Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour in Nepal

Arrival in Kathmandu. Meet and greet by our team and transfer to the hotel. The remaining afternoon is leisure time. Buddhist pilgrimage tour briefing will be given around 6 pm where arrangements will be made for the distribution of your official program. In Evening, you will be heading out to the dinner at your hotel and this is a great opportunity to get acquainted with your fellow group members before starting the Hindu Pilgrim tours in Nepal. <span>Accommodation:</span> Bed and Dinner

Enjoy your breakfast at your hotel. After breakfast, our team will come to pick you up at 08:40 am and drive you to visit the holiest Buddhist Pilgrim Stupas of Kathmandu valley. Firstly, we will be heading towards the Swayambhunath, (sometimes Swayambu or Swoyambhu) is an ancient Buddhist religious architecture atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The complex consists of a stupa, a variety of shrines and temples, some dating back to the Lichhavi period. The Swayamabhunath stupa has Buddha’s eyes, eyebrows and number one painted in the fashion of a nose. Each morning before dawn hundreds of Buddhists (Vajrayana) and Hindu pilgrims ascend the steps from the eastern side that lead up the hill, passing the gilded Vajra (Tibetan: Dorje) and two lions guarding the entrance, and begin a series of clockwise circumambulations of the stupa. After Swayambhunath, we will continue our Buddhist pilgrimage tour to Boudhanath. Situated about 11km from the center and north-eastern outskirts of Kathmandu, the stupa’s massive mandala makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal. The Buddhist stupa of Boudha Stupa dominates the skyline; it is one of the largest stupas in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After then we will drive to the city of Patan to visit the Hiraṇyavarṇa Mahavihar, informally called the Golden Temple with literal meaning “Gold-coloured Great Monastery” is a historical vihara (Buddhist monastery) situated in Patan, Nepal. In the evening, we will drive back to the hotel and overnight in Kathmandu. <span>Accommodation:</span> Bed, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Today, after breakfast we will continue to visit Buddhist Pilgrimage sites in Kathmandu’s periphery in Pharping, Bhaktapur and out of Kathmandu valley in Namobuddha. Firstly, we will drive to Pharping to visit the Asura cave, a cave sacred to Guru Rinpoche, located above the village of Pharping, near Kathmandu. It is also known as the ‘Upper cave of Yanglesho’. On the upper left side of the entrance door is the imprint of a hand in the rock. There is an explanation of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and a write Tulku Tenpo about the Asura cave. After the visit of the Asura cave, we will drive directly to Bhaktapur, which lies 17km from Kathmandu. Bhaktapur is known as ‘The Living Museum’ as it still retains its medieval fragrance. Just the hill above Bhaktapur lies the cave where Milarepa meditated. The place is known as Bagishwari Saraswati Sthan (Manjushree cave). Later, we will drive to Namobuddha. The Namobuddha Stupa is believed to be erected over the relic of Bodhisattva who sacrificed himself to feed starving mother tigress and her cubs. Namobuddha at 1,700m is also provided a panoramic view of the Himalayas. Today, we will overnight night in Namobuddha. <span>Accommodation:</span> Bed, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Early morning breakfast at your hotel and we will drive along the river, inside the valley to direction Haleshi. On the way we will bypass, Katunje, Mangalatar, Nepalthok, Khurkot, Ghurmi then finally we will reach Haleshi. On the way, we will have lunch break and continue our tour to Haleshi Maratirka cave. The Halesi-Maratika Caves are located next to the village of Mahadevasthan, in the Khotang District of Nepal, about 185 km southwest of Mount Everest. After reaching Haleshi, we will check-in at our hotel/ Lodge. Then rest for a while and we will carry on our visit to the Haleshi Maratirka cave. It stands at an altitude of 1500m and lies between the Dudh Koshi and Koshi River. Mandarava and Padmasambhava realized a number of terma that had been elementally encoded as terma in Maratika Cave by Dakini Sangwa Yeshe, terma that number among the longevity teachings of Buddha Amitabha and given at the behest of Bodhisattva Avalokiteswara. At Maratika Cave, Mandarava and Padmasambhava attained the Vidyadhara of longevity or long life. After then, we will return back to the hotel, have dinner and overnight in Haleshi. <span>Accommodation:</span> Bed, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

We will have early breakfast at our hotel and check out to drive to Lumbini. Today we will have about 497km drive from Haleshi to holy city Lumbini. Lumbini where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama in 563 BCE. After a long drive, we will reach Lumbini. Lumbini is one of the holiest places of one of the world’s great religions, and its remains contain important evidence about the nature of Buddhist pilgrimage centers from as early as the 3rd century BC. Check-in and the remaining day we take for the relaxation. Evening dinner at the hotel and overnight in Lumbini. <span>Accommodation:</span> Bed, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

