LUMBINI

Lumbini is the birth of place of Lord Buddha and has been declared as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. It is small town in the southern Terai plains of Nepal, where the ruins of the old city can still be seen. At the age of 84, he left this world with thousands of followers to keep Buddhism alive. Lumbini has since been a holy ground for Buddhists all over the world. The restored garden and surroundings of Lumbini have the remains of many of the ancient stupas and monasteries. A large stone pillar erected by the Indian Emperor Ashoka in 250 BC bears an inscription about the birth of the Buddha. An important part of Lumbini is the temple of Maya Devi. It has a stone image of Maya Devi giving birth to Lord Buddha as she holds onto a branch.

An important archeological site near Lumbini, Kapilvastu evokes the ancient palace where Lord Buddha spent his formative years. Scattered foundations of the palace are abundant and archeologists have by now discovered 13 successive layers of human habitation dating back to the eighth century BC.

Access: Siddhartha Highway connects Lumbini by road to Pokhara, Tansen and Kathmandu.
Regular Flights from Kathmandu to Siddharthanagar, which is a 15 – 20 minute drive from Lumbini, connects Lumbini to the capital.

up ^

JANAKPUR

Janakpur lies off the Mahendra Highway. It is indisputably the most fascinating city of the Terai. It is one of world’s most car free cities. The city has not been founded on commerce but religion, so there just aren’t that many private vehicles, and buses are kept out of the core area by a well-sited bus park and a ring road. Though the city is easy enough to get around on foot, rickshaws are a terrific deal. Janakpur is the capital of the ancient state of Mithila and the Janaki Temple, located in the center of the city, is well known in the Hindu Kingdom. Sita the wife of Lord Ram was born here and a number of Hindu tourists visit the temple to pay their respects to Ram and Sita. On the occasion of Ram and Sita’s marriage (Bibaha Panchami) and their wedding ceremony is enacted throughout the week. During this period the city is filled with festivities. The other important festival in Janakpur are Ram Navami – the birthday of Lord Ram, Parikrama – Held on the full moon day of Feb – March, Holi – the festival of colors, Diwali – the festival of lights and Chath – offering are made to the sun god.
Other temples and sights: Ram Mandir, Dhanush Sagar, Ganga Sagar, Ramanand Chowk, Hanuman Durbar – to see the world’s biggest rhesus monkey.

Access: Buses from Kathmandu and other major cities link Janakpur. There is a flight from Kathmandu to Janakpur everyday.

up ^

Ridighat

50 km from Tansen at the confluence of the Kali Gandaki and Ridi Khola. In this small place, It is a temple of Rishikeshwara (Vishnu) with 50 other small temples. Pilgrims visit here to earn merit for this life as well as for their next life. About 200 Vishshnavas of the Nimbarka & Sri Ramanuja Sampradaya sects live in near by Ridi Bazar.

up ^

Muktinath

This is one of the 106th sacred Muktichhetra (assured of salvation) of 108 sacred place of Vaishnavs, where Lord Vishnu got free from the curse of Sati. It hosts the largest Shaligram. It also has a Jwaladevi, a divine flame is continuously burning since thousands of year. This pagoda –shaped temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu situated at an altitude of 3800 m. Set into the wall around 108 water spouts from which pours holy water.

up ^

Devghat

Devghat is a confluence of river Trishuli and river Kaligandaki and is very significant religious Triveni. It is 6 Km north of Narayanghat. Here all 7 holy Gandaki Rivers meet together to form a Narayani River. Like Triveni of Ganges and Yamuna at Alahabad in India Devghat is one of the main sites for the festival of Makar Shankranti in Nepal. Many pilgrims from around Nepal and India come to immerse themselves in the river. Makar Shankrati is also popularly known as Maghe Shankranti. It is the first day of Nepali month Magh (Mid January). In this place the demigods came to honor Lord Vishnu when he saved Gajendra, an elephant from the attack of a crocodile after hearing his prayers of devotion.

up ^

Pashupatinath

Lord Shiva is worshipped as Pashupati, which means Lord of all living creatures. The temple of Pashupatinath is 6 Km east of Kathmandu. Pasupat-Chhetra (site of Pashupatinath) is one of the holiest places in the Hindu Kingdom of Nepal. Many Hindu Pilgrims come to Pashupatinath round the year. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus from all over World make Pilgrimage on the day of Shivaratri (Night of Shiva, one day before black moon in February). There are many temples of various Hindu Gods in the holy site. Guheswori temple is the most important among other temples. A walk from this temple to Aryaghat near Pashupatinath temple is very popular among non-Hindu tourists. Pashupatinath Temple area is an UNESCO World Heritage site.

up ^