TTE Pilgrimage 2026

After a week of retreat together, Drubpon Lama Tenzin Sangpo leads our group north through the sacred landscape of the Buddha’s homeland and on into the hills above Kathmandu — visiting the ancient capital of Kapilavastu, the only intact original relic stupa at Ramagrama, the Guru Rinpoche site of Chumik Changchup under the full moon, and arriving finally at the naturally arisen images of Tara in Pharping. 

At a glance

Day 1 · Sat 22 Nov · Kapilavastu · Depart 7:30 · Return to Lumbini ~18:30

Day 2 · Sun 23 Nov · Ramagrama · Depart 7:30 · Return to Lumbini ~18:30

Day 3 · Mon 24 Nov · Chumik Changchup · Depart 6:00 · Overnight on site

Day 4 · Tue 25 Nov · Pharping → Kathmandu · Depart 8:00 · Arrive Kathmandu ~15:00

Register for the pilgrimage

Registration: USD 350 early bird before 21 October · [email protected]

Day 1 · Kapilavastu: The Hometown of Prince Siddhartha

Saturday 22 November · 29 km from Lumbini · Shared bus and lunch included.

Ancient Kapilavastu was the capital of the Shakya clan in the 6th–5th centuries BC, the city where King Śuddhodana and Queen Māyā raised their son, Prince Siddhartha Gautama. According to the Pali Canon, this is where the future Buddha spent the first 29 years of his life, before leaving through the Eastern Gate on the night of his Great Renunciation.

It is also the region where two earlier Buddhas were born, Krakuchhanda Buddha at Gotihawa and Kanakamuni Buddha at Niglihawa, making this land one of the most sacred in the entire Buddhist world.

Day 2 · Ramagrama: The Undisturbed Stupa

Sunday 23 November · About 1 hour east of Lumbini · Shared bus and lunch included.

Of the eight original stupas built to enshrine the Buddha’s cremated remains after his Mahaparinirvana, only one has never been opened. This is Ramagrama, and we are going there.

When Emperor Ashoka set out to redistribute the relics among 84,000 new stupas across his kingdom, he reached Ramagrama and encountered a powerful nāga guarding the stupa. Unable to remove the relics, Ashoka moved on. The stupa has remained untouched ever since.

Ramagrama was a major city of the Koliya clan, the kingdom to which Queen Māyā, the Buddha’s mother, belonged. Nepalese archaeologists consider it the only intact original stupa still enshrining the Buddha’s relics, and it has been a place of pilgrimage and veneration since its very construction. In 1996, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

A place where ancient history, mythology, and the living presence of the Dharma meet, all in one quietly extraordinary site on the banks of the Jharahi River.

Leaving after Day 2? Departure information for Bhairahawa airport will be posted in the WhatsApp group.

Day 3 · Chumik Changchup: The Spring of Awakening

Monday 24 November · About 6–8 hours from Lumbini · Shared jeep, lunch, Tsok offerings and overnight lodging included.

This is the long day, and the one that makes the whole pilgrimage.

We leave early from Lumbini, crossing through the changing landscapes of the Terai and into the forested hills of Makwanpur District, arriving at Everest Panorama Resort near the village of Daman, about 85 km southwest of Kathmandu. Autumn is the finest time to make this journey: after the monsoon, before winter, with panoramic views of the Himalayas opening up as we climb.

Chumik Changchup, the Spring of Awakening, is held in the Nyingma tradition as a place where Padmasambhava himself passed through on his journey to Tibet, subduing the spirits of the land and leaving an outpouring of blessings that practitioners say remains palpable to this day.

At the heart of the site is the sacred spring itself: clean, pure water rising from the corner of a stone platform. To the left stands a stupa and stone images of Avalokiteshvara, Buddha Shakyamuni, and Guru Rinpoche. Above the spring, a stone platform invites you to sit in meditation. In the rock overhead, Guru Rinpoche’s face is visible — naturally arisen, some say, or perhaps carved. Either way, it looks back at you.

In the evening, the group gathers for a Tsok offering under the full moon, led by Lama Tenzin, before settling in for the night at Everest Panorama Resort.

Day 4 · Pharping: The Place of Awakening

Tuesday 25 November · About 4–5 hours from Daman · Shared cars, breakfast and lunch included.

