Nepal is the land of Lord Buddha. He was born in Lumbini, Nepal around 623 BC. The people who follow the teachings and traditions attributed to Buddha are Buddhists. Over the centuries, Buddhism has spread globally and not just in Asia. Now, it is a major religion with millions of followers.

Moreover, the amount of Buddhist heritage and landmarks in Nepal are quite unparalleled. There are various Buddhist monasteries, stupas, monuments, and other heritages. Furthermore, Lumbini is widely regarded as a holy site as it is the birthplace of Lord Budhha. Hence, many pilgrims come for the Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour in Nepal every year.

This Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour in Nepal allows you to travel across the country’s most essential and significant landmarks. You can find the Maya Devi Temple, the seven steps of Lord Buddha, the Asok pillar, and other heritages in Lumbini. Many monasteries built by different countries are present in the monastic zones.

Our tour will also take you to Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) and Boudhanath in Kathmandu. Travelers can also go on a cultural exploration of the local settlements of the region. Pharping Monastery and Taudaha lake are landmarks you can visit during your tour.

The tour itinerary includes the scenic Namo Buddha monastery on the edge of Kathmandu Valley. You can also get incredible views of the entire region through a viewpoint. Kapilvastu, Ramgram, Kudan are other important places you will visit on this tour.

Overall, the Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour in Nepal is an ideal religious tour for all pilgrims. Read further for more on the Buddhist Cultural Tour in Nepal package. Happy traveling!

Highlights of the Trip

Pilgrimage of major Buddhist heritage of the country
Spiritual trip to the birthplace of Lord Buddha
Exploring around Tilaurakot and Kudan near Lumbini
Pilgrimage to Maya Devi shrine, the 7 steps, etc
Visiting the monastic zones with monasteries made by different countries
Exploring the stupas of Swayambhunath and Boudhanath in Kathmandu
The warm hospitality and welcome during your stay

Itinerary

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Day 1 :

Explore Boudhanath and Namobuddha in Kathmandu

On the starting day of this tour, you will explore Kathmandu’s various Buddhist heritage sites. You will start by exploring the beautiful large stupa of Boudhanath. The Boudhanath stupa is a majestic white stupa in the North of Kathmandu. The entire area around the stupa has many prayer flags and Buddhist monuments. The pilgrims can perform various rituals like the “kora”. It is a special ritual where you circumnavigate the stupa while chanting prayers and moving prayer wheels. The eyes of the stupa are generally believed to give the message of world peace. We will then travel to Namo Buddha, in the Kavre district just outside Kathmandu. According to the local legends, Lord Buddha saved a tigress and her cubs from hunger by offering his own body in the area. The beautiful monastery on the hilltop provides you with a lovely experience. There are various small monasteries and Buddhist heritages in the area. After exploring the monasteries and worshiping, we will return to Kathmandu. The travelers will pass through the diverse scenic landscapes to arrive at these destinations. They can observe the natural vistas of snow-clad mountains and other topography along the trails.

Day 2 :

Travel to Pharping, Explore Pharping monasteries and Swayambhunath.

We will have meals in the morning and then travel to Pharping. The drive from Kathmandu to Pharping passes through the scenic landscapes. The Pharping village is an old Newari settlement located near the Dakshinkali temple. You can find many Buddhist heritages around the area. The Pharping monastery is home to many students, monks, and nuns learning Buddhist dharma practice. There are several other monasteries in the Pharping area that you can explore around. You can find Taudaha along the route, a vast and beautiful lake. This lake also has the legend of Manjushree. According to popular belief, Manjushree, a deity from Tibet, kept cutting down the hills to let out the water of Kathmandu lake. All the Nagas of the lake were then held at Taudaha. Hence, this lake is quite popular among the locals of the region. From Pharping, we will travel to Swayambhunath. The temple gets known as “Monkey Temple” and remains located on a hilltop. Swayambhunath stupa is an important landmark for both Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims. You can observe them busy in their antics on the Swayambhunath temple premises. There is an outstanding viewpoint from where you can watch snow-clad mountains and the entire Kathmandu valley. After exploring the stupa and monasteries, you will arrive at Kathmandu hotel.

Day 3 :

Travel from Kathmandu to Lumbini in a private vehicle

We will commence our trip through scenic highways to arrive at the birthplace of Lord Buddha. The beautiful drive passes through natural vistas of hills, rivers, and others. After arriving at your destination, you can visit Maya Devi temple, Ashok pillar, and Lord Buddha’s birthplace among others. Gautam Buddha was born as King Sudhodhan’s son. According to the legends, Buddha took seven immediate steps after being born. In each of those seven steps lotus flowers bloomed. Moreover, you can observe the Ashoka pillar, which was integral in discovering Lumbini as the birthplace of Lord Buddha. King Ashoka built this pillar in the year 249 BC. German archeologists in 1895 declared Lumbini as the birthplace of Lord Buddha with the help of these inscriptions. We can explore the Lumbini garden and the monasteries built by different countries in the Monastic zone. You will then rest at a hotel after exploring around Lumbini.

