Photos 23-04-2012 Swayambunath Stupa

After breakfast we went for a walk to Swayambunath Stupa (Devnagari: स्वयम्भूनाथ स्तुप; sometimes romanized Swoyambhunath). It is an ancient religious complex atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city and it is also known as the Monkey Temple, as there are holy monkeys living in parts of the temple in the north-west.



We wanted to walk to the temple, but, quite often people would ask us if we wanted a taxi or rickshaw. The weather was warm and we were happy to walk with the help of the map on our phone.

We saw cows in the middle of the road, but the saddest thing we noticed was the amount of rubbish in the river and the smell of it.

We started climbing the steps to the top of the hill - it is said that there are 365 steps. On the side of the steps many vendors set up their stalls selling carved stones, jewelleries, embroideries, etc. Some children were collecting mullberries from the trees nearby.

Arriving at the top of the hill, we really enjoyed the walk around the stupa - with a nice background music from a CD selling stall - and the views of the capital. Apart from the other tourists, there were also local people, who were getting their blessings, and many, many vendors, trying to sell antiquities, books, paintings.

After a few times going around the stupa, trying to take pictures from different angles, we happily returned to the hotel, looking forward to a nice Mexican lunch.