Must-see attractions in Mandalay

  • View over the moat of Mandalay Palace to Mandalay Hill with its many temples; Shutterstock ID 241383850; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Mandalay Hill

    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…

  • The golden buddha of Mahamuni Paya.

    Mahamuni Paya

    Mandalay

    Every day, thousands of colourfully dressed faithful venerate Mahamuni's 13ft-tall seated buddha, a nationally celebrated image that’s popularly believed…

  • Mya Kyauk Kyaung at Yankin Hill, Mandalay.

    Yankin Hill

    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…

  • The Shwe In Bin Monastery, the old teakwood sculpture temple in Mandalay, Myanmar.

    Shwe In Bin Kyaung

    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…

  • Jade stones and jewelry at the Jade Market, Mandalay, Myanmar.

    Jade Market

    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…

  • Shwenandaw Kyaung Temple or Golden Palace Monastery in Mandalay, Myanmar.

    Shwenandaw Kyaung

    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…

  • Marble Buddha at Paya Shwekyimyint temple, Mandalay, Myanmar.

    Shwekyimyint Paya

    Mandalay

    Founded in 1167 by Prince Minshinzaw, exiled son of King Alaungsithu, Shwekyimyint considerably predates Mandalay itself. Minshinzaw consecrated the…

  • Sunset at wall of Mandalay palace

    Mandalay Palace

    Mandalay

    The 1990s reconstruction of Mandalay's royal palace features more than 40 timber buildings constructed to resemble the 1850s originals. Climb the curious…

  • Walls of citadel which contains Mandalay Royal Palace, Mandalay, Myanmar

    Moat & Fortress Walls

    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…

  • Kyauktawgyi Paya

    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…

  • Gold-Pounders’ District

    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…

  • Skinny Buddha

    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…

  • Kuthodaw Paya

    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…

  • Setkyathiha Paya

    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,…

  • Sandamuni Paya

    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…

  • Marble Workshops

    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,…

  • Flower Market

    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.

  • Peshawar Relics

    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…

  • Eindawya Paya

    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…

  • Ma Soe Yein Nu Kyaung

    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…

  • Atumashi Kyaungdawgyi

    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…

  • Thingaza Kyaung

    Mandalay

    This appealingly lived-in monastery has some photogenically dilapidated teak buildings. Tucked behind the tagondain (pillar topped with a golden duck) is…

  • Marlar Nwe Market

    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…

  • San Dha Mukhi Statue

    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…

  • Culture Museum

    Mandalay

    Within the palace complex, this small, neglected museum holds poorly displayed relics gleaned from the old Burmese royal family. The most intriguing…

  • Sacred Heart Cathedral

    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…

  • Sri Ganesh Temple

    Mandalay

    This temple's colourful, sculpture-crusted gopuram (monumental tower) will excite you if you’ve never been to southern India or Singapore.

  • Chanthaya Paya

    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.

  • Standing Buddha

    Mandalay

    This Buddha statue on Mandalay Hill points towards the royal palace.

  • Cultural Museum & Library

    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,…

  • Library Tower

    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)…

  • Central Mosque

    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…

  • Fort

    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.

  • Fire Lookout Tower

    Mandalay

    This former fire-lookout tower sits next to the main Mandalay fire station. Unfortunately, it can't be climbed.

  • Clock Tower

    Mandalay

    Mandalay's clock tower mixes Western and Eastern architecture.