Photos

Coming from Kathmandu, walking into the Boudhanath area is as if one has entered into another world: the sound of traffic and the dusty pandemonium dissipates and gives way to the sweet odor of burning juniper incense. Vanished, too, are Shiva, Ganesh and their Hindu brethren. Instead, the enormous disembodied eyes of the avatar of a different faith —the Buddha, peers down from the multi-tiered Boudhanath Stupa.

Tucked on the eastern outskirts of Katmandu, Boudhanath is both an eye of calm and a sanctuary of Tibetan Buddhist culture amid a nation dominated by Nepali Hindus. Since the Chinese invasion of Tibet nearly 60 years ago, droves of refugees resettled in neighboring Nepal, transforming once-sparse Boudhanath into a bustling Little Lhasa.

Throughout its narrow streets, and the main area that forms a ring round the stupa, one can find dozens of craft stalls, traditional artisans’ workshops, Tibetan folk-medicine stores, traditional artisans’ workshops, and restaurants serving everything from yak-cheese pizza to Everest brand beer.

At a small square just by the stupa, the tradition of releasing pigeons for peace is being practised by the monks. As in most parts of the world, it is believed that peace will prevail when pigeons are released as messengers of peace to heaven above.

(View taken from the 1st level of the Boudhanath Stupa)