Registration for the Nepal & India Pilgrimage with Charok Lama and Paula Chichester closes November 8th!

As the registration deadline approaches for our Nepal & India Pilgrimage, we wanted to share more about the holy sites we will be visiting on this life-changing experience. But first, some advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche (text by Himalayan High Treks):

Rinpoche has told us that it is good to do different practices on pilgrimage, to make people’s lives very meaningful and very productive.

“Normally when people go on pilgrimage, they are just like tourists; maybe they take some pictures, and that’s it. They don’t use the places to collect merit or to meditate or to get some benefit for their minds. If it’s just like sightseeing, then it won’t be that much benefit.”

Rinpoche says that by doing pilgrimage, we receive blessings from the holy places where enlightened beings, great yogis, and bodhisattvas have practiced. With the blessing entering our hearts, we are able to soften; our mind becomes subdued; and we are able to decrease the delusions. We are then able to develop compassion for others and to strengthen our devotion, renunciation, and wisdom. Our mental continuum becomes Dharma.

Rinpoche has also advised that when we see the Great Stupa in Boudhanath for the very first time, even from the airplane, we should make special strong prayers. “This stupa is so powerful that anybody who makes prayers to it has their wishes fulfilled. Whatever you pray for, it will succeed. So do your best prayer!”

Learn more about this Special Pilgrimage to Nepal & India with Charok Lama and Paula Chichester (February 08 – 25, 2026)!

Nepal Holy Sites

Kopan Monastery

Perched on a hilltop overlooking the breathtaking Kathmandu Valley, Kopan Monastery is home to 360 monks, lamas, teachers, and workers and the beating heart of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition’s (FPMT’s) mandala. Each year, Kopan welcomes thousands of guests who walk its serene paths and tranquil gardens, discovering profound inner peace. Explore Kopan’s extraordinary treasures: a magnificent 20-foot Lama Tsong Khapa statue, ornate stupas, powerful relic sanctuaries, and prayer wheels containing millions of compassion mantras. Immerse yourself in authentic Tibetan Buddhist tradition through meditation courses, individualized guidance, or simply by savoring a cappuccino and delicious meal at the Kopan Café: one of the best in town!

Boudhanath Stupa

Rising like a white mandala against the sky, Boudhanath Stupa is one of the most sacred places of pilgrimage in the Buddhist world, a living temple of devotion. Its all-seeing eyes radiate compassion in every direction, watching over countless pilgrims who circle its base in prayer. With every step of circumambulation and every whispered mantra, the mind softens and opens. It is said that even a single heartfelt prayer made here will be fulfilled.

Swayambhunath Stupa

Overlooking the Kathmandu Valley, Swayambhunath Stupa is one of Nepal’s most ancient and precious Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Legend tells that when Kathmandu was a primordial lake, a crystal stupa – the embodiment of Buddha’s holy mind – emerged from a lotus blooming in those sacred waters, just as Shakyamuni Buddha himself predicted. This precious crystal stupa now rests within the Swayambhunath hill. The whole mountain is a a holy place and that is why people go around the bottom of the mountain, in order to purify their negative karma and receive blessings and protection.

Pharping

Pharping is nestled in the peaceful hills outside Kathmandu. Here, Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava, the great tantric master who brought Buddhism to Tibet) meditated in the sacred Asura Cave and attained realization. Even today, the energy of deep practice remains tangible in the silence of its cliffs and monasteries. Parphing is also a site of an ancient Vajrayogini temples. Pilgrims come to Pharping to connect with the lineage of transformation, to sit where enlightened beings once sat, and to ignite their own inner courage and devotion.

Lumbini

In the quiet fields of southern Nepal lies Lumbini, a place where time seems to pause in reverence. It was here that Prince Siddhartha took his first breath before beginning the journey that would transform him into the Buddha. Around the sacred Maya Devi Temple, pilgrims walk with gratitude, honoring this holy ground not only as the Buddha’s birthplace but as the origin of a spiritual path that continues to awaken hearts across the world.

India Holy Sites

Sravasti: Jetavana Grove

In the peaceful stillness of Jetavana Grove in Sravasti, the Buddha spent many seasons teaching the Dharma. The quiet paths and ancient trees hold the gentle energy of his presence. To sit here is to touch the simplicity of wisdom and the compassion that guided his life.

Kushinagar: Mahaparinirvana Temple and Rambhar Stupa

Kushinagar is the sacred place where the Buddha passed into parinirvana, completing his journey of awakening. At the Mahaparinirvana Temple, the serene reclining statue of the Buddha invites quiet reflection on impermanence and peace. Nearby, the Rambhar Stupa marks the site of his cremation, a place of profound reverence where pilgrims honor his final teachings and the boundless compassion he shared with the world.

Nalanda: Ruins of Nalanda Monastery/University

Nalanda was once the great seat of Buddhist learning, a vast monastic university where thousands of monks and scholars studied for centuries. Today, the quiet brick ruins carry the memory of deep wisdom and spiritual dedication. Walking through Nalanda is like touching the living roots of Buddhist philosophy and the unbroken lineage of enlightened understanding.

Rajgir: Vulture Peak

Vulture Peak in Rajgir is a place of profound spiritual power, where the Buddha gave many treasured teachings including the Heart Sutra. The quiet mountain path leads to a summit filled with stillness, ideal for meditation and reflection. Here, the landscape itself feels like a teacher — vast, silent, and awake.

Bodhgaya: Mahabodhi Stupa

Bodhgaya’s Mahabodhi Stupa marks the very place where the Buddha attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi Tree. The air here is charged with devotion, as pilgrims from around the world circumambulate in prayer and meditation. It is a place where the possibility of awakening feels alive and near.

Sarnath: Deer Park

Deer Park in Sarnath is where the Buddha offered his first teaching, setting in motion the Wheel of Dharma. The peaceful grounds radiate clarity and purpose, reminding pilgrims of the path of wisdom and compassion that began here and continues to this day.

Special Pilgrimage in Nepal & India ⏰ Last Chance to Sign Up ⏰

Important: Last Chance to Sign Up ⏰

The sign-up deadline is approaching fast: November 8, 2025

In collaboration with Himalayan High Treks

February 08 – 25, 2026

From Kathmandu, Nepal

OPEN TO ALL

Once registration closes, no additional participants can be added. If you feel called to join, now is the time to secure your place on this rare pilgrimage.

This is not tourism. This is a calling, a heartfelt pilgrimage to reconnect with your deepest purpose and awaken your spiritual path.

Leave behind the familiar and enter the living legacy of the Buddha on an 18-day sacred journey across Nepal and India.

Guided by Charok Lama and Paula Chichester, and enriched by the cultural wisdom of Himalayan expert Amber Tamang, you will visit some of the most revered sites in the Buddhist world. Offer prayers beneath the soaring presence of Boudhanath Stupa, experience stillness at Kopan Monastery, walk the peaceful grounds of Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace, and meditate under the Bodhi Tree in Bodhgaya, where he attained enlightenment.

We welcome travelers of all ages and abilities:

This pilgrimage is designed with care and accessibility in mind, and we accommodate seniors in every way we can. Comfortable hotels are selected throughout the journey, and there is clear communication on walking distances, steps, and terrain in advance.

When needed, we will arrange alternate transportation options (such as taxis and rickshaws) to make the journey accessible for everyone who feels called to join.

This is a journey across sacred lands, but most of all, it is a journey within.

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