We take a lot of hikes and recently we’ve been coming upon arrangements of stones stacked on top of each other like those in the photo.  I couldn’t help but wonder if there’s a significance to these sculptures?

My cousin, James Yannucci, who has travelled all over Asia and lives in China saw my photo and wrote:

"It’s done all over the Himalayas. It’s done for prayer and is similar to a small stupa. I’ve seen these done in Nepal, India, Bhutan and Tibet, sometimes high in the mountains in places you would not expect people to be.

It symbolizes a stupa. A stupa is a solid structure (no rooms, filled with soil) that Buddhists walk clockwise around chanting their mantra and spinning prayer wheels.

Here is a photo of a large stupa in India.  Stupas often contain relics and are used by Buddhists as a place of worship.  They’re considered to be spiritual monuments.

Photo of Stupa in Sanchi, India (from Wikipedia).

Thanks for sharing James!

-Mama Lisa