We will get up and get ready at 7 am at the hotel’s lobby. After then we will go to visit Mayadevi temple, where the Lord Buddha Siddhartha Gautam was born. The complex of structures within the archaeological conservation area includes the Shakya Tank; the remains within the Maya Devi Temple consisting of brick structures in a cross-wall system dating from the 3rd century BC to the present century and the sandstone Ashoka pillar with its Pali inscription in Brahmi script. Additionally, there are the excavated remains of Buddhist viharas (monasteries) of the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD and the remains of Buddhist stupas (memorial shrines) from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD. The site is now being developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage center, where the archaeological remains associated with the birth of the Lord Buddha form a central feature. Afternoon, we will drive to visit other Buddhist holy sites in Lumbini which are; Tilaurakot, which is 27km west of Lumbini. Tilaurakot is the ancient capital of the Sakya kingdom (Kapilavastu) where Siddhartha lived his early 29 years as a prince. Then, we will continue our visit to the; Ramgram Stupa, is the only Stupa which still retains Buddha relic in its intact form, Kudan (Nigrodharma) has the stupa remains, where King Suddhodhana (father of Buddha) met Lord Buddha after he attained enlightenment. Gotihawa was ancient Khemavati the birthplace of Krakucchanda Buddha. Niglihawa is the birthplace of Kanakmuni Buddha. Emperor Ashoka visited both places and erected pillars with inscriptions. The pillars are broken in both places. Sagarhawa is the place where Sakyas were massacred by King Virudhaka out of vengeance. About 70,000 Sakyas were killed in the massacre. The Sakyas didn’t strike back as they believed in nonviolence. After then, drive back to and overnight Lumbini. <span>Accommodation:</span> Bed, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Morning enjoy your breakfast at the hotel. Then, prepare to check out and drive to the beautiful city of Pokhara which is in distance of 165km from Lumbini. On the way, we will have a lunch break and enjoy the beautiful nature. After reaching Pokhara, we will check-in and rest a while. Late afternoon, we will have canoeing in Phewa Lake then cross the lake and hike to Buddhist Peace Stupa on the top hill. From the top, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Pokhara valley, the amazing view of Fishtail mountain and the entire range of mountains. After then, we will descend our tours to Pokhara and have dinner. Overnight in Pokhara. <span>Accommodation:</span> Bed, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Today, we will have early morning breakfast and check out to drive towards the direction of Jomsom. At 7 am, we will meet in the hotel lobby and start our journey to Jomsom – Muktinath, following the scenic winding off-road that offers beautiful mountain views and amazing landscapes. Drive to Jomsom 168 Km (9-10 hrs) and stands at an altitude of 2,743m, your pilgrimage tour will be started from Pokhara to Jomsom. On the way, you will enjoy a scenic drive and you could explore local culture and beautiful panoramic views through the riverbank of Kaligandaki, Beni, Ghasa, Marpha, Jomsom along with the Kaligandaki Valley arrival Jomsom. After reaching Jomsom, we will check-in at a hotel relax for acclimatization. Have your dinner and overnight Hotel in Jomsom. <span>Accommodation:</span> Bed, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Wake-up early morning, and take our packed breakfast then start our pilgrim journey to Chumming Gyatsa (Muktinath). Our early morning drive will lead us via Kagbeni to Jharkot, then Ranipauwa and finally to the spiritual Chumming Gyatsa (Muktinath). Buddhists call Muktinath Chumming Gyatsa, which in Tibetan means ‘Hundred Waters’. According to Tibetan Buddhism Chumig Gyatsa is a sacred place of the Dakinis goddesses known as Sky Dancers, and also one of the 24 celebrated Tantric places. Additionally, the site is believed to be a manifestation of Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and Virtue. The Tibetan Buddhist tradition states that Guru Rimpoche, also known as Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, meditated here on his way to Tibet. After completing prayers at the Muktinath Chumming Gyatsa many pilgrims, both Hindu and Buddhist, visit Mebar Lha Gomba, the small monastery of `miraculous fire’, which is situated near the entrance gate of the temple. This monastery, dedicated to Guru Rimpoche (Padmasambhava) and containing a statue of the Buddhist deity Chenrezig (Avalokitesvara), is famous for its continuously burning natural gas fire, which Hindus worship as Jwala Mai, the Goddess of Fire. After finishing the pilgrimage sites, we will drive back to Pokhara and overnight in Pokhara. <span>Accommodation:</span> Bed, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Have your breakfast at the hotel and enjoy the morning. At 10 am, we will check out from the hotel and start our journey back to Kathmandu. On the way to Kurintar, we will stop and have our lunch at the river bank. After lunch, we will continue our drive to Kathmandu. Arrive in Kathmandu, check-in at the hotel and have dinner at the hotel. In the evening overnight in Kathmandu. <span>Accommodation:</span> Bed, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Enjoy your breakfast at your hotel. Our team will transfer you to the international airport in Kathmandu coordinating your flight departure time to your further destination. <span>Accommodation:</span> Breakfast