Lumbini where he was born
From Lumbini where he was born (near the Indian border; 350 km [218 miles] SW of Kathmandu and one of several UNESCO world heritage sites in Nepal) and Kapilavastu where he lived until age 29, it is generally thought that the Buddha did not venture any farther south than the place today called Varanasi. (Then it was called Kashi.)
At Lumbini, people today are shown the pond (Pushkarini) where Siddhartha's mother bathed when she began experiencing labor. There is a pillar that Emperor Ashoka erected in 249 BCE to certify the birthplace near an old tree by the pond. The base of the tree is smeared with vermilion by those who consider it a shrine; the branches are bedecked with prayer flag offerings.
Inside the white-washed brick compound the archaeological finds are on view, including the marker stone at the birth place of the 4th Buddha, the "historical" Shakyamuni.
