Swayambhunath Main Stupa

The story behind the place

Swayambhunath brings Buddhist and Hindu shrines together on a hill above the Kathmandu Valley. The main stupa’s white dome supports a square eye-bearing tower and a tall golden spire. Around it, smaller shrines show how a sacred place can grow through many generations of care. The name is associated with the self-arisen in religious tradition. Stories of a lotus and an ancient lake belong to that tradition, rather than a dated account of the monument’s construction.

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