Monastery

Kayin State

　　Monastery in the west of Hpa-an, close to the river. ...

Market

Kayin State

　　Hpa-an's vibrant market is good for a wander and a chat with the locals. ...

Clock Tower

Kayin State

　　Now digitised, but not always working, Hpa-an's clock tower is lit up at night like a gaudy lollipop. ...

Kaw Ka Thawng Cave

Kayin State

　　This area actually consists of three caves, only two of which are generally open to the public. 　　Kaw Ka Thawng is the first cave you'll come to. It has been gentrified with slippery tile floors and numerous buddha statues. Continuing along a path, you’ll pass the stairway to another cave...

Shweyinhmyaw Paya

Kayin State

　　Close to the waterfront, this golden pagoda is a popular hang-out around sunset, as well as an easy place to watch the world go by during the day. ...

Kawgun Cave & Yathaypyan Cave

Kayin State

　　The 7th-century artwork of the Kawgun Cave consists of thousands of tiny clay buddhas and carvings plastered all over the walls and roof of this open cavern, which is a popular spot with the local macaque monkeys. Just over a mile away is the Yathaypyan Cave, which contains several pagodas...

Kyauk Kalap

Kayin State

　　Standing proud in the middle of a small, artificial lake is Kyauk Kalap, a tall finger of sheer rock atop which is one of the more unusual pagodas in Myanmar. The rock offers great views of the surrounding countryside and nearby Mt Zwegabin, and is allegedly the best place to...

Saddan Cave

Kayin State

　　This football-stadium-sized cave is simply breathtaking, its entrance dominated by dozens of buddha statues, a couple of pagodas and some newer clay wall carvings. 　　With the cave now illuminated, you can scramble for 15 or 20 minutes through chambers as high as a cathedral, past truck-sized stalactites and, in places,...

Mosque

Kalaw

　　Kalaw has a sizeable Muslim population and this is their main mosque. ...

Aung Chan Tha Zedi

Kalaw

　　Right in the centre of Kalaw, Aung Chan Tha Zedi is a glittery stupa, covered in gold- and silver-coloured glass mosaics. ...

Hsu Taung Pye Paya

Kalaw

　　South of Kalaw market, the myriad stupas of Hsu Taung Pye Paya were restored from ruins using donations from visiting pilgrims. ...

Thein Taung Paya

Kalaw

　　For a good view over Kalaw's market and town centre, take the steps on the north side of Union Hwy to this modest Buddhist monastery with a small sangha of friendly monks. ...

Market

Kalaw

　　Kalaw's market is worth a browse – several stalls sell dried fruit and local liqueurs. Every five days, the market is swelled by traders who descend from the hill villages outside town. ...

Hnee Paya

Kalaw

　　This temple is home to a 500-year-old, gold-lacquered bamboo buddha. ...

Shwe Oo Min Paya

Kalaw

　　South of central Kalaw, this natural cave is home to dozens of gold buddha statues. ...

Christ the King Church

Kalaw

　　Attractive, historic church that dates back to the colonial era and famously had the same priest for 69 years. ...

First Baptist Church

Mawlamyine

　　Founded by American Adoniram Judson in 1827, this was the country's first Baptist church. In addition to this place of worship, Judson's legacy also includes being the first person to translate the Bible into Burmese. As a result of his work, today Myanmar has the third-highest population of Baptists in...

Mon Cultural Museum

Mawlamyine

　　Unlike most of Myanmar's regional museums, Mawlamyine's is actually worth a visit, even if the collection isn't huge. It's dedicated to the Mon history of the region, and the exhibits include stelae with Mon inscriptions, 100-year-old wooden sculptures depicting old age and sickness (used as dhamma-teaching devices in monasteries), ceramics,...

Kyaikmaraw Paya

Mawlamyine

　　The small town of Kyaikmaraw (က်ိဳက္မေရာ), 15 miles southeast of Mawlamyine, is the site of Kyaikmaraw Paya, a temple of serene, white-faced buddhas built by Queen Shin Saw Pu in 1455. Among the temple’s many outstanding features are multicoloured glass windows set in the outside walls, an inner colonnade decorated...

Win Sein Taw Ya

Mawlamyine

　　If you thought you’d seen some big old buddhas, just wait till you get a load of this one. Draped across a couple of green hillsides at Yadana Taung, around 15 miles southwest of Mawlamyine, and surrounded by a forest of other pagodas and shrines, is this 560ft-long reclining buddha....

Nwa-la-bo Pagoda

Mawlamyine

　　A local pilgrimage site, Nwa-la-bo is still relatively unknown outside Mon State and few foreigners make it out here. This is surprising because the pagoda is a smaller but, geologically at least, far more astonishing version of Kyaiktiyo. Unlike at that shrine, where just one huge boulder perches on the...

Bilu Kyun

Mawlamyine

　　Bilu Kyun (Ogre Island) isn’t a hideaway for nasty monsters. Rather, it’s a beautiful island directly west of Mawlamyine. Roughly the size of Singapore, Bilu Kyun comprises 78 villages that are home to more than 200,000 people. It's a green, fecund place, with palm-studded rice fields and fruit plantations, and...

Kyaikthanlan Paya

Mawlamyine

　　Rudyard Kipling’s visit to Myanmar spanned just three days, but it resulted in a poem, 'Mandalay', that turned Burma into an oriental fantasy. It began with the lines ‘By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ lazy at the sea…’. The pagoda Kipling cited was most likely Kyaikthanlan Paya, the city’s tallest...

