After my EBC trek I had one free day in Kathmandu and I wanted to make the most of it. I asked my tour guide to plan up some main sightseeing points for me in Kathmandu and he suggested me some places and Swayambhu Nath Temple was one of them. Actually, all the places he suggested were Temples only. My guide told me that in Nepal the places to visit are in the Mountains and the other were the Temples. Mountains I had already done the Trek and seen quite a lot so then for me the Temples was the other option. The other Temples which I visited on the day were Boudh Nath and Pashupatinath Temples, which I will write in the following blogs.

Swayambhu Nath has a beautiful location. It's on top of the hill with around 100 steps to climb. It is also called the Monkey Temple because you will find many monkeys here. They are very peaceful, they do not harass the passing public, that was one good thing about them.

On the top of this Temple, which is called the Stupa, there is a picture of 2 eyes, which stands for Wisdom and Compassion. All around Nepal there are many stupas and most of them have the drawing of the 2 eyes. The Sanskrit word for the name of this Temple Swayambhu means self-born or self-manifested, the one that is created by itself. Hence, Lord Shiva is also called Swayambhu as he has not-taken birth like a normal child from any mother's womb. He has self-created himself or manifested himself. Lot of Gods in Hindu mythology carry this title as they have been self-manifested. This Temple is around 2000 years old or may be even older to this. Both Hindus and Buddhist have faith in this Temple.

This structure with the Bell is at the entrance of the Temple.

The eyes represent wisdom and compassion

I mentioned about the monkeys, here you see them.

Outside every Temple these prayer wheels are found. You need to complete the circle if you want to offer a prayer here. The wheels have prayer chantings written on it.