Perched atop a hill on the western edge of the Kathmandu Valley, the ancient Swayambunath Stupa (known to tourists as the Monkey Temple ) is Kathmandu 's most important Buddhist shrine. The sleepy, all-seeing Buddha eyes that stare out from the top have become the quintessential symbol of Nepal. Swayambhu (Devanagari : स्वयम्भू स्तूप ; Newar : स्वयंभू ; sometimes Swoyambhu ) is an ancient religious architecture atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley , west of Kathamndu city. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees' (Wylie : Phags.pa Shing.kun ), for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shing.kun may be a corruption of the local Nepal Bhasa name for the complex, Singgu , meaning 'self-sprung'. For the Buddhist Newars in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice, Swayambhu occupies a...