A green breathing space in the heart of downtown Yangon, this park provides lovely views of surrounding heritage buildings, including City Hall, the High Court and the old Rowe & Co department store, now a bank.
The park's most notable feature is the Independence Monument, a 165ft white obelisk surrounded by two concentric circles of chinthe (half-lion/half-dragon deities). There's also a children's playground.
When laid out by the British in 1868, the park was called Fytche Sq after Sir Albert Fytche, chief commissioner at the time. Later it was renamed Victoria Park to commemorate the queen whose statue used to stand where the Independence Monument is today.
After independence, the park was renamed to honour General Thado Mahabandoola, a Burmese hero who conquered Assam and died in action in the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1824.
For a year or two following the 1988–90 pro-democracy uprisings, the park was occupied by soldiers; many of the more violent events of the time took place nearby.
