The hill that rose from the lake
Swayambhu is one of the oldest Buddhist sites in the valley. Tradition and inscriptions place a shrine here by the Licchavi period, and it has been rebuilt and regilded many times since. For Newar Buddhists it is the most sacred place in the valley, tied directly to the Swayambhu Purana, the text that tells how the valley was made habitable.
In the 17th century King Pratap Malla of Kathmandu left a strong mark here. He is credited with the long eastern stairway, the great gilded vajra at its top, and the two white shikhara temples of Pratapur and Anantapur that flank the stupa. Over the following centuries Newar merchants and Tibetan patrons kept regilding the spire and adding chaityas, so the summit became crowded with gifts of faith from many generations.
After 1959, Tibetan refugees settled at the foot of the hill and on its slopes, and monasteries grew. The 2015 earthquake damaged Pratapur and several monastery buildings, but the stupa itself survived with minor damage. Locals, Tibetans and donors worked together to repair the hill. Today Newar and Tibetan Buddhists, Hindus and visitors share the summit, often on the same morning kora.
