Universal covering by the modular lambda function ($\lambda :\mathbb{H}⟶\mathbb{C}\setminus \{0,1\}$)

The modular lambda function is invariant under the projective level-two principal congruence subgroup. That group acts freely, and its quotient is the level-two modular curve. Adding its three modular cusps gives a sphere, and $\lambda$ has cusp values $0,1,\infty$, with simple orders in exponential cusp coordinates. Therefore it identifies the quotient with the sphere minus those three points. Since the complex upper half-plane is simply connected, this is a universal covering map, with the projective level-two group as its deck transformation group.