A Tibetan friend in Kathmandu highly recommended visiting Namo Buddha when asked about it. Actually, Jaeho has been there in 2002 and remembers his fantastic round-trip hike that starts at Dhulikhel धुलिखेल. In the morning, Jaeho went to Ratna bus park to take the bus to Dhulikhel located about 30 km southeast of Kathmandu. Dhulikhel is a small town as the administrative center of Kavre district and sits at an altitude of around 1550 meters above sea level. Dhulikhel is also a famous viewpoint, offering tourists a panoramic view of snow-covered Himalayas.
Lots of holy Buddhist pilgrimage sites are scattered across Nepal because Nepal is a birthplace of Buddha. For the Buddhists, Namo Buddha(1750 m), one of the most visited holy places along with Swyambhunath and Boudhanath in Kathmandu, is located south of Dhulikhel. The hiking trail to Namo Buddha starts by climbing the stone steps through the dense forest just in southeastern Dhulikhel and reaching the hilltop of Dhulikhel. And it goes up and down hills to Namo Buddha passing through the hamlets and crossing roads. It is about 2.5 hours hike from Dhulikhel. It had been the first hiking for Jaeho since he arrived in Nepal last October.
The trail from Dhulikhel gave hikers a peaceful and panoramic view of the Himalayas. They also enjoy the beautiful scenery of hills, forests and typical local villages along the superb trail all the way. It was bright, sunny day but the snow-covered Himalayas was hidden behind the clouds.
According to a Buddhist legend, Buddha was Prince Mahasattva in his previous life, the youngest son of king Maharatta. It was said that the prince offered his body to a hungry tigress here, which makes this site a holy place. The Stupa at Namo Buddha is believed to have kept the remains of Prince Mahasattva.
Buddha was said to visit this village after his enlightenment. He made clear that he was the reincarnation of Prince Mahasattva. Buddha renamed this village as Namo Buddha, which literally means 'Homage to Buddha'.
Tibetan monastic community around the stupa seemed to have been most likely to grow and prosper, compared to 15 years ago, so Namo Buddha has become a holy destination for Buddhists as well as tourists.
It was really amazing for Jaeho to be able to find at least one villager and ask them for directions, immediately every time he almost got lost. They were so warm and friendly.
