Located 40 kilometers southeast of Kathmandu, Namo Buddha is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites south of the Himalayas, as well as being one of the holiest Buddhist sites in the world. Known by Tibetans as Takmo Lu Jin, meaning “Tigress Body Generosity”, the Namo Buddha stupa marks the site where a young prince (in some versions, the Buddha himself) encountered a tigress close to starvation and unable to feed her own cubs. Overcome with compassion, the prince allowed the tigress to consume him and thereby feed her cubs. A small shrine a few minutes walk uphill from the stupa contains statues of the prince together with the tigress and her cubs. On the other side of the hill stands the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse monastery constructed in 1976. Large numbers of pilgrims visit Namo Buddha, especially during the months of February and March.
