Swayambhunath yana daya daga cikin shahararrun wuraren addinin Buddha a cikin Kathmandu Valley, yammacin birnin Kathmandu. Swayambhunath, wanda kuma aka sani da Simbhu a cikin yaren yankin da aka samo daga kalmar Singgu, ma'ana 'self-Sprung'. Ana kuma kiransa Haikalin Biri a tsakanin baƙi. Ga Newars na gida, shi ne wurin ibada mafi tsarki na Buddha. Ga 'yan Tibet da mabiyan addinin Buddha na Tibet, shi ne babban wuri na biyu na addini bayan Boudhanath.
Ginin ya ƙunshi wani stupa, wurare daban-daban na ibada, da haikali, wasu kuma tun zamanin Licchavi. Wani gidan ibada na Tibet, gidan tarihi, da ɗakin karatu sun zama sabbin abubuwan da aka ƙara. Stupa ɗin an zana idanun Buddha da gira a kai. Tsakanin su, akwai alama kamar alamar tambaya; ana kiranta Sukhawati (hanyar zuwa sama), wurin yana da wuraren shiga guda biyu: wani dogon matakala da ke kaiwa kai tsaye zuwa babban dandamalin haikalin, wanda yake daga saman tudun zuwa gabas, da kuma hanyar mota da ke kewaye da tudun daga kudu zuwa ƙofar kudu maso yamma. Farkon abin da za a gani idan an isa saman matakalar shine Vajra (sandar tsawa).
Taswirar Swayambhunath ta fito ne daga al'adar Vajrayana ta addinin Buddha na Newar. Duk da haka, wannan rukunin kuma muhimmin wuri ne ga mabiya addinin Buddha na makarantu da yawa kuma mabiya Hindu suna girmama shi. A cewar Gopalrajvamsabali, kakan Sarki Manadeva (464-505 CE), Sarki Virsadeva, ne ya kafa shi a farkon karni na 5.th ƙarni na AZ. Wannan ya tabbata ne ta hanyar wani rubutu da ya lalace da aka samu a wurin, wanda ke nuna cewa Sarki Virasadeva ya ba da umarnin a yi aiki a shekara ta 640 CE. A cewar Percival Brown, Swayambhu yana da shekaru 2000. A cewar JC Regmi, an gina Swayambhu a lokacin Kirat, kafin Lichhavis.
A cewar Swayambhu Purana, dukkan kwarin tafki ne inda maciji (macijin) yake zama inda Bipaswi Buddha ya shuka iri na lotus wanda ya samar da furen lotus. Da yake ya san game da harshen wuta na Jyotirswarup (wutar lu'ulu'u) Manjusiri ya zo daga Mahachin (China) tare da Sarki Dharmakar, matansa biyu, manoma, da sufaye don su bauta masa. Ganin cewa kwarin zai iya zama kyakkyawan wurin zama kuma don ya sa wurin ya fi sauƙin isa ga mahajjata na ɗan adam, sai ya yanke kwarin Chovar. Ruwa ya fito daga tafkin ya yi zama. An mayar da lotus zuwa tudu kuma furen ya zama stupa.
A shekara ta 1349, Samasuddhin Ilyas na masarautar Bengal sun mamaye kwarin Kathmandu suka lalata stupa na Swayambhu da sojojin Musulmi suka yi, daga baya Sarki Saktimalle Bhalloka ya gyara shi. A shekara ta 1505, Sangye Gyaltsen, babban mai yin yoga, ya ƙara ƙafafu da gudu zuwa ga tsaunin stupa. A shekara ta 1614, 6th Shamarpa ya gina wuraren bauta a cikin stupa a cikin manyan kwatance huɗu. Muhimman Kagyu Lamas da yawa sun gudanar da bikin keɓewa a cikin 1750 bayan babban gyare-gyare. Shahararren maigidan Bhutanese Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche (1918-2003), marigayi abbot. BHutanese Drugpa Kagyu Monastery a gefen yamma na stupas, ya zo Nepal domin ya taimaki kawunsa, da Drukpa Lama Sherab Dorje, a cikin maidowa da kula da stupa a farkon 20th karni. An kammala gyare-gyaren kwanan nan na Swayambhu stupa a watan Mayu 2010.
An san kwarin da Swayambhu, ma'ana wanda ya halicci kansa. Sunan ya fito ne daga harshen wuta mai wanzuwa na har abada (Syambhu) wanda daga baya aka gina stupa. Duk da haka, an ce sarki Ashoka ya ziyarci wurin a karni na uku BC kuma ya gina haikali a kan tudun da aka lalata daga baya amma a tarihi ba a tabbatar da hakan ba.
Ko da yake an dauki wurin a matsayin mabiya addinin Buddah, amma mabiya addinin Buddha da mabiya addinin Hindu ne ke girmama wurin. Sarakunan Hindu da dama sun yi mubaya'a ga haikalin, ciki har da Pratap Malla, sarkin Kathmandu mai iko, wanda ke da alhakin gina titin gabas a cikin 17.th karni. Pratap Malla ya gina gidajen ibada na Pratap Pur da Anantapur a harabar. An sake gyara stupa gaba daya a watan Mayu 2010, babban gyare-gyare na farko tun 1921, da 15.th a kusan shekaru 1,500 da aka gina ta. An sake yin zinari ta hanyar amfani da 20kg na zinariya. Cibiyar Tunani ta Tibet Nyingma ta California ce ta dauki nauyin gyare-gyaren kuma an fara shi a watan Yuni 2008.
Da misalin karfe 5 na safe a ranar 14 ga Fabrairu, 2011, haikalin Pratapur da ke yankin Monument na Swayambhu ya samu lalacewa daga wata tsawa da aka yi ta tsawa. Rukunin na Swayambhunath ya samu lalacewa a wata babbar girgizar kasa na Afrilu 2015.
