Monkey Temple - Swayambhunath Temple - Nepal Travel Information

Photos from Monkey Temple

The monkey temple (Swayambhunath) is built on one of the hills, west of Kathmandu city. The temple is a Buddhist temple that is estimated as over 2500 years old and it is the most ancient and mysterious temple of all the temples in Kathmandu valley. An inscription that was found in the place indicates that the temple was an important Buddhist pilgrimage destination already in the 5th century AD, but the temple?s history starts even earlier, before the Buddhism?s arrival to the valley.

The name of the temple comes from the many monkeys living in it. Those monkeys are considered as saints in the eyes of the believers. Since it is forbidden to harm those monkeys they became more and more fearless over the years and when they want to take something form the visitors in the temple they do it with no fear.

Mani Wheels

In the temple area (as in most Buddhism temples) Tibetan praying wheels, called Mani Wheels, are scattered all over. Those wheels are there to spread positive spiritual energy. The praying action is done by a turn of the wheel on its pivot.

Inside the wheels there are paper rolls with the mantra (praying) ?om Mani Padme Hum? written on them many times in ancient Indian or Tibetan writing. The paper rolls are wrapped around pivot inside a metal cover that protects them. In many praying wheels the mantra is also written on the wheel?s external cover.