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To ancient travellers along the Kathmandu-Tibet trade route, the ten-kilometre corridor from Pashupatinath to Sankhu was known as the zone of siddhi (supernatural powers), where guardian deities dwelt and all wishes were granted. The biggest, most auspicious landmark along this route was - and still is - the great stupa at BOUDHA (or BOUDHANATH ), about 5km northeast of downtown Kathmandu. One of the world's largest stupas, Boudha is generally acknowledged to be the most important Tibetan Buddhist monument outside Tibet. Tibetans simply call it Chorten Chempo - "Great Stupa" - and since 1959 it has become the Mecca of Tibetan exiles in Nepal. Tibetans now run most of the businesses along the main road and around the stupa, while the construction of monasteries has created a regular suburban sprawl to the north. Despite the tour groups and souvenir sellers, Boudha gives you a thorough dunking in Tibetan culture, past and present. Early morning and dusk are the best times to be here, when the resonant chanting of monks and the otherworldly cacophony of their music drifts from the upper rooms of the houses that ring the stupa, and pilgrims perform kora, shuffling and prostrating their way around the dome. If you want an extra helping of Tibetan culture, go during the festival of Losar in February or March, when Boudha hosts the biggest Tibetan New Year celebration in Nepal. Other busy times are Buddha Jayanti (the Buddha's birthday), the full moon of April-May, when an image of the Buddha is paraded around the stupa aboard an elephant, and the full moon of March-April, when ethnic Tamangs - the original guardians of the stupa - converge here to arrange marriages, and hundreds of eligible brides are sat around the stupa for inspection. Full moon and new moon days in general attract more pilgrims, since acts of worship earn more merit on these days. From Kathmandu, crowded minibuses and buses depart the City Bus Park frequently for Boudha, and tempos from Kantipath near RNAC, but you're better off going by taxi (about Rs150). Boudha is not a place to cycle to: the main road along here is one of the valley's most polluted. However you choose to go, set out early, before the traffic gets bad.
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