Close to the border with India, Bhairawa retains an old town charm and is a friendly place to stopover en route to Lumbini from the entry point of Sunauli. It has a small airport that gets traffic from Kathmandu. It’s also possible to explore the country by road from this centrally located Terai town. Lumbini, birthplace of the Buddha and one of Nepal’s most important historical sites, is 20 km from Bhairawa.

Most visitors choose to make Lumbini a day trip and take advantage of the wide variety of relatively decent accommodation available in Bhairawa. As legend has it, the birthplace of the Buddha or the Enlightened One is Lumbini. The story goes that the Sakya queen, Mayadevi, was travelling in this area when she halted at a water tank in the vicinity and delivered the baby Siddhartha Gautam. According to legend the Buddha was born from her rib cage and with the ability to speak. This was 623 BC.

The Sacred Garden marks the spot where the baby Siddhartha, who later attained enlightenment and became the Buddha, was born. Lumbini recaptured people’s imagination only with the archaeological discovery of the Ashoka pillar in 1896. Ashoka was an Indian king who became one of the most devout and famous followers of Buddhism and the pillars he constructed served the dual purpose of marking the limits of his kingdom as well as spreading the holy words of his faith. With the decline of Buddhism in the plains of Nepal, Lumbini had lost most of its importance but now the government and Buddhists around the world are promoting it as a major destination. Plans are afoot to institute a major centre for Buddhist studies.

The prominent structure of the Mayadevi Temple dominates the garden. While it is under renovation, the 3^rd century statue of Mayadevi, which has been moved out is still accessible to visitors. It is accompanied by a sculpture that details the birth of the Buddha. Behind the Mayadevi Temple is the structure that brought back attention to this tiny Terai town, the Ashoka Pillar. The oldest monument in Nepal, it was erected in 249 BC by King Ashoka. The Sacred Garden also encompasses the water tank by which Mayadevi gave birth to the founder of one of the world’s great religions. Remnants of old monasteries and stupas, some dating back to 3^rd century BC, dot the area. A temple constructed by King Mahendra in 1953 houses grand statues of the Buddha from Thailand, Burma and Nepal; a large gold statue presides over proceedings in this lovely hallowed building.