Mahamuni (Bahaman) Paya

Mawlamyine

　　Directly north of Kyaikthanlan Paya and linked by a covered walkway, this is the largest temple complex in Mawlamyine and easily the most beautiful. It’s built in the typical Mon style with covered brick walkways linking various shrines. The highlight is the Bahaman Paya itself, a gorgeous chamber shimmering with...

Mingala Market

Nyaungshwe

　　At the entrance to town, this busy market is packed with locals every morning, when traders from the lake bring in fresh fish and produce from the floating gardens. The market doubles in size when it hosts the five-day rotating market. ...

Red Mountain Estate

Nyaungshwe

　　This winery is open daily for tastings (K5000 for four wines). There's an attached restaurant with a menu of mostly Western dishes, as well as good views towards Inle Lake. The winery is a 20- to 30-minute bicycle ride from Nyaungshwe. ...

Independence Monument

Nyaungshwe

　　The independence monument – a white obelisk – is tucked away at one end of a sports field. Next to it is a gold statue of Sao Shwe Thaike, the last saopha (sky prince) of Nyaungshwe and the first president of independent Burma. ...

Cultural Museum

Nyaungshwe

　　This equal parts imposing and melancholy structure is the former haw (palace) of the last saopha (sky prince) of Nyaungshwe, Sao Shwe Thaike, who also served as the first president of independent Burma. Today, the mostly empty building holds a few dusty displays and is worth visiting more for the...

Yan Aung Nan Aung Hsu Taung Pye Paya

Nyaungshwe

　　In the village of Nanthe, this Buddhist temple complex features a 26ft-high sitting buddha surrounded by stucco deva (celestial beings) and chinthe (half-lion, half-dragon deities). Although heavily restored, the statue is said to be more than 700 years old. Nanthe is just south of Nyaungshwe. ...

Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung

Nyaungshwe

　　This is probably the most photographed monastery in Nyaungshwe: the unique oval windows in the ancient teak thein (ordination hall) create a perfect frame for portraits of the novices. The monastery is 1½ miles north of town on the road to Shwenyaung. ...

Yadana Man Aung Paya

Nyaungshwe

　　The oldest and most important Buddhist shrine in Nyaungshwe, this handsome gilded stupa is hidden away inside a square compound south of Mingala Market. The stepped stupa is unique in Myanmar, and the surrounding pavilion contains a museum of treasures amassed by the monks over the centuries, including carvings, lacquerware...

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 spiral, timber-walled watchtower for a good general view. The palace's most striking structure is a soaring multilayered pyramid of gilt filigree above the main throne room. Parts of...

Shwekyimyint Paya

Mandalay

　　Founded in 1167 by Prince Minshinzaw, exiled son of King Alaungsithu, Shwekyimyint considerably predates Mandalay itself. Minshinzaw consecrated the central sitting Buddha image that's roughly life sized, encrusted with gold and jewelled raiments, and set in an intimately hushed little prayer chamber. The pagoda also hosts other images collected by...

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 building once stood within the Mandalay Palace complex as the royal apartment of King Mindon, who died inside it in 1878. 　　Reputedly unable to cope with Mindon’s...

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 polishing their wares. There's a K2500 entry fee (often not collected), but you could always sit outside the market and observe craftspeople cutting and...

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 and locals. Commissioned in 1895 by a pair of wealthy Chinese jade merchants, the central building stands on tree-trunk poles and the interior has a soaring dark majesty. Balustrades and roof cornices...

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 foothills behind. After a 10-minute climb along the obvious covered stairway, you're likely to encounter a couple of domesticated stags – feeding them supposedly brings Buddhist merit. Pagoda...

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 to be some 2000 years old. Centuries of votary gold leaf applied by male devotees (women may only watch) have left the figure knobbly with a 6in layer of pure gold…except...

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 major part of the experience – note that you'll need to go barefoot in places, as you pass through numerous temples and pagodas....

Bogyoke Aung San Market

Yangon

　　Several hours can easily be spent at this historic covered market, with over 2000 stalls selling everything from gold and diamond jewellery to tattoos. It also offers the largest selection of Myanmar handicrafts and souvenirs you’ll find in one location and is a good place to find tailors. 　　Sometimes called...

San Pya Fish Market

Yangon

　　The raw hustle and bustle of Yangon's wholesale fish market is compulsively fascinating. It's a heady assault on the senses – especially that of smell – and best experienced between 2am and 8am. This is its busiest time, as boats unload their catches and deals are done with smaller market...

Taukkyan War Cemetery

Yangon

　　Twelve miles north of Yangon’s airport is this beautifully maintained cemetery, containing the graves of 6374 Allied soldiers who died in the Burma and Assam campaigns of WWII. There is also a memorial bearing the names of almost 27,000 soldiers who died with no known grave. Bago-bound buses from the...

Inya Lake

Yangon

　　Inya Lake, created by the British as a reservoir in 1883, is Yangon's largest artificial body of water. The best spots from which to view the lake are the neatly manicured parks running along part of Pyay Rd and Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd. The paths are open to the sun,...

Pansodan Gallery

Yangon

　　This loft-like gallery has a variety of Myanmar contemporary and antique art, the latter including some unique antique prints, advertisements and photos. Owner-artist Aung Soe Min is knowledgeable about Myanmar art, and can point you in the right direction to find that special souvenir you didn’t even know you needed....

Level 2

Yangon

　　This small club, beneath Roof Alchemy, is currently one of Yangon's most progressive dance spots hosting DJs playing techno, EDM and hip-hop. Admission K10,000. ...