Trip To Boudhanath Stupa In Nepal: A UNESCO World Heritage Site

“Sacred places are physical and geographic anchor points for our psychic and cultural imaginings, the stories we tell about ourselves, the world, and the relations between them.”

 Adrian J. Ivakhiv (Claiming Scared Ground)

  On a beautiful bright afternoon we, the whole team of International Sustainability School, went to visit the ancient Boudhanath Stupa, one of the largest stupa in the world.



From 1979, Boudhanath Stupa has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it is also one of the most famous tourist sites in Kathmandu area.

The Boudhanath Stupa

Rich sense of cultural heritage and profound religious faith, both were submerged in every lair of that place. Though you would always find the Stupa full of life and chattering of people. The one interesting fact I came to know that you can only walk from right to left around the perimeter of the Stupa, which was circular in shape; because walking vice versa, means, from left to right is considered as a bad omen for the Buddhist and it is forbidden. It is a local prejudice or belief whatever you might call.

Standing in front if the Stupa

The eyes of Boudhanath, the flux is completely made of gold

Wonderful decor

Even these windows bear the sense of rich culture of Nepal

The Stupa was surrounded by numerous street shops selling different traditional goods of Nepal. You could easily pick up a Tradition Nepali Tupi (woolen hat), Shawl, hand-made bags and dresses or if you want to look for something smaller, you can go for handicrafts, stylish traditional earrings, bracelets, or other accessories.

Traditional Accessories

The place is always crowded!

Fish Locks and Tortoise Locks!

The visit was also meant to take us to a trip of sustainable shots where we were assigned to learn how to take a shot that could tell a story or show the history. We had a practical hands-on practice there.

The most mesmerizing part was when we entered the temple. Its rich architectural beauty amazed me so much that I could barely leave anything behind without taking a photo. You can have a look below.

Entrance of the Temple

Flower of Light

Lotus, one of the scared symbols of Buddhism

The Last Monk

Metal Statue 

Traditional Vase

Door of Serpent 

Statue of Buddha

Traditional Valence

I wanted to take a picture with it!

Statue of a Deity 

                                 

Traditional "Sambala"; There are Mantras written on it and the Buddhists use to roll all the Sambalas together if they have to pray or wish for something.



  

     This was not a mere trip, rather a passage to comprehend the faith, culture and people of Nepal that would always help me to remember through what I saw, what I heard, and what I felt.


(To be continue)