Sitagu Buddhist Academy

Set up in 1994 to educate the brightest young monks, this academy is a major intellectual centre for Theravada Buddhism. The centrepiece is a Sanchi-style hemispherical stupa, gilded and embossed with dharma-wheel patterns. In the surrounding arcade are photos of Asia's great Buddhist sites, often shown as holiday-style snaps featuring the university's founder-monk Ashin Nyanissara.

You can walk around the campus anytime, but it would be odd to visit at night, after the monks turn in (around 8pm).

��ϲʼ�ʱ��'s must-see attractions

Mandalay Hill
11.12 MILES
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…
Bagaya Kyaung
3.82 MILES
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…
Mahamuni Paya
6.91 MILES
Every day, thousands of colourfully dressed faithful venerate Mahamuni's 13ft-tall seated buddha, a nationally celebrated image that’s popularly believed…
Yankin Hill
13.36 MILES
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…
U-Bein Bridge
4.6 MILES
The world’s longest teak footbridge gently curves 1300yd across shallow Taungthaman Lake, creating one of Myanmar’s most photographed sites. In dry season…
Shwe In Bin Kyaung
6.84 MILES
A meditative departure from the usual Burmese 'douse-it-all-in-gold-and-pastels' aesthetic, this gorgeously carved teak monastery is beloved by tourists…
Soon U Pon Nya Shin Paya
0.46 MILES
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…
Tilawkaguru
0.32 MILES
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…

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Nearby attractions

1. Tilawkaguru

0.32 MILES

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…

2. Soon U Pon Nya Shin Paya

0.46 MILES

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…

3. U Min Thonze Caves

0.6 MILES

Around a 10-minute walk south of Soon U Pon Nya Shin, U Min Thonze Caves (literally '30 Caves') is a temple complex famed for its crescent-shaped…

4. Thakya Dita Nunnery

0.69 MILES

This modern nunnery has a 16.5ft gilded woven-cane buddha figure in an air-conditioned glass chamber. Respectful guests are warmly welcomed.

5. Shwezigon

0.73 MILES

This small pagoda offers nice views over the countryside.

6. Shin Pin Nan Kain

0.93 MILES

Shin Pin Nan Kain's brass-clad stupa sits on a hilltop that's lower than Sagaing Hill, but has even better panoramas.