If you are not familiar with the place then Swoyambhunath aka the Monkey Temple is a religious architecture which lies on top of a hill on the west of Kathmndu. It is a place of immense significance for the Buddhists and Hindus alike.

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia regarding the mythology surrounding this place.

According to Swayambhu Purana, the entire valley was once filled with an enormous lake, out of which grew a lotus. The valley came to be known as Swayambhu, meaning “Self-Created.” The name comes from an eternal self-existent flame (svyaṃbhu) over which a sūpa was later built. Swayambhunath is also known as the Monkey Temple as there are holy monkeys living in the north-west parts of the temple. They are holy because Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom and learning was raising the hill which the Swayambhunath Temple stands on. He was supposed to leave his hair short but he made it grow long and head lice grew. It is said that the head lice transformed into these monkeys. Manjusri had a vision of the lotus at Swayambhu and traveled there to worship it. Seeing that the valley can be good settlement and to make the site more accessible to human pilgrims, he cut a gorge at Chovar. The water drained out of the lake, leaving the valley in which Kathmandu now lies. The lotus was transformed into a hill and the flower became the Swayambhunath stupa.

The Photography Journey

The start of the day was not so good. It had been raining from the morning until around 2 in the afternoon. After the rain stopped, I headed out to Swoyambhunath at around 4 and the sky was really looking dramatic at this point of time. Here are some photos from the place. Enjoy!!!