Upon arriving at the square, they DID accept the card and I was able to enter for free. Boudhanath is much like Swayambunath in appearance. It was built in 500-600AD. Legend has it that the land was given to a woman based on the size of an elephant hide. The woman was ambitious and stretched it to circle the whole square! The Stupa is the most significant religious building for Tibetan Buddhists and there is a significant expat community and monasteries in the area. It was very peaceful joining the pilgrims and walking clockwise around the Stupa several times.
Me at Boudhanath
Normally Buddha is depicted cross legged. This is a rare example of one seated upright, about to stand up. In a temple at Boudhanath square
Pashupatinath Temple
After leaving the Stupa we walked past an abandoned temple complex, through a park (only park I've seen in Kathmandu!), and to Pashupatinath, a major Hindu temple complex and World Heritage Site. The temple was initially built in ~400AD on the banks of the Bagmati river and is the seat of the diety Pashupatinath. Today it continues as a large, functioning temple and many cremations occur here along hte banks of the river. I won't even try to comment on the role it plays in Hinduism here - I simply have too little knowledge of Hinduism for context. Perhaps another post.
Throughout overpopulated Kathmandu there are still patches where people attempt to farm.
Abandoned temple complex on the way. I don't know it's name or history. The main building (back left) looked like it was being used as a house
Parkland with random shrines
Main temple complex. The smoke in the upper left is from cremations by the river.
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