Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) Guide: Fee, History and Visiting Tips

Last updated 3 October 2026. The entrance fee is from the Nepal Tourism Board heritage fee page, and the site description, steps and access are from the Nepal Tourism Board and the Kathmandu Metropolitan City heritage page, all read on 3 October 2026. History is from UNESCO and Wikipedia. Where something is our own guides' experience, I say so.

Swayambhunath is the hilltop Buddhist stupa on the western edge of Kathmandu that many visitors call the Monkey Temple. Foreign visitors pay NPR 200 to enter. You can climb the long stone stairway or take the road most of the way up, and the Nepal Tourism Board says the hill is about 3 km west of Kathmandu. It is one of the seven monument zones of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site, and UNESCO says it includes the oldest Buddhist monument in the valley.

I am Shreejan Simkhada. My family has guided in Nepal for three generations, and Swayambhunath is one of the first places we take guests who have just landed in Kathmandu, because you can see the whole valley from the top and understand how the city sits in it. This guide covers the fee, how to get up the hill, the history, the monkeys and how to behave, and where the official sources disagree I say so rather than guess.

What do you need to know before you go?

The Nepal Tourism Board says it publishes fees "as per the information provided by the concerned departments" and asks visitors to report differences to [email protected]. I could not find an official step count, so I will not quote one. Be wary of any blog that gives an exact number without a source.

What is Swayambhunath, and how old is it?

Swayambhu means "self-existent one". The Nepal Tourism Board calls the stupa the oldest of its kind in Nepal and says it is believed to date back to 460 AD, built by King Manadeva, and that by the 13th century it had become an important centre of Buddhism. Wikipedia gives a slightly different historical marker: a damaged stone inscription shows King Vrsadeva, Manadeva's great-grandfather, ordered work on the site in 640 CE. The two accounts are not the same, so treat any single founding date with caution. What both agree on is that this is a very old pilgrimage site.

UNESCO inscribed the Kathmandu Valley as a World Heritage Site in 1979 as seven monument zones, and the religious ensemble of Swayambhu is one of them. UNESCO describes it as including the oldest Buddhist monument (a stupa) in the valley. In 2010 the stupa was completely renovated for the first time since 1921 and re-gilded with 20 kg of gold, according to Wikipedia, and the same source says the complex was damaged in the April 2015 earthquake. Check on the day for any scaffolding or repair work.

What is the legend of the lotus and the lake?

Local tradition says the Kathmandu Valley was once a lake. The Swayambhu Purana, the Buddhist text about the origin of the valley, tells how a Buddha of an earlier age planted a lotus seed in the lake, and that the flower gave off a radiant light. The bodhisattva Manjushri is said to have cut a gorge in the hills with his sword so that the water drained away and people could reach the light. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City page tells the same story in its own words and adds that the name Swayambhu is linked to the Newari "Syengu", meaning self and forest.

This is a tradition, not a geological claim, and I tell guests so. It is still worth hearing at the top, because it is the story Newar and Tibetan Buddhists tell about why the valley exists.

What will you see at the top?

The Nepal Tourism Board describes a hilltop filled with chaityas, statues and shrines of Buddhist and Hindu deities, with prayer wheels around much of the base of the hill. Wikipedia describes the stupa itself: a white dome with a cube on top, painted with the Eyes of Buddha looking in four directions, and above the cube thirteen gilded rings that stand for the thirteen stages before nirvana. At the eastern side you first meet the large gilded vajra (the ritual thunderbolt) at the top of the stairway.

Two more things the Nepal Tourism Board points out: the largest image of Shakyamuni Buddha in Nepal stands on a pedestal on the western boundary beside the Ring Road, and behind the hilltop there is a temple to Manjushri, also worshipped as Saraswati, the goddess of learning. Wikipedia adds the shrine of Hariti, a fierce protector goddess who in the tradition looks after children, beside the main stupa. Both Buddhists and Hindus come here, and the Nepal Tourism Board calls it perhaps the best place to see religious harmony in Nepal.

What about the monkeys?

They are the reason for the nickname. The Nepal Tourism Board says visitors who found the name Swayambhu a tongue twister began calling it the "Monkey Temple" from the 1970s, and Wikipedia says the hill is home to families of wandering monkeys. These are wild animals living on a holy site. The following is our guides' experience, not an official rule:

• Keep food, water bottles and loose items out of sight and zipped away.
• Do not feed them and do not tease them or hold up food for photographs.
• Do not look one in the eye and then show your teeth. Walk on calmly.

How should you behave at the stupa?

No official dress code or photography rule is published on the sources I read, so these are our guides' guidance. It is an active place of worship, so dress modestly (covered shoulders and knees is a good habit across Nepal's religious sites), keep your voice low, and ask before photographing monks or anyone at prayer. Walk around the stupa clockwise, the same way the local people do, and do not step over offerings. We explain the same custom in our Boudhanath guide, and our Nepal travel etiquette guide covers temples and stupas in more detail.

When is the best time to go?

These points come from our guides' experience, not an official source. Early morning is calm and cool, with prayer wheels turning and the valley below often hazy in the first light. Late afternoon suits people who prefer the stairs going down, with the light warming the stupa. Midday can be hot and crowded with tour groups. Clear mornings after the monsoon, from October to November, give the best views, and Buddha's birthday in May is very crowded. If your knees dislike steep steps, take the road up and walk the stairs down.

What else is nearby?

Swayambhunath is one of the seven monument zones, and the other six are covered in our Kathmandu Valley UNESCO World Heritage Sites guide, with fees and a three-day plan. For another Buddhist stupa, read our Boudhanath guide. For the Hindu side, see our Pashupatinath guide. The royal squares are in our Kathmandu Durbar Square guide and our page on Bhaktapur.

How do you visit with a guide?

You do not need a guide to walk up, and many people do not take one. But the symbols, the shrines and the mix of Buddhist and Hindu worship are hard to read alone. Our private one-day UNESCO World Heritage Site tour includes an English-speaking guide and a private vehicle (the Standard option also includes lunch and the heritage entrance fees, the Budget option does not). Tell us if you want Swayambhunath at a particular time of day. For longer trips, our Kathmandu and Pokhara tour and our 7-day cultural itinerary include Kathmandu's heritage sites, and our Kathmandu travel guide helps you plan the rest of your stay.

WhatsApp: +977 9810351300
Email: [email protected]

We have over 300 reviews on TripAdvisor, Google and Trustpilot. Every booking helps fund our Nagarjun Learning Center.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday, from a family of guides across three generations. TAAN Member #1586. Last updated 3 October 2026.