A good (if busy) time to visit Boudhanath is at dusk, when hundreds of devotees walk around the stupa in a clockwise circle performing kora, or pilgrimage, spinning prayer wheels as they pass them to release prayers. Many pilgrims make their way around the stupa slowly by prostrating on the ground.
One of the biggest festivals celebrated in Boudhanath is Losar, the Tibetan New Year in February, that attracts thousands of pilgrims. After the Chinese invasion of Tibet, many Tibetan refugees settled in the area around Boudhanath, and today there is a large Tibetan community in this part of Kathmandu, as well as many Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and centres for Tibetan Buddhist studies. Shops around the stupa sell Tibetan art, jewellery and handicrafts, and several restaurants around the area offer balconies and roof terraces with stupa views.
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