Bouddhanath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Stupa is on the ancient trade route from Tibet which enters the Kathmandu Valley by the village of Sankhu in the northeast corner. One of the oldest and the biggest Buddhist monuments ever built in Nepal, Bouddhanath is an imposing structure standing some 36 meters. The Stupa is said to entomb the remains of a Kasyapa sage venerable both to Buddhists and Hindus. The Bouddhanath lies about nine kilometers from the Kathmandu city centre.
The Stupa stands on the massive three level Mandala style platform surrounded by colorful private family houses. The basic feature of this great stupa is very much like those of Swoyambhunath stupa except its finial displaying. It is much bigger than Swoyambhunath Stupa and lies on the valley floor where s former one stands on the hilltop. This stupa is said to have been built in 5th century AD.The stupa's massive mandala makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal. Along with Swayambhunath, it is one of the most popular tourist sites in the Kathmandu area.
Bouddhanath was founded by the Nepalese Lichchhavi king Śivadeva (c. 590-604 CE); though other Nepalese chronicles date it to the reign of King Mānadeva (464-505 CE). Tibetan sources claim a mound on the site was excavated in the late 15th or early 16th century and the bones of king Anshuvarmā 605-621 were discovered there. However, the Tibetan emperor, Trisong Detsän (r. 755 to 797) is also traditionally associated with the construction of the Bouddhanath Stupa.
Tibetan merchants have rested and offered prayers here for many centuries. When refugees entered Nepal from Tibet in the 1950s, many decided to live around Bouddhanath.
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