Taulihawa, Nepal

Taulihawa तौलिहवा
Municipality
Entrance gate to Taulihawa, Kapilvastu District, Nepal
Taulihawa Location in Nepal
Coordinates: 27°32′N 83°3′E / 27.533°N 83.050°E / 27.533; 83.050Coordinates: 27°32′N 83°3′E / 27.533°N 83.050°E / 27.533; 83.050
Country	Nepal
Zone	Lumbini Zone
District	Kapilvastu District
Government
• Mayor	Kiran Sing (Nepali Congress)
Elevation	107 m (351 ft)
Population (2011 A.D)
• Total	30,428
Time zone	NST (UTC+5:45)
Postal code	32800
Area code(s)	076
Website	kapilvastumun.gov.np

Taulihawa is a municipality and administrative center of Kapilvastu District in Province No. 5 of southern Nepal. It is also called Kapilavastu. Taulihawa is located roughly 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the south-west of Lumbini, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Gautama Buddha.

The municipality lies at an altitude of 107 metres (351 ft) above sea level on Nepal's southern border across from Uttar Pradesh state, India. There is a customs checkpoint for goods while movement of Indian and Nepalese nationals across the border is unrestricted. Taulihawa had a population of 27,170 at the time of the 2001 Nepal census.

Many historians claim Tilaurakot located in Kapilavastu municipality (Taulihawa) to be the ancient city of Kapilavastu. On the other hand, some other archaeologists have identified present-day Piprahwa, India as the location for the historical site of Kapilavastu. The 19th-century search for the historical site of Kapilavastu followed the accounts left by Faxian and later by Xuanzang, who were Chinese Buddhist monks who made early pilgrimages to the site. Kapilavastu was an ancient city and the capital city of the Shakya kingdom. King Śuddhodana and Queen Māyā are believed to have lived at Kapilavastu, as did their son Prince Siddartha Gautama until he left the palace at the age of 29.