Kapilvastu City Guide
Kapilvastu, the ancient capital of Sakya clan to which lord Buddha belonged, is the place where prince Siddhartha grew up. Now a small village called Piprahwa, Kapilvastu was once a flourished city where Buddha spent his first 30 years. It was Kapilavastu, where he witnessed four events - sorrow of a beggar, sadness of an old man, pain of a sick and a dead body and finally decided to renounce all the worldly pleasure and search for the truth and salvation.
On your tour to Kapilvastu, you can see amazing ruins of temples and monasteries. The recent excavations made by the Archaeological Survey of India have lead to findings of many stupas and inscription of Kushana period. One stupa was built by the later Sakyans over their share of the Buddha's ashes and was enlarged on several occasions. Lord Buddha is believed to preach the Madhupindika Sutta in Kapilvastu. A small Sri Lankan Temple and Mahinda Mahavihara are other attractions nearby, worth visiting on your Kapilvastu tour.
Accomodation
The best way to stay is in Buddhist charity foundations, like the Bharatiya Buddha Mahavihar, or the Sri Lankan temple Dharmashala. One can also stay at The Royal Retreat Heritage Hotel .
Chief Tourist Attractions in Kapilvastu
The Tourist Attractions in Kapilvastu are innumerable and the beauty and charm of Kapilvastu are sure to captivate all kinds of tourists.
Kapilvastu is a primary archeological location and for this reason it is one of the most frequently visited tourist destinations in Nepal. The place has the ruins of the citadel where Lord Buddha spent his formative years. The archeological works that had been done in this area had to go through various barriers including monetary limitation. The archeologists had excavated out as many as 14 different layers of human habitat in this region. The oldest among the human habitations dates back to 8th Century BC. There are many Stupas spread across the place, built by Ashoka and the Gupta Kings. The symbols left behind by the Shakya dynasty are clearly seen and there are relics of Lord Buddha himself.
Excursions from Kapilvastu
Lumbini : Lumbini, Lord Buddha's birthplace, adequately depicts many artistic arrangements of his birth, like the Maya Devi's statue in the temple with same name. Lumbini is also picturesque and very quite place making it the heaven for the tourists.
Sarnath : The four-lion statue, a splendid contribution by Ashoka that lies in this place has been adopted as the national emblem. There are many stupas built by Ashoka and temples, the prominent among them are Mulagandha Kuti Vihar, Choukhandi stupa, Ashok Pillar and Dhameka Stupa.
Kushinagar : One of the four must visits for the Buddhist pilgrims, according to Lord Buddha himself, Kushinagar is the place where Lord Buddha passed away. It was the centre of the Mallas dynasty who ruled over the place, however, only a little has remained in the ruins related to that period. The structures more prominently represent Ashoka's dynasty that had built many structures in this place of Buddha's death.
