The precise spot where, tradition holds, Queen Maya Devi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama in 623 BCE — the centre of the Buddhist world, marked by a simple marker stone under a white pavilion.
Around it lie the Puskarini bathing pond, the great bodhi tree strung with flags, and brick foundations spanning two millennia of pilgrimage. The hush here is its own monument.
Birth marked
623 BCE
UNESCO
Since 1997
Dress
Shoes off, shoulders covered
Insider tip
Sit under the bodhi tree at opening time (6am) — monks from a dozen nations come to chant before the crowds.
Look for
1The marker stone under glass — the exact spot, by 2,600 years of tradition
2The nativity sculpture, worn smooth by fifteen centuries of touching hands
3Brick foundations of shrine over shrine, stacked across two millennia
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