Day 4 :

Lumbini sightseeing tour

On this day, we will start our tour early as we will travel to the beautiful destination of Tilaurakot. This excellent site is historically significant and is near Lumbini city. Lord Buddha spent most of his life in Tilaurakot Palace before leaving the royal life. On the Ban-Ganga River banks, you can find a huge ground. Alongside you will also find the Maya Devi shrine, dedicated to the mother of Lord Budhha. We will then explore the beautiful Kundan region, located just 4.5 km from Tilaurakot. Many stupas, ponds, and monasteries in the region’s ruined heritages. Travelers can find the Kasaya stupa or the place of enlightenment of Buddha. He was then given a Kasaya, a yellow robe that led to the stupa's name. We will then travel to Ramgram. There you can find the Ramgram Stupa, which contains the relics of Lord Buddha built 2500 years ago. This 7 m (23 ft) high stupa is an important historical site.

Day 5 :

Travel to Kathmandu by private vehicle

From Lumbini, we will drive to Kathmandu in a private car. After driving for around 6-7 hours, we will arrive at Kathmandu, where you can go to your destination.

When Should You Take a Buddhist Pilgrimage tour in Nepal?

The tour of the Buddhist heritage in the country is ideal in all seasons. However, there are peak seasons for traveling in the country, including Spring and Autumn.

Spring

Spring (March to May) is the perfect time to travel around Nepal. These seasons have stable weather conditions, making the tour ideal for travelers. These harsh weather conditions also provide incredible views of the snow-clad mountains in clear blue skies. The entire atmosphere turns blissful during this time, making it a fantastic adventure to travel in Spring.

Autumn

The Autumn season (September to November) is also ideal for travel around the region. The stable weather and a great environment make it suitable for a trip. There is less rainfall or harsh weather, making it perfect for travel. Therefore, you will get incredible opportunities for cultural exploration as it is a festive period.

Other off-season tours might pose weather-related challenges as there might be heavy rainfall. You will not get to explore the region in these conditions. Besides that, there are various challenges like floods, landslides. Winters can cause extreme cold temperatures in the region as well.

Major Buddhist heritage and landmarks of the tour

The major attractions of this Buddhist Pilgrimage tour in Nepal include the various monasteries and stupas in Kathmandu and Lumbini. They are as follows:

Boudhanath

Boudhanath is another Buddhist heritage site in the Kathmandu valley. There are various incredible atmospheres in the Boudha area, making it popular among travelers. The large stupa is among the biggest in Asia.

There are prayer wheels in the stupa used in the process of Kora. Besides that, various Thangka galleries, restaurants, and hotels make the atmosphere quite incredible. The whole area gets known as “Little Tibet” because many Tibetan refugees live there.

Swayambhunath

Swayambhunath, located on a hilltop, is a prime Buddhist heritage of the Kathmandu valley. Many monkeys are around the hill, busy in their antics. There are various small stupas, chortens, temples, monasteries, and other Buddhist landmarks in the area.

There are snow-clad mountain views and the entire Kathmandu valley that you can observe from the viewpoint. Swayambhunath temple is quite famous among both Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims.

Lumbini

Lumbini in the Rupandehi District is an important site in Buddhism. It is the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Hence, it is quite a significant pilgrimage site for Buddhists. Queen Mayadevi was heavily pregnant while traveling to Devdaha (her home). She gave birth on the way.

According to mythology, Lord Buddha took the first seven steps immediately after his birth, and the lotus bloomed in those steps. You can find the location of Buddha’s birthplace and where he took those steps.

There is also Ashok Pillar, who also provided proof for the discovery of Lumbini as the birthplace of Lord Budhha. King Ashok built it in 249 BC along with many other stupas and inscriptions. The German archeologists found Ashok Pillar, which was an instrumental landmark.

They found the inscriptions in 1895. Another pilgrim helped them in discovery. Finally, through these measures, these ancient ruins of Lumbini were found.

Namo Buddha

Namo Buddha is an incredible monastery located in the Kavre district. Various myths and legends surround this place, including the one about Siddhartha Gautam giving himself to a hungry tigress and her cubs. This monastery is also an excellent viewpoint for observing the beautiful snow-clad mountains and other natural landscapes.

Pharping

Pharping is a local settlement located around the outskirts of the Kathmandu valley. Various village settlements along the way will make the trip to Pharping quite exciting. There are several other monasteries as well. Among them, the Pharping monastery is the major one. There are a small number of Tibetan refugees in the area as well. Taudaha lake is another excellent sightseeing point on the route to Pharping.

Tilaurakot and Kudan

Tilaurakot remains located 29 km west of Lumbini as it is an important heritage site. Lord Buddha stayed in this Tilaurakot palace for 29 years before giving up royalty. There you can find Maya Devi’s shrine and a large residential area.

Kudan lies near Tilaurakot, around 4.5 km south. There is a Kasaya stupa which is quite significant in the Buddhist scriptures of the region as well. Besides that, there are various structural ruins, ponds, stupas, and monasteries in the region.

Ramgram Stupa

Ramgram stupa is another King Ashok-built landmark on a large hill. The myth is that the King wanted to make the stupa, but the serpent Naga king guarding the Ramgram stupa was quite powerful. Hence, it is an undisturbed stupa among a few others. Therefore these were the various Buddhist heritage landmarks and major attractions on tour.

The Final Say

The Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour in Nepal is an incredible pilgrimage tour that provides an incredibly spiritual experience. Travelers will pass through various monasteries, stupas, and other pilgrimage sites during this tour.

This tour takes you to the birthplace of Lord Buddha in Lumbini, the Mayadevi Shrine, the seven steps, etc. Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple), Pharping Monastery, Namo Buddha, and Boudhanath are other important Buddhist heritages. We hope you learned about the Buddhist Pilgrimage tour in Nepal in detail!

Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour in Nepal

Highlights of the Trip

Itinerary

More Info

Review

Itinerary