We leave Daman in the morning, descending toward Kathmandu and turning south to Pharping, a small town on the edge of the valley that has been a place of practice and realization for centuries. This is our last stop, and perhaps the most intimate.

Following the main street uphill through Pharping, a flight of steps leads to Ralo Rinpoche’s monastery complex. To the right of a small Ganesh shrine, in the living rock itself, two naturally arisen images of Tara are embedded in the stone. Drubthob Rinpoche recognized them in 1979 and built a small temple to protect them. One image is clearly visible; the other comes and goes. The shrine also houses statues of the 21 Taras and serves as a retreat space for monks focused on Tara practice. For those of us who have been practicing together all week, this is a quietly extraordinary arrival.

We visit Yanglesho Cave and circumambulate the black stone stupa built by Chatral Rinpoche, which contains relics of Terton Jigme Lingpa and the first Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa. The Vajrayogini Temple nearby marks one of the four cardinal directions of the Kathmandu Valley. A short walk above, Asura Cave — where Padmasambhava meditated and attained Mahāmudrā Vidyādhara — is still used as a three-year retreat center today.

“These places transcend their historical significance: they continue to pulse with the energy of countless practitioners who have sought realization there over centuries.”

— Damcho Gyaltsen, for RYI

The programme ends on arrival in Kathmandu in mid-afternoon (~15:00). Kathmandu airport information, hotel suggestions and onward travel options will be posted in the WhatsApp group.

What is included

Included

• Transport for all four days: bus or minibus on Days 1–2, shared cars on Days 3–4, Lumbini to Kathmandu.
• A local pilgrimage guide on every day.
• Entry fees to archeological sites.
• Group practice at each main site, and the full moon tsok on the evening of Day 3, with offerings prepared by the team.
• One night’s accommodation at Chumik Changchup (24 November).
• Lunch stops arranged in advance each day.

Not included

• Your own accommodation in Lumbini before the pilgrimage, and in Kathmandu after it.
• Breakfast and dinner in Lumbini on Days 1–2.
• Tuk-tuks between your hotel and Gate 9.
• Personal offerings at the sites.
• Transport to the airport and flights, from Bhairahawa or Kathmandu.

Places to visit independently

If you cannot join the full programme, many of these sites can also be visited on your own by tuk-tuk, taxi or hired car. Entry fees, opening hours and photography rules vary — check locally. The same dress and shoe etiquette applies everywhere.

In Lumbini (tuk-tuk or on foot from the monastery zone)

• Maya Devi Temple and Sacred Garden: The Buddha’s birthplace: the marker stone, Ashoka pillar, and the sacred pond. Ticketed.
• Monastic Zone (West): Monasteries of the Tibetan and Himalayan traditions, many with Tara shrines. Good for quiet practice.
• Monastic Zone (East): Theravada monasteries from Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and elsewhere.
• World Peace Pagoda: Large Japanese stupa at the edge of the Lumbini complex.

Near Lumbini (half-day by taxi)

• Tilaurakot (Kapilavastu): Palace ruins of the Shakya capital, with a small museum. ~1 hr west.
• Kudan, Gotihawa, Niglihawa: Smaller Kapilavastu-area sites associated with the Buddha’s return and the other Buddhas’ birthplaces. ~1 hr west.
• Ramagrama: The relic stupa visited on Day 2. ~1 hr east.
• Devdaha: Maternal home of Queen Mayadevi. ~1 hr east.

Kathmandu Valley (for those arriving early or staying on)

• Pharping: Self-Arisen Tārā and Guru Rinpoche’s Asura cave — our Day 4 destination. Can also be visited independently, ~1 hr south of Kathmandu.
• Swayambhunath: Hilltop stupa with Tara shrines around its base.
• Boudhanath: Great stupa surrounded by Tibetan monasteries; walk the kora at dusk.
• Namo Buddha: Site of the Buddha’s offering of his body to a tigress, with Thrangu Monastery. ~2 hr east of Kathmandu.
• Golden Temple, Patan: Newar Buddhist monastery courtyard in Patan’s old town.

Register for the pilgrimage

The early bird fee of USD 350 applies to registrations received before 21 October. On-site registration will be higher depending on last-minute logistics.

To register, email: [email protected]

Questions about the full TTE programme (empowerments, retreat, or on-site logistics) can be sent to: [email protected]