around it grew after 1959, when Tibetan refugees settled here, which is why the monasteries are so concentrated. The kora is walked clockwise, busiest at dawn and dusk and fullest at Losar in February or March.