Sunset on Mandalay, Myanmar's last royal city

Located on the banks of the Ayerwaddy River, Mandalay is known as a bustling economic center for business. Here you will find a fusion of ancient cities, culture with remnants of a colonial past to form a modern melting pot of an old and new world combined.  Kuthodaw Pagoda, one of the city’s notable attractions, is billed as the “biggest book” in the world where Buddhist scriptures are inscribed on 729 marble tablets.

The old Royal City Wall, Mandalay, Myanmar

Highlights:

Walk up Mandalay Hill, passing numerous shrines on the way to the pagoda at the top, which offers the reward of a spectacular view of the countryside beyond the city limits.

Visit the Craftsmen’s Quarter to watch skilled artisans making silk fabric, gold leaf, marble statues, marionettes and embroidered tapestries.

Explore the remnants of upper Myanmar’s ancient kingdoms by visiting Mandalay Palace and taking a tour of Inwa’s narrow country lanes by horse cart.

Take a one-hour boat trip up the river from Mandalay to see the huge, unfinished pagoda at Mingun.

Visit U-Bein Bridge, a beautiful 1.2 kilometer structure built from teak planks and said to be the longest of its type in the world. The local mayor, U Bein, salvaged the wood from pieces of the dismantled teak palace at Amarapura from when the capital moved to Mandalay in 1857.

Spend a day or longer in the old hill station Pyin Oo Lwin, which offers colonial architecture, mountain scenery, cool temperatures and popular attractions like National Kandawgyi Gardens and Peik Chin Myaing Buddhist cave complex.

Young monk in Mahagandayon Monastery Amarapura regarded as a center for monastic study and strict religious discipline.

South of Mandalay is Amarapura, the royal capital of the 18th century. It is famous for quality textiles and the U Bein Bridge connecting the Taung Thaman Lake and the site of Maha Gandayon Monastery, where 1000 monks study scripture.

Mandalay Marionettes

Sagaing, to the west of Mandalay is an important location for Buddhist study. You can find many meditational retreats here. To the East of Mandalay is Pyin Oo Lwin which was originally a hill station for the British to escape the heat of lower Burma. The Botanical Gardens are the main attraction of this town.