Buddhist stupa dwarfed by Kangchenjunga

Buddhist stupa dwarfed by Kangchenjunga

A tiny Buddhist stupa is dwarfed by the massive south face of Kangchenjunga. October, 1998.
Nelson
on Nov 24, 2004 9:13 am
Image ID: 79296

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MelbaToast

MelbaToast - Nov 24, 2004 8:58 pm - Voted 10/10

Stupa?

This is awesome, Nelson. I just finished reading Savage Arena by Joe Tasker so it was especially interesting to see these pix. When were you there? And what's a stupa? Never heard the term...a shrine?

Nelson

Nelson - Nov 25, 2004 10:05 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Stupa?

Thanks Melba! One of the books I carried and read on my trek to Kangchenjunga (Oct-Nov, 1998) was Tasker's Savage Area. Great read. Can you imagine those guys, putting up that difficult route, being forced clear down to base camp, then going back up again. Yikes.

Yes a stupa, or chorten in Tibetan, is a symbolic religious shrine. There are huge ones in South and Southeast Asia which contain saintly relics, and small ones like this all over the Himalaya. Some are simple rough stone affairs, other are more elaborate, covered with stucco and painted. See this photo by SP'er Bob Keaty. Here are a couple of more links with additional brief information about stupas:

Wikipedia page

Silk Road Trading Concern

MelbaToast

MelbaToast - Nov 30, 2004 3:41 am - Voted 10/10

Re: Stupa?

Thanks for the info, Nelson. I'll be looking forward to your pix and to spending a little while reading the page and following up on all the links...Fabulous stuff, thanks again for sharing!

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