Top Things to Do in Mandalay - Myanmar Travel Guides

Certainly, when mentioning Myanmar, everyone will think of Yangon which is known for the famous Shwedagon Pagoda or Bagan - the ancient city of more than 3000 temples - a UNESCO world's heritage site. However, people have not many ideas about tourist attractions in Mandalay which is a taciturn former capital of Myanmar with no less interesting and incredible things for you to discover. Here below are the best things to do in Mandalay that you should not miss.

1. Discover the Maginificent Mandalay Hill

The city of Mandalay took the name from this famous monument. This is one of the most important religious centers in Myanmar featuring a great number of temples and pagodas. You can climb to the top of the hill to enjoy the surrounding atmophere or use the elevator to reach it.

On the hilltop of Mandalay, there is a unique temple with mirror brick system paved on the wall reflecting light, which makes the temple sparkling and brilliant yellow admist the mountain whenever the sun shines. It is Sutaungpyi temple. From here, you can catch a panoramic view of the city which becomes more spectacular in sunrise and sunset.

Like other sacred places in Myanmar when visiting the temple, tourists have to dress properly and walk barefoot to the temple inspite of hot or cold weather.

2. Visiting Mahamuni Pagoda

Legend has it that there are only 5 statues depicted the exact appearance of the Buddha - 2 in heaven, 2 in India and 1 in Mahamuni Pagoda. The image wears an impressive robe and hat with gold leaf layers on the body which was pasted up by Buddhist devotees over centuries. The Mahamuni statue is preserved in a small chamber topped with a seven tiered Pyatthat Burmese style roof.

One thing special about this pagoda is to show respect to the Buddha statue, males will stick gold leaf around the image that is why the Buddha statue is covered with a thick layer of gold leaf.

Especially, you will have the opportunity to participate in a special ceremony of Buddha face washing. The ceremony took place at 4 am in the extremely sacred and solemn atmosphere. The men will stand up front and the women will stand behind a rope. With the assistance of local people, the Mahamuni temple's monk will wash the statue's face and brush his teeth.

The temple is opened daily from 6 AM to 8 PM and it can be crowded in February which is The Mahamuni temple festival is held because there will be the number of devotees come and pay their respect to the Buddha statue.

Entrance fee of the temple is US 6,000 kyat ($4USD) per person. There is also a camera fee of 1000 kyat collected at the chamber entrance.

3.Watching Sunset at Ubein Bridge

Leaving the city center of Mandalay, we head to one of the best places to watch sunset in Myanmar - U Bein Bridge - the longest teak bridge in the world. This bridge is the symbol of the connection. It looks simple but very ancient and enduring. The bridge is made of teak without using any nails. When the sun is going down in the afternoon, the sunlight dyes the lake surface with a bright yellow, and golden temple roofs gradually hide in the mist. At that time, U Bein Bridge looks amazing and beautiful. 

Visiting U Bein Bridge, tourists can go on the bridge or also watch the bridge from the lake. There is a pier with hundreds of boats to serve tourists here. These boats are very nice and the boatmen here are friendly. Sitting on boats and sightseeing will also be great experiences in your trip.  You can sail boat across the bridge, and then stop at the distance on the lake, wait for sunset on U Bein. In addition, you can spend time exploring nearby temples and villages like Kyuaktawgyi pagoda and Taunthaman village.

You will have a chance to see the beautiful sunset and it will be an unforgettable memory in your Myanmar river cruise & holiday packages to Myanmar.