Lumbini — the Sacred Garden

Buddhist texts tell that Queen Maya Devi of Kapilavastu was travelling to her parents' home in Devdaha when she stopped in the garden of Lumbini. There, holding the branch of a tree, she gave birth to a son, Siddhartha. He would grow up as a prince, renounce his palace, attain enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and become the Buddha.

The Sacred Garden

At the heart of the site is the Maya Devi Temple, a simple white building that protects the excavated remains of earlier temples and a marker stone believed to show the exact spot of the birth. Inside, a raised walkway leads past the ruins and a worn stone relief of the nativity. Outside, the Puskarini pond is where Maya Devi is said to have bathed before giving birth and where the infant was first washed. Monks meditate under a great Bodhi tree hung with prayer flags, and the brick foundations of ancient monasteries and stupas surround the temple.

The Ashoka Pillar

In 249 BCE the Mauryan emperor Ashoka came here on pilgrimage and set up a polished stone pillar. Its inscription, in Brahmi script, states that the Buddha was born here and that the village of Lumbini was granted a tax reduction. The pillar was lost to memory for centuries until 1896, when Khadga Shumsher Rana and the archaeologist Alois Führer identified it — the discovery that put Lumbini back on the map.

Beyond the garden

North of the Sacred Garden stretches the Monastic Zone planned by the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, with temples built by Buddhist communities from around the world, the Eternal Peace Flame and the World Peace Pagoda. The fields around Lumbini are also home to sarus cranes, the world's tallest flying birds.

Visiting tips

Arrive early or late in the day for calm and soft light. Remove shoes and hats inside the temple, walk clockwise around stupas, and keep your voice low. Bicycles and electric rickshaws are the easiest way to cover the large site.