Ancient ruins
Inside the temple.
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A plain white temple standing over the spot Buddhists hold to be the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, around the 6th century BC, in Lumbini's Sacred Garden. UNESCO listed the site as World Heritage in 1997, and pilgrims come from all over Asia. Inside, on wooden walkways, are old brick ruins uncovered by excavation, layers of successive temples over the centuries, and at their centre a stone believed to mark the birth spot. Beside the temple stands a stone pillar raised by the Indian emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC, its inscription recording that this is the Buddha's birthplace. In front is a square sacred pond with brick steps and a huge tree hung with colourful prayer flags, under which monks and pilgrims sit in meditation. The site is calm and silent. The Sacred Garden ticket includes the temple, and sources differ on the foreigners' price. Shoes come off, and photos are not allowed inside. Temples and stupas are living places of worship: dress modestly, walk clockwise around Buddhist stupas and remove shoes where asked. The Terai plains are very hot from April to June; October to March is the mildest time.
Inside the temple.
Old inscription.
And prayer flags.
Sacred Garden, Lumbini, southern Nepal near the Indian border
It stands over the spot Buddhists hold as the Buddha's birthplace, beside the Ashoka pillar recording it since the 3rd century BC.