Not too far from the sacred Lumbini is found a giant and sacred tree – Pakari Brikshya. Circumference of its trunk may reach 20 m.

This solitary tree is located in the countryside and is surrounded by fields. The giant tree is well known to locals and is considered to be holy. Locals are afraid to break a branch or do any other harm to this tree in fear that something bad can happen to them. They have also have noticed that predatory birds never sit in this tree and elephants do not touch it although the branches are low.

It is not easy to assess the size of this tree but the impressive numbers are given by municipal website (1) – with a trunk circumference of 25 m – seem to be exaggerated. Analysis of several movies and images shows that the circumference of the trunk is between 16 and 20 meters what is very impressive anyway.

Pakari Brikshya is peepal or weeping fig (Ficus benjamina). This tree often has many smaller trunks bundled together but in this case, Pakari Brikshya has one major trunk. The circumference is increased by one major branch starting from low height.

Surrounding area is named Pakari and the tree is a well known local landmark.

Some images and movies of tree

• Radio Devdaha, accessed on 19 July 2014
• Do u want to Climb Asia’s Biggest Tree.. (4 images), accessed on 19 July 2014
• Swami Ji Vlogs, youtube video of the tree, 2018. Accessed on 4 September 2018

References

1. Archaeological sites of Devdaha, municipal website. Accessed on July 19, 2014
2. Barbara Adams, In search of three giant trees, Kathmandu Post, 23 March 2012. Accessed on July 19, 2014

Pakari Brikshya on the map

Location, GPS coordinates:	27.6360 N 83.5809 E
Categories:	Trees
Values:	Biology
Rating:
Where is located?	Asia, Nepal, Lumbini, Rupandehi District, to the east from Rupandehi near Devadaha (Devdaha) some 2 km south-west from Khaireni
Name in Nepali:	कोटियामाई (Kotiyamai)
Alternate names:	Pakad, Falakasha, Devdaha banyan, Kotiyamai, Pakhdi Rukh
Species:	weeping fig (peepal) (Ficus benjamina)
Circumference:	approximately 16 – 20 m
Height:	~ 20 m
Width of crown:	> 30 m

Landmarks of Nepal

Most people at first associate Nepal with the breathtaking scenery of Himalaya and above all – with the world’s tallest mountain – Mount Everest. But there is much more than this: historical cities with breathtaking architecture, holy Buddhist sites and possible location of the mysterious Shambala – Upper Mustang Valley.

Trees

Category includes some of the most impressive and interesting separate trees of the the world. Total number of tree species in the world still is a wild guess – may be 10,000 and may be 100,000 but most likely somewhere in between. Every month there are reported new tree species from the whole world, including the Western Europe.