Lubmbini The birth place of Lord Buddha

Lumbinī is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi district of Nepal, near the Indian border. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi is said to have given birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who as the Buddha Gautama founded the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha lived between roughly 563 and 483 BCE. Lumbini is one of four magnets for pilgrimage that sprang up in places pivotal to the life of the Buddha, the others being at Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya, and Sarnath.

Lumbini is in the foothills of the Himalaya,[1] 25 km east of the municipality of Kapilavastu, where the Buddha is said to have lived till the age of 29. Kapilvastu is the name of the place in question as well as of the neighbouring district. Lumbini has a number of temples, including the Mayadevi temple, and others under construction. Also here is the Puskarini or Holy Pond - where the Buddha's mother took the ritual dip prior to his birth and where he, too, had his first bath - as well as the remains of Kapilvastu palace. At other sites near Lumbini, earlier Buddhas were, according to tradition, born, achieved ultimate awakening and finally relinquished earthly form.

Present-day

Lumbini, as of 1997, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site specifically nominated for the international World Heritage program.

The holy site of Lumbini is bordered by a large monastic zone, in which only monasteries can be built, no shops or hotels or restaurants. It is separated into an eastern and western monastic zone, the eastern having the Theravadin monasteries, the western having Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries.

The holy site of Lumbini has ruins of ancient monasteries, a sacred Bodhi tree, an ancient bathing pond, the Asokan pillar and the Mayadevi temple, where the precise place of birth of Buddha is located. From early morning to early evening, pilgrims from various countries perform chanting and meditation at the site.

Butwal

Lying at the very foot of Chure Pahad (Fragile Hills), Butwal (Nepali: बुटवल) is a large town in southern Nepal on the banks of Tinau river in Rupandehi District, in Lumbini Zone of which it is the adminisrative center. It is 240 kilometres west of Kathmandu and 22 kilometers north of Rupandehi District headquarters Bhairahawa. Through highway and air links, Butwal connects western Nepal to the capital Kathmandu. It also has a highway connection to the Indian Border at Sunauli via towns Manigram, Bhalwari and Kotihawa. Butwal is one of the major gateways to Nepal.

Places of interest
Butwal Hill Park (Deepnagar)

This famous place was one of the historic for the people of Gurung community. This hill was called Gurung Gada before the hill park idea came into context, because Gurung people were buried here. But now it has been changed to view Butwal and nearby cities like Bhairawa. This gives good view of whole Butwal in either side. It separates Butwal city into 2 parts. The big growing city on east with population more than 45000 in small suburb (Deepnagar) with other parts of Butwal. You also can visit Aap Khola (mango river) popular among the residents of Butwal where people go for swimming and to collect water during drought.
[edit] Siddha Baba Temple

This famous temple is located on hills at the border of Butwal Municipality. In fact the temple lies in Palpa. Devotees believe that Siddha Baba will grant their wishes, and whosoever's wishes are granted offers pigeons at the temple. Large number of pigeons can be seen at the temple.

On Saturdays, the weekly holiday in Nepal, large number of devotees from Butwal as well as nearby places visit the holy temple. Special Micro services are pressed into service on these days by bus operators for the convenience of devotees. Phulbari (Manimukunda Park)

Phulbari, the winter palace of Palpali Sen clan is very fascinating from natural and archaeological values. There are ruins and antiquities of the majestic palace of Manimukunda Sen an ancient Palpali King containing 6 large rooms as well as royal residence, administrative and fascinating scenic grandeur of Butwal, Siddharthanagar and other neighbouring villages of Rupandehi district can be vividly seen from here at night also. His Majesty's Government, archaeological department has attempted to maintain it in 1991. Now Butwal municipality has formed council for the conservation of Manimukunda Sen Park to conduct Phulbari Development Programme and attempted to make it an amusing and a tourist resort.

Recently Butwal Hill Park which is under construction, has been formed as one of major tourist attractions for internal and foreign tourists.

Jitgadhi
Jitgadhi a fortress during Angol Nepal war, Narayan temple built by (1864 B.S.) Hanuman temple and Shivalaya of Hanumagngadhi, Jalabinayak Mehadev temple, Siddababa temple, Nuwakot etc. are famous centres of attraction in Butwal.


Sainamaina

Located about 12 km. west from Butwal and to North from Banakatti, Sainamaina as an open museum is very famous and fascinating resort from historical archaeological culture and natural points of view. Among the different Gramas villages of Shakya King, it was in the samgrama site. An Indian queen (Begam Hazrat Mahal of Oudh/ Awadh/ Lucknow) because of the British disturbance in her kingdom came to this area with her soldiers and porters (‘Sena’ and Mena’) and finally this area came to be known as Saina Maina. It is an exquisite treasure trove of ancient ruins and antiquities: statues of dancing saints, ruins of palace, well etc. The statue of Buddha (Jogidanda) was very significant different ruins of having the values of classical art are scattered here and there. This famous archaeological site is being occupied by homeless and landless people. Some of the antiquities of this site are seen thrown around the Lumbini museum.

Janakpur

Janakpur, [Nepali: जनकपुर नगरपालिका) less commonly Janakpurdham, is a city in Nepal. Janakpur is the administrative headquarters of the Dhanusa District of the Janakpur Zone and has a population of approximately 80,000. The city is located about 400 km south-east of Kathmandu, 20 km from the Indian border^[1] at 26° 42' 44" N, 085° 55' 18" E Janakpur has a substantial tourist industry due to its significance in the Hindu religion^[3] and is home to the only operational railway in Nepal, the Janakpur Railway.

Janaki Mandir, Janakpur

Janakpur, historically called Mithila, is the centre of the ancient Maithili culture, which has its own language and script.

The first millennium BC text Śatpath Brāhmana tells that the king Māthava Videgha, led by his priest Gotama Rahugana, first crossed the Sadānirā (Gandaka) river and founded the kingdom of Videha, whose capital city was Mithila. As Gotama Rahugana composed many hymns in the Rgveda, these events must date to the Rgvedic period.

The most important historical reference to Mithila/Janakpur is in the Hindu epic Ramayana, where Lord Rama's wife Sita Devi (also called Janaki) is said to have been the princess of Videha. Her father, King Janak, found baby Sita in a furrow of a field and raised her as his daughter. When she grew up, the king announced that she should be wed by whoever was able to string the divine bow of Shiva. Though many royal suitors tried, Lord Rama, prince of Ayodhya, alone could even lift the bow. As Rama and Sita are major figures in Hinduism, Janakpur is an important pilgrimage site for Hindus.

In addition, both the great saints Gautama Buddha, founder of Buddhism, and Vardamana Mahavira, the 24th and final Tirthankara of the Jain religion, are said to have lived in Mithila/Janakpur. The region was an important centre of Indian history during the first millennium.