Around Mandalay City

Mandalay Hill

A popular activity when in Mandalay is heading up Mandalay Hill for the sweeping views of the city.  At 790ft, the “hill” offers a panoramic view of Mandalay from the Sutaungpyei (wish-fulfilling) Pagoda. Built in 1052, this pagoda has been a significant pilgrimage site for Buddhists. There are several legends about this place – the coolest is the story of “the Prophesying Buddha” who visited the hill and predicted a great city would be built at the foot of the it where his teachings would flourish. Near the summit there is a gigantic golden Buddha standing with his right hand pointing towards the city.

How to get here? You can take a cab followed by an escalator or climb 1,700 covered steps passing through multiple buildings, shrines, buddhas, and shops – barefoot. We neglected to ask our “tuk-tuk” driver to take us to the escalator so you can guess which way we went. We had just pulled our shoes off when our “companions” joined us.  This site is a common place for locals to pick up tourists to practice speaking English, and being that it’s slow season, we were an easy target.  Po, a novice Buddhist, and his friend kept us pretty entertained as we climbed, almost enough to forget about our sore legs and filthy feet.

Mingun Village

Mingun village (or Min Kun), located in the Sagaing region north of Mandalay City, is home to several sites including: Hsinbyume Pagoda (the white temple), Mingun Pagoda, and Mingun Bell (the second largest bell in the world). To get here you can hire a driver (about 1.5 hours to cover the circuitous route from the city center) or cross the river by ferry (about 1 hour).

The awe-inspiring Mingun Pagoda is a massive unfinished solid brick monument that was intended to be 500ft high housing important Buddhists relics. Using mostly slaves and war prisoners, King Bodawpaya of the Konbaung dynasty started construction in 1790 and supervised the construction himself.  When finished, the stupa would have been the tallest in the world. During construction, however, a prophecy was born that predicted the termination of the Kingdom if the stupa was ever finished. The pagoda was stopped at 162 ft height with a girth of 450sq ft. Today, a small shrine with a Buddha still serves as a place for worship and meditation for the Myanmar people, especially during pilgrimage.

We visited at the end of the day (just before sunset), and were fortunate to be the only ones there.  It sits ominously staring at you, daring you to not be impressed by its ancient, broken, and unique beauty. You can see the damage (giant cracks) from the earthquake in 1838 that shook the heart of the country and kingdom. It stands there defiant of nature and men, reminding the Myanmar People of their past and heritage. This was personally my favorite pagoda in the whole country – a mixture of power, culture, religion, and superstition. I wished we could have climbed to the top for the undoubtedly amazing view but the staircase has been closed since the 2011 earthquake for safety reasons.

The Mingun bell is housed in its own building a short walk from the Pagoda. It is made of bronze and stands about 12ft tall and 16ft wide weighing around 90 tons.  It’s the second largest bell in the world but I personally found it underwhelming – I was expecting more of a presentation.  Nevertheless, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ring a 12ft bell.

Nearby you also find Hsinbyume Pagoda which was built by King Bagyidaw, successor to the late King Bodawpaya. Constructed in 1816 to honor his late wife, it was badly damaged by the major earthquake of 1838. We didn’t have the time to go inside but it is supposed to be worth-visiting.

Overall, I think 2 days in Mandalay City is enough to cover the sight-seeing and activity highlights.

Are you planning on going anytime soon? What are your thoughts?

Keep an eye out for our upcoming post on where to stay and eat!