Cultural sightseeing in Myanmar-Burma. What to visit - museums, temples, castles and palaces

Myanmar (ex-Burma) keeps many ancient historic landmarks in its territory. These attractions are connected with old crafts and emergence of the nationhood, erection of great cult buildings, rich cities, and periods of large-scale plundering. Proofs of prosperity and recession peacefully coexist and tourists are welcome to explore them. Old Bagan is an ancient city that once was the capital of the ancient Pagan Kingdom. Bagan was the most prosperous in the period from the 9th to 13th century. The city was destroyed by Mongols and it was decided not to rebuild it.

Pagodas and monasteries that were marvelously beautiful many centuries ago now stand is a desolation and covered in lush flora. There are hundreds of these beautiful buildings in Bagan. The ancient city has survived like this until our days. For fans of archaeology, this is like a park museum full of mysteries of the past. It is so easy to spend many hours here, admiring the area. Moreover, visitors can come close and even touch these fabulous landmarks. It is also not prohibited to go to the top of tall pagodas – they offer stunning panoramic views of surroundings.

The period of British colonization was not only the time of plundering but also the period of building complex engineering structures. The Goteik viaduct is definitely one of them. This is a railway trestle that is a bridge above a 102-meter-deep canyon. The first train ran on the viaduct yet in 1900. In order to see this old road, tourists need to take a ride between the towns of Pyin Oo Lwin and Lashio. Inle Lake is one more wondrous landmark that attracts numerous guests. The region near this lake is the location of the Jumping Cat Monastery. There are only six monks in this small monastery, and their main occupation is to teach cats to do different circus-type tricks. It is really interesting to watch these performances. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Monywa is the largest city and the capital of Sagaing Region, so it is very interesting to visit it. It takes 6 hours to reach it by train from Mandalay, and a bus ride will take 5 hours. That is why it is better to stay in Monywa overnight. Here, tourists can visit the Thanboddhay Pagoda that has an unusual design for the traditional architecture. Inside the pagoda, there are gorgeous statues of sitting Buddha. There are several thousand statues along the walls of the pagoda, and the whole complex is a combination of two main colors – golden and burgundy. The nearby complex of two Buddha, which is built on the nearby hill, also deserves the attention of guests. One of the statues is lying and the other one is standing, amazing everyone with its 30 floors built inside the statue. It is safe to call this statue a skyscraper – the gorgeous monument is clearly visible for many kilometers. Inside the lying statue, there is a temple. The standing statue hosts a gallery dedicated to Buddhism.

When visiting Yangon, don’t forget to take an excursion to the most famous pagoda - the Shwedagon Pagoda. This Buddhist temple has been accepting pilgrims for more than two thousand years. The outer part of the temple is covered to gold. The decoration of the spire is even more impressive – more than 5,000 diamonds and more than 2,000 rubies, sapphires, and topazes. A giant and precious emerald is like a crown of the spire. In Mon State, on Mount Kyaiktiyo, there is a giant boulder that is several times higher than a human. The boulder stands at the edge of a cliff but it doesn’t fall down. Covered with gold leaves, this landmark attracts thousands of tourists and pilgrims. There is a legend that the boulder can fall down if a woman pushes it, but no man is ever able to do the same. That is why women are not allowed to come to the boulder closer than 10 meters.

Amarapura is a royal city that was the capital of the country twice, but each time it was then decided to move the capital to another city. Amarapura is home to the largest book in the world that has 729 pages made from stone slabs. Nowadays, Amarapura is an immediate suburb of another popular city, Mandalay, which, by the way, was also unlucky enough to become a capital. Why do tourists visit Mandalay? The city was founded in 1857 as a capital. Burmese king Mindon decided to move the capital from Amarapura to a new city. First buildings of the new capital appeared on Mandalay Hill. This area of four square kilometers was separated by a thick brick wall.

This was the location of the royal palace with treasury, library, buildings for nobles and servants, gardens, water reservoirs, and the city itself. At that time, the city had many wooden buildings decorated with skillful carving. The young city was growing fast, and its population exceeded 200,000 people by Mandalay’s 60th anniversary. A couple of decades later, British colonizers invaded the city. They plundered the treasury, burned a part of the city, and made their headquarters in the royal palace. The palace survived until the Japanese occupation, which took place during World War II. Unfortunately, the palace was destroyed in bombing attacks but it was rebuilt later.

Nowadays, Mandalay is one of the largest centers in Myanmar. This is a modern megalopolis with hotels and restaurants, but it doesn’t have many historic landmarks. The majority of attractions are located on the perimeter of the historic center. These are traditional artisan workshops that work with stone, bone, wood, and precious metals; cult landmarks – pagodas and monasteries – there are more than 700 of them. Foreign tourists do not have Mandalay as their top priority, but there are people who love this city and want to visit it again and again. Myanmar is rich in ancient cities with unique landmarks, and these cities, naturally, attract more visitors.