Kathmandu:

There wasn’t a single house on this road when I was young. It was just a jungle with houses only at the top of the hill. There were no vehicles too and we used to walk all the way to the city,” says Dwarika Bahadur Maharjan, a resident of Kirtipur, who is almost 90.

He is chatting to other senior citizens on the porch near the Nagara Mandapa Shree Kirti Vihara, more popularly known as the Thai temple.

Things have certainly changed since then. Now the lane is filled with houses and vehicles ply abundantly.

There are a number of interesting places you can visit in Kirtipur, this week we will just focus on the Thai temple, so named because it was built by the Thais. This golden-roofed temple is open from 4:30 am to 5:30 pm everyday.

The main temple houses a beautiful statue of Gautam Buddha surrounded by various miniature statues. There is another building with paintings and statues of the life of Buddha from Lumbini, Buddhagaya, Saranatha to Kushinagara. And if you stand on the stairs, you will see that on the terrace, for each life story depicted in the room, a miniature version of the house or temple where each of the these events took place in Buddha’s life is depicted.

The unique structure of Lumbini or the cylindrical shaped building of Buddhagaya, the beautiful brick coloured temple of Saranatha with fine designs and finally the whitewashed clean structure that relates to Kushinagara — all these are beautifully executed.

“This place was built so that even if the devotees of Lord Buddha are not able to visit all these places, they can come here,” says Bhikshu Kirti Jyoti. “The other specialty of this place is that the Astudhatu, bone of Lord Buddha and of Yashodhara is also here. This is displayed once a year on the day of Jestha Purnima,” he adds.

It’s raining nowadays so remember to carry an umbrella or a raincoat.

How to get there

It will take you around half-an-hour to reach Kiritpur from the city centre.

Local conveyance is easily available. You can catch either a bus or a micro (No 21) from either Shahid Gate or Old Bus Park. This will take you to Kirtipur.

As you cross Tribhuvan University, there is an uphill road. Cross that and just a few seconds later on the left hand side you will see the golden roofed temple.