Kayin State
Within walking distance of the Friendship Bridge, Shwe Muay Wan Paya is Myawaddy's most important temple, a traditional bell-shaped stupa gilded with…
Must-see attractions in Southern Myanmar
Myeik Archipelago
The islands close to Myeik tend to be less spectacular than the ones grouped near Kawthoung. Dome Island is the exception, with fine white-sand beaches…
Taung Taw Win Kyun (South Twin Island)/Myauk Taw Win Kyun (North Twin Island)
Myeik Archipelago
Home to at least three good dive sites including Pinnacle, north of Myauk Taw Win Kyun, a known manta ray gathering site during February/March. Taung Taw…
Myeik Archipelago
From the surface it's little more than a tree-topped limestone outcropping, but High Rock is home to an abundance of marine life, including at least five…
Myeik Archipelago
This island is a spiritual home of the Moken, who call it Pu Nala. The island is designated as a Moken resettlement zone, and there is a permanent Moken…
Hpa-an
Close to the waterfront, this golden pagoda is a popular hang-out around sunset, as well as an easy place to watch the world go by during the day.
Myeik Archipelago
A rocky outcrop, approximately 10m above water, drawing lots of sea life and home to one of the Myeik Archipelago's largest anemone fields.
Tanintharyi Region
Towering over Kawthoung is this hilltop temple with great views of the city.
Mawlamyine
Located 15 miles northwest of Thanbyuzayat, Kyaikkami was a small coastal resort and missionary centre known as Amherst during the British era. The town…
Hpa-an
This area actually consists of three caves, only two of which are generally open to the public.
Mawlamyine
Thanbyuzayat, 40 miles south of Mawlamyine, was the western terminus of the infamous Burma–Siam Railway, dubbed the ‘Death Railway’ by the thousands of…
Mawlamyine
This picturesque little isle just off Mawlamyine’s northern end is so named because, during the Ava period, the yearly royal hair-washing ceremony…
Mawlamyine
With much better beaches further south now open, few foreigners make it to Setse these days. Around 50 miles southwest of Mawlamyine, Setse is a wide,…
Mawlamyine
This modest museum in Thanbyuzayat is located at the actual western terminus of WWII's infamous 'Death Railway', which connected Myanmar to Thailand and…
Mawlamyine
On the southern spur of the ridge overlooking Mawlamyine, this pagoda was named after a former monk who dreamed of finding gems here, then dug them up and…
Mawlamyine
This lake formed by Azin Dam (a water storage and flood-control facility that’s also used to irrigate local rubber plantations) also boasts a tidy…
Mawlamyine
Spirited away in the back of the little-known, dark and dank Kha-Yon Caves are rows of ghostly buddha statues and wall paintings that come lurching out of…
Mawlamyine
Kyauktalon Taung is a strangely shaped, sheer-sided crag rising out of the surrounding agricultural land and crowned with stupas. It’s a sticky 20-minute…
Tanintharyi Region
At the southern end of the harbour lies this modest park, named for King Bayinnaung, a Burmese monarch who invaded Thailand several times between 1548 and…
Myeik Archipelago
Opposite Kawthoung, this beach-free private island, known in Moken as Pulau Ru, is home to Andaman Club. The resort offers trips to beaches on Zadetgale…
Mon State
Ye's small gold market – just to the west of the main market – features mostly jewellery, rather than gold leaf or gold bars. It is worth a stroll and a…
Mon State
Ye's principal shrine sits close to both the lake and the market, its golden pagoda easily visible. There are two main prayer halls, both in the Mon style…
Mawlamyine
This rickety and dilapidated 100-year-old wooden monastery is famed for being the place where King Mindon's Mon queen, Seindon, sought refuge after…
Mawlamyine
This temple was built to commemorate U Khanti, the hermit architect of Mandalay Hill fame. U Khanti supposedly spent some time on this hill as well. It’s…
Myeik
Myeik's big harbourfront is worth a stroll to watch stevedores loading and offloading cargo from ships and the fishing boats preparing to go to sea. At…
Kayin State
Myikyaungon Paya is a noted Buddhist temple, called Wat Don Jarakhe in Thai, and named for its gaudy, crocodile-shaped sanctuary. The temple is an easy…
Myeik
One of Myeik's many hilltop temples with views over the harbour and town, Bu Paya Zedi also has an appealingly abandoned feel and an abundance of mouldy,…
Mon State
This pagoda sits in the middle of the lake in the heart of Ye and is accessed by a concrete bridge under which many fish gather. It's a popular spot for…
Kanmaw Kyun (Kisseraing Island)
Myeik Archipelago
One of the larger islands (158 sq miles) in the Myeik Archipelago and home to Bamar, Karen and Moken villages, as well as big rubber plantations.
Office of Tanintharyi Division
Tanintharyi Region
Dating to 1928, this imposing off-white building is still home to some Tanintharyi government offices.
Hpa-an
Now digitised, but not always working, Hpa-an's clock tower is lit up at night like a gaudy lollipop.
Myeik
Myeik's municipal market is a colourful collection of enclosed stalls covering an entire city block.
Tanintharyi Region
Dawei's main market has the usual selection of produce, clothes and household goods.
Myeik
Myeik's clock tower has gone digital, when the clock is working, and sits in the heart of town close to the market.
Mawlamyine
This long-disused hotel was Mawlamyine's premier place to stay back in the colonial era.
