Yangon
One of Buddhism's most sacred sites, the 326ft zedi (stupa) here is adorned with 27 metric tons of gold leaf, along with thousands of diamonds and other…
Must-see attractions in Myanmar (Burma)
Mandalay
To get a sense of Mandalay’s pancake-flat sprawl, climb the 760ft hill that breaks it. The walk up covered stairways on the hill's southern slope is a…
Myanmar (Burma)
This lovely 1834 teak monastery is Inwa’s most memorable individual attraction. It's supported on 267 teak posts, the largest 60ft high and 9ft in…
Bagan
With its 170ft-high, gold corn-cob hti (decorated pinnacle) shimmering across the plains, Ananda is one of the finest, largest, best-preserved and most…
Bagan
Visible from all parts of Bagan, this massive, walled, 12th-century temple – about 1600ft east of Shwesandaw – is infamous for its mysterious, bricked-up…
Chin State
The highest peak in Chin State – 10,016ft – and the third-highest in Myanmar, stunning Mt Victoria is one of the principal attractions of southern Chin…
Mandalay
Every day, thousands of colourfully dressed faithful venerate Mahamuni's 13ft-tall seated buddha, a nationally celebrated image that’s popularly believed…
Myanmar (Burma)
Following the destruction of Bago in 1757, this huge reclining buddha was overgrown by jungle and not rediscovered until 1881, when a contractor unearthed…
Rakhine State
Shittaung means ‘Shrine of the 80,000 Images’, a reference to the number of holy images inside. King Minbin, the most powerful of Rakhine’s kings, built…
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…
Hpa-an
This football-stadium-sized cave is simply breathtaking, its entrance dominated by dozens of buddha statues, a couple of pagodas and some newer clay wall…
Yangon
Even though the museum's collection is poorly labelled and often badly lit, the treasures that lie within this cavernous building deserve a viewing. The…
Chin State
This small, heart-shaped lake has huge spiritual significance for the Mizo people, who inhabit both sides of the nearby Myanmar–India border. Rih Lake…
Rakhine State
One of Mrauk U’s star attractions, Kothaung Paya is also the area's largest temple. It was built in 1553 by King Minbin’s son, King Mintaikkha, to outdo…
Myanmar (Burma)
A zedi (stupa) of washed-out gold in the midday haze and glittering perfection in the evening, the 374ft-high Shwemawdaw Paya lords it over Bago. At the…
Mandalay
Staring distantly towards Mandalay Palace, temple-topped Yankin Hill is worth climbing for views of greater Mandalay's rice-field setting and of the Shan…
Myanmar (Burma)
If you're a fan of garden gnomes, you're going to love this place! The name of this vast hillside buddha-rama translates as '1000 buddhas'. In reality…
Myanmar (Burma)
The world’s longest teak footbridge gently curves 1300yd across shallow Taungthaman Lake, creating one of Myanmar’s most photographed sites. In dry season…
Yangon
Housed in a large metal-roofed shed, this beautiful 215ft-long reclining buddha is larger than a similar and better-known image in Bago. The statue's…
Yangon
After many years of being off limits, this spectacular red-brick complex, which takes up a 16-acre block and was once the British seat of government for…
Eastern Myanmar
Virtually rocketing from the landscape is this explosion of craggy limestone and white-and-gold stupas. The mountaintop Buddhist temple compound is Kayah…
Rakhine State
The highlight of this squat, little-visited temple is its passageway with bas-relief illustrations of the tribumi (Buddhist visions of heaven, earth and…
Rakhine State
Built by King Minphalaung in 1571, Dukkanthein Paya smacks of a bunker (with stupas). Wide stone steps lead up the southern and eastern side of the…
Mandalay
A meditative departure from the usual Burmese 'douse-it-all-in-gold-and-pastels' aesthetic, this gorgeously carved teak monastery is beloved by tourists…
Yangon
One of Yangon's, if not Myanmar's, most gorgeous buddha images is this 46ft-tall one at the Ngahtatgyi Paya, sitting in calm gold-and-white repose and…
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…
Sagaing
This ‘early offering shrine’ is the most important of the temples on Sagaing Hill’s southern crown and the first you’ll come to on climbing the One Lion…
Tanintharyi Region
Backed by thick jungle, this splendid white-sand beach curves around a natural bay that is fine for swimming. On weekdays, you are likely to have it to…
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…
Myanmar (Burma)
This colourful, modern temple is famed for its staggering number of buddha images as well as its carnivalesque exterior, with a unique roof layered with…
Sagaing
At the foot of the great temple-studded hills of Sagaing, you’ll find this little-visited cave monastery. Supposedly built around the 1670s, Tilawkaguru…
Myanmar (Burma)
Some 650m beyond the restaurants and souvenir stands of Hpo Win 'village' lies Shwe Ba Taung, a smaller, contrastingly different set of 46 cave chambers…
Chin Antiques & Cultural Exhibition Centre
Chin State
Trained lawyer and maths teacher Robert Om Kee, son of Vakok vilage chief, has dedicated himself to this fascinating and tiny house museum. He'll quickly…
Yangon
Situated next to the Nga Moe Yeik creek, this Disneyland-ish pagoda is a hoot. Larger-than-life 3D stucco depictions of the Buddha's life and practice…
Mawlamyine
Directly north of Kyaikthanlan Paya and linked by a covered walkway, this is the largest temple complex in Mawlamyine and easily the most beautiful. It’s…
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…
Myanmar (Burma)
A Myint is a charmingly unspoiled riverside village dominated by a series of 336 higgledy-piggledy ancient stupas in varying stages of collapse. All are…
Yangon
Also known as Royal Lake, this artificial lake built by the British as a reservoir is most attractive at sunset, when the glittering Shwedagon Paya is…
Mawlamyine
Rudyard Kipling’s visit to Myanmar spanned just three days, but it resulted in a poem, 'Mandalay', that turned Burma into an oriental fantasy. It began…
Shwe Oo Min Natural Cave Pagoda
Inle Lake Region
Set high on a limestone ridge above Pone Taloke Lake, this winding complex of natural caves and tunnels is filled to bursting with buddha images in an…
