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…
Must-see attractions in Mandalay
Mandalay
Every day, thousands of colourfully dressed faithful venerate Mahamuni's 13ft-tall seated buddha, a nationally celebrated image that’s popularly believed…
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…
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…
Mandalay
Rock dust and cheroot smoke fill the air in this heaving grid of cramped walkways, where you'll find a mass of jade traders haggling, hawking and…
Mandalay
This fine teak monastery-temple is noted for its carvings, particularly the interior gilded scenes from the Jataka (past-life stories of the Buddha). The…
Mandalay
Founded in 1167 by Prince Minshinzaw, exiled son of King Alaungsithu, Shwekyimyint considerably predates Mandalay itself. Minshinzaw consecrated the…
Mandalay
The 1990s reconstruction of Mandalay's royal palace features more than 40 timber buildings constructed to resemble the 1850s originals. Climb the curious…
Mandalay
Viewable only from the outside, a 230ft-wide moat and well over 4 miles of crenellated 26ft-high walls form a vast square around the site of the former…
Mandalay
At the heart of this large 19th-century complex is a 900-tonne buddha, 26ft tall and dressed in royal attire. Carved from a single block of marble, it…
Mandalay
Those 1-sq-in gold-leaf sheets that worshippers piously place on sacred buddha images are laboriously hand-pounded in dozens of specialist workshops in…
Mandalay
Built in 2011, this remarkable 75ft-tall seated Buddha, with either most of his ribs or a 14-pack showing, is a 'meditation image' that falls…
Mandalay
Kuthodaw Paya, aka the ‘world’s biggest book’, draws tour-bus crowds to see its 729 slabs that retell the Tripitaka canon, which is effectively part of…
Mandalay
Mostly hidden behind shopfronts, this large elevated pagoda complex includes a ‘golden rock’ lookalike and an enormous sacred bodhi tree planted by U Nu,…
Mandalay
At this shrine, you'll find 1774 ensconced marble slabs inscribed with commentaries on the Tripitika (Buddhist scriptures). Along with the stone slabs at…
Mandalay
Lining the Sagaing–Mandalay road, just southeast of Mahamuni Paya, is workshop after workshop (an estimated 75 in total) where you can see (or purchase,…
Mandalay
This small market takes up a few blocks, which by midday become littered with multicoloured clouds of blossoms and piles of cut stems and leaves.
Mandalay
Three tiny shards of bone, believed to be Buddha relics, were discovered in 1908 by British archaeologists at the site of a once-great ancient stupa at…
Mandalay
Ranged around a sizeable stupa glowing with gold leaf, Eindawa was founded in 1847 by King Pagan Min, whose princely palace once stood here. The complex…
Mandalay
Across the creek from Shwe In Bin, the city's largest monastery lacks an ancient historical pedigree and is primarily a collection of modern dorm…
Mandalay
This unusually shaped temple is a series of diminishing stupa-dotted terraces over an arched base decorated with peacock motifs. When built in 1857, it…
Mandalay
This appealingly lived-in monastery has some photogenically dilapidated teak buildings. Tucked behind the tagondain (pillar topped with a golden duck) is…
Mandalay
If you can stomach the smell, this atmospheric scene of fish mongering close to the Ayeyarwady River is worth an afternoon look (it gets most active from…
Mandalay
This small statue depicts the ogress San Dha Mukhi offering up a severed breast to the Buddha. According to legend, her feat of self-mutilation impressed…
Mandalay
Within the palace complex, this small, neglected museum holds poorly displayed relics gleaned from the old Burmese royal family. The most intriguing…
Mandalay
Founded in the 19th century, this is Mandalay's main Catholic church. It has some historical charm from the colonial period, and is a good place to meet…
Mandalay
This temple's colourful, sculpture-crusted gopuram (monumental tower) will excite you if you’ve never been to southern India or Singapore.
Mandalay
This pagoda's claim to fame – besides its gold stupa – is a Buddha image that supposedly dates to the reign of Indian emperor Ashoka.
Mandalay
This dusty, dowdy and poorly lit collection displays archaeological finds, buddhas and a bullock cart. As is the case in many local archaeology museums,…
Mandalay
This octagonal library tower houses religious scripts and manuscripts (but not the old, dusty, ancient kind, or at least, not any on show to the public)…
Mandalay
This mosque is not a tourist attraction per se, but it has been the site of tense confrontation when anti-Muslim anger has been stoked in the past. The…
Mandalay
Located on Mandalay Hill, these are the windowless ruins of a three-storey stone fortress retaken from the Japanese by Britain’s Royal Berkshire Regiment…
Mandalay Hill Chinthe Entrance
Mandalay
The stairway leading to the summit of Mandalay Hill is flanked by two enormous chinthe (mythical lion-like creatures).
Myatsawnyinaung Ordination Hall
Mandalay
This small ordination hall is a good landmark for finding your bearings on Mandalay Hill, but is otherwise unremarkable.
Mandalay Hill Southeast Stairway Entrance
Mandalay
Stairway leading to the summit of Mandalay Hill. On average it's a 45-minute hike to the top.
Mandalay
This former fire-lookout tower sits next to the main Mandalay fire station. Unfortunately, it can't be climbed.