Lumbini Tour

Lumbini is the birthplace of Buddha and as such is a must for pilgrims all over Nepal and the Indian sub continent. The Lumbini district is situated in the town of Kapilavastu in southern Nepal close to the Indian border. Lumbini, which in Sanskrit means "the lovely", is a famous Buddhist pilgrimage site and in 1997 was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lumbini is the birthplace of Gautama Buddha, who founded " Buddhism" around the 4th and 6th century BC.

Lumbini as a Buddhist pilgrimage site has numerous temples including the Maya Devi temple (Mother of Buddha) which is the precise place of birth of Buddha. The Puskarini (Holy Pond) is where Maya Devi, Buddha's mother, took her ritual bath prior to Buddha's birth and where he too, had his first bath. There is also the remains of Kapilvastu palace in Lumbini.

In 249 BC, the Buddhist convert Emperor Ashoka constructed four stupas and a stone pillar with a figure of a horse on top after he paid a visit to Lumbini. The stone pillar bears an inscription which translates to; "King Piyadasi (Ashoka), beloved of devas, in the 20 year of the coronation, himself made a royal visit, Buddha Sakyamuni having been born here, a stone. The places to see in the Lumbini are:

Ashokan Pillar

It is an inscribed pillar erected in 249 BC by Emperor Ashoka on the spot of Buddha's birth.It is believed that when the Emperor Ashoka (die –hard devotee of Buddha) from Magadh Empire India visited Lumbini it was a flourishing village . He constructed four stupas and a stone pillar with a figure of a horse on the top.

The Japan Peace Stupa

The 41m imposing structure is situated at the northern end of the gardens.

The Lumbini Museum

The Lumbini Museum displays artifacts from the Mauryan and Kushana periods, religious manuscripts and other items discovered at the site. Closed on Tuesdays.

Lumbini International Research Institute

The Lumbini International Research Institute (LIRI) is devoted to the study of Buddhism and other religions. It houses an extensive collection of books on religion, art and architecture

Buddhist Temples

There are foundations of temples dating from the 2nd century BC to the 9th century AD, and two modern temples: one in Tibetan style, the Dharma Swami Maharaja Buddha Temple, which was built by the king of Mustang, and one Nepalese Theravada style building, the Lumbini Buddha Vihar, which was built by the Nepalese government and contains Tibetan-style frescoes and Newari-style Buddhist images. Outside the main complex, there are other temples built in the styles of countries where Buddhism is the predominant religion, such as Chinese, Japanese and Burmese.