Travel Guide Lumbini

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Lumbini is famous for its temple, built on the historic birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, known as Buddha. It is therefore a major religious site for Buddhists. But the site also fascinates Hindus and visitors of all faiths, as it is imbued with great fervour and solemnity, particularly during the celebration of Buddha's birth every year in early May. Of the 19 pillars erected in Buddha's honor here, that of the Indian emperor Ashoka is the oldest (250 BC), as its inscriptions attest. Nearby are the Maya Devi monastery (dedicated to Buddha's mother), the Pushkarni pond where Siddhartha is said to have taken his first purifying bath, and the sacred garden where Siddhartha is said to have transformed himself into Lord Buddha. In the 1970s, a large-scale international Buddhist center was built by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange around the sacred garden, as were a series of monasteries. The Lumbini Museum is currently closed for renovation. The site is a little austere, which would certainly not have displeased the master, and is conducive to meditation and the study of his doctrine. There are few hotels in Lumbini, and all the better for it.24 km west of Lumbini, near the present-day village of Tilorakot, lies the presumed site of Kapilavastu, ancient capital of the Sakya kingdom, whose remains are still visible.