Pyin Oo Lwin
Founded in 1915 and carved out by Turkish prisoners captured by the British during WWI, this lovingly maintained 435-acre botanical garden features more…
Must-see attractions in Northern Myanmar
Northern Shan State
A highlight of the long, slow Mandalay–Lashio train ride is the mighty Gokteik Viaduct. It spans the Gokteik Gorge, a densely forested ravine that cuts an…
Northern Myanmar
The mystical Shwe Myitsu Paya, on an island off Nam Tay village, seems to float on the surface of the lake and is especially atmospheric at dawn when…
Northern Shan State
As the epicentre of the gem trade in Myanmar, Mogok has many marketplaces for gems. The early-morning market is known as the Cinema Hall Market, as it is…
Hsipaw
At the northern edge of town, Hsipaw’s oldest neighbourhood has a village-like atmosphere, two delightful old teak monasteries and a collection of ancient…
Pyin Oo Lwin
Finished in March 2000, this dazzling pagoda is by far the region's most impressive religious building. It enshrines an enormous 17-ton white-marble…
Pyin Oo Lwin
Just north of Anisakan village the plateau disappears into an impressive, deeply wooded amphitheatre, its sides ribboned with several waterfalls. The most…
Northern Myanmar
The 32 excavation sites here date back to the Pyu era (4th to 9th centuries AD). The sites rise above Hanlin village and survey the plains for a…
Pyin Oo Lwin
Dating from 1904 and formerly the British Club, this colonial pile comes complete with side turrets and is set in attractively manicured gardens…
Northern Myanmar
At first glance this monastery looks like a 20th-century structure. Historians, though, say it was built in the 13th century, while monastic fables…
Hsipaw
Five miles west of Hsipaw, beside the Hsipaw–Kyaukme road, this pagoda is of great significance to Shan people and gets overloaded with pilgrims who…
Northern Myanmar
It is worth checking out this rickety but spectacular bamboo bridge that allows you to cross the wide Tapin River.
Hsipaw
Built in 1924, the fading Hsipaw Palace is an English-style mansion set in run-down grounds. But if the building is infused with a melancholic air, the…
Pyin Oo Lwin
Many Buddhist caves are little more than rocky niches or overhangs, but Peik Chin is much more extensive. It takes around 15 minutes to walk to the cave’s…
Northern Myanmar
The pottery district stretches a mile south of town beyond the Ayeyarwady bridge site. A block or two inland, several ‘factories’ are housed in bamboo…
Northern Myanmar
About 3 miles north of town, beyond the military enclave, the historic Shwe Kyina Paya has two gold-topped stupas and marks the site of the 5th-century…
Hsipaw
For sweeping views across the river and Hsipaw, climb to Thein Daung Pagoda, also known as Nine Buddha Hill or, most often, Sunset Hill. It’s part of a…
Northern Myanmar
This riverside market specialises in colourful heaps of Chinese fruit and local vegetables. Many of the latter arrive by canoe and are then lugged up the…
Northern Myanmar
The city’s most striking buildings are a pair of towering gold-painted wooden throne rooms, nine tiers high, once part of King Alaungpaya’s 1753 palace…
Northern Myanmar
As you approach from the south, central Shwebo’s skyline is given an alluring dazzle by a collection of golden pagoda spires. These cluster around the…
Northern Myanmar
During its 18th-century heyday, Shwebo's palace was at the heart of an enormous walled city. The walls are now almost entirely gone, but some parts of the…
Northern Myanmar
This gilded ‘wish-fulfilling’ pagoda is the town’s most eye-catching religious building, sitting on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River at the north end of…
Northern Myanmar
Around 450yd west of the central jetty is a stretch of relatively old wooden houses. Further inland is an area of tree-shaded footpaths and alleys that…
Pyin Oo Lwin
This extensive hilly park is dotted with representations of famous landmarks from around Myanmar. It's pretty tacky, but if you haven't got time to tour…
Pyin Oo Lwin
After descending a loop of hairpins from Pyin Oo Lwin, the Hsipaw road reaches attractive Myaing Gyi, where a rickety monastery climbs a wooded hillside…
Northern Shan State
The British War Cemetery at Ywar Thar Yar, about 12 miles from Mogok, is a stark reminder of the remote battle sites that once dotted the world during the…
Northern Shan State
The holiest of the many temples dotting the Mogok skyline, Phaung Daw U Paya has a dais that conceals some ornate pedestals encrusted with priceless gems,…
Hsipaw
South of the central area, Mahamyatmuni Paya is the biggest and grandest pagoda in the main town. The large brass-faced buddha image here was inspired by…
Northern Myanmar
A small museum with some interesting displays of the highly varied Kachin and Shan costumes as well as the usual assortment of instruments, farming tools…
Northern Myanmar
Around half a mile east of the riverfront is the large, photogenic complex of Theindawgyi Paya, which features a gilded stupa with an elongated-bell shape…
Northern Shan State
If you walk towards the Hsipaw bus stand, you’ll pass the pretty 1994 Maha Bodayaong temple, whose unrefined seven-storey church-like tower offers decent…
Northern Shan State
Forget the golden spire of this temple – the real reason to come up here is the classic calendar view over Mogok and its central lake, created from the…
Northern Shan State
At the afternoon market, there are tables for buyers and sellers, while brokers mingle in between trying to establish a sale. It's very interesting to…
Northern Shan State
Between the large main market and the Nannhaewon Amusement Park is the eye-catching Mahamyatmuni Paya, an open-sided pavilion enshrining a dazzle-faced…
Hsipaw
Most interesting before dawn, when the road outside is jammed with hill villagers selling their wares; all will have cleared away by 7am, although the…
Northern Myanmar
Bland architecture aside, the main market is buzzing with commerce throughout the day and the streets surrounding it come alive for the night market.
Hsipaw
The main market in town is a busy affair in the morning when locals come to shop for produce. By the afternoon, it is usually pretty sleepy.
Hsipaw
The principal Buddhist temple in the heart of Hsipaw has a shimmering golden stupa visible from several blocks away.
Church of the Immaculate Conception
Pyin Oo Lwin
Built in 1906 along classic lines, this is one of the earliest churches in Pyin Oo Lwin.
