Tours to Boudanath

The whitewashed dome of the Boudhanath stupa, with its piercing eyes and strings of prayer flags fluttering from a spectacularly gilded tower, is the largest in Nepal. It stands 11km northeast of the capital on the site of an ancient trade route from Tibet – the last place of worship for travellers arriving in Kathmandu from Lhasa. Today, the area around the stupa serves as an important enclave for Tibetan refugees, and is a terrifically atmospheric place to visit, especially early in the morning or around late-afternoon, when visitors mingle with maroon-clad monks and nuns muttering the sacred Buddhist mantra, ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’.