Mandalay
Burma's last royal capital is only 150 years old. King Mindon founded the city between 1857 and 1861, soon after deposing his half-brother Pagan Min and taking the throne. The pious Mindon, who thought he had achieved enlightenment himself, founded the city to fulfill an ancient prophecy. According to the legend, Buddha visited Mandalay Hill with his disciple Ananda and proclaimed that 2,400 years after his passing, a metropolis of Buddhist education would be founded at the base of the hill.
At the center of his new city, Mindon put his own grand Royal Palace, hidden behind an 8 kilometer long wall and moat. At the base of the hill, he built the Kuthodaw Pagoda, which houses the first complete compilation of the Buddhist 'bible', the Tripitaka, carved onto 729 marble tablets, each housed in its own small pagoda.
The buildings of Mindon's Royal Palace were destroyed during World War II, except for the Shwe Nandaw Kyaung, which had been moved outside of the palace walls after Mindon's death, and later turned into a temple. This intricately carved gilded teak wood building will give you some idea of the grandeur of Mindon's "Golden City."
Even before the founding of Mandalay, there was already an important temple in the area. The Maha Muni Pagoda houses Mandalay's most revered Buddha image.
Archaeological Zone Entrance Fees
An entrance fee of US$10 must be paid by each person visiting Mandalay. The fee may be paid on arrival at the airport. The ticket will be checked and stamped at the Royal Palace, Kuthodaw Pagoda and Shwe Nandaw Kyaung temple.
In this section
One of many alleys of pagodas housing stone 'pages' of the Buddhist holy 'book' At the southeastern base of Mandalay Hill is Kuthodaw Pagoda. At the center of the temple is the 100 foot high golden Maha Lawka Marazein Pagoda. But the most interesting feature of the temple is the 729 smaller pagodas that surround the central shrine.
An old tree, supported by many posts Called pitaka pagodas, each one houses a marble tablet inscribed with a 'page' of text from the Buddhist holy book, called the Tipitaka.
Contrary to what you might think, the most important temple for the people of Mandalay is not on or around Mandalay Hill. Rather, it's a rather unassuming temple somewhat hidden off side streets several blocks south and slightly west of the Fort.
The gilt face of the Maha Muni Buddha image The Maha Muni ("Great Sage") Pagoda was built about 75 years before the formal founding of Mandalay. It was built to house the great Maha Muni Buddha image, which was taken as booty when King Bodawpaya conquered Rakhain (Arakan), the fertile western coastal plains of modern-day Myanmar.
One of the guardhouses of the outer wall At the center of his "Golden City" King Mindon put himself, naturally. At the foot of Mandalay Hill he built a perfectly square walled enclosure, and surrounded it with a wide moat. The nearly 2 kilometer long sides each face a cardinal direction. Inside, at the very center of the square, stood the Royal Palace. Above the throne room of the palace rose a seven tiered golden roof meant to focus the wisdom of the universe directly onto the king on his throne.
iew from part-way up the hill, looking down on the stairway and temples below. Mandalay Hill is perhaps the best place to start a tour of Mandalay. From its peak, you can plainly see the layout of the city. Passing betweeen the two giant chinthes at the base of the hill provides access to the covered stairway to the top, having a total of 1,729 stairs. However, as there are many landings along the way, the climb is not as strenuous as it might sound.
Overall view of the main hall of the Shwe Nandaw Kuaung South of the Kuthodaw Pagoda and east of the Fort stands one of the few original buildings of the Royal Palace to remain intact. The Shwe Nandaw Kyaung was the building in which King Mindon died. After the King's death, his son and successor Thibaw moved the building to its present location.
One of the altars in the Shwe Nandaw Kyaung King Thibaw used the building for meditation for a short time, but later, in 1879, donated it to monks for use as a monastery.
The selection of international hotels is rather limited in Mandalay, especially given the tourist potential of the city's many sights. The selection below reflects hotels we've stayed at or have feedback from reliable sources about. You can use the search box at the bottom of the page to see everything that's available, along with the best rates from dozens of booking sites.
Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel Sedona Hotel Mandalay
There aren't many restaurants catering to tourists outside of hotels in Mandalay. We found only one worth mentioning. There are probably more.
Cafe City Located on the East Moat Road facing the walls of the royal city. Cafe City serves internatinal foods as well as some local dishes. A very pub-like atmosphere, and not too pricey, but service can be very slow, even when you're the only one there. [December 2005]
Getting to Mandalay from Bagan or Yangon can be done by plane, train, bus or river boat. Several trains a day travel between Yangon and Mandalay, with both government and private operators. Most trains are overnight, as is the bus service.
If you have plenty of time, the river is an interesting option for travel from Bagan to Mandalay (or vice-versa). Both 'slow' and 'fast' boats are available, although the fast option still takes nine hours.
Mandalay is much hotter and drier than Yangon to the south. During the peak of the wet season in May and June, the total rainfall is only about a quarter of the rain that Yangon receives. Although temperatures in the hot season from March to May can be quite warm, in the cool season from December to February, night-time temperatures can be downright cold. You should definitely bring a jacket or sweater for evening wear.
The best time to visit Mandalay is from December to February. As you can see from the charts on our Mandalay weather page, this is the driest time of year as well as the coolest. Daytime temperatures are warm, but not as hot as they will be from April to June, and the nights are cool enough require a jacket or sweater.
A pair of workers pounding gold leaf If you observe the goings-on at almost in temple in Myanmar - or Thailand for that matter - you will notice the practice of 'pasting' gold leaves to some images within a temple. The making of gold leaf is one of many cottage industries, and there is a lane in Mandalay where you can see the old-fashioned crafting at work.
The making of gold leaf starts with a crude gold ribbon about one centimeter wide purchased from the smelter.
View of the pool and tennis courts. The Mandalay Hill Resort hotel is a comfortable 206 room hotel located in among the cluster of temples and monasteries at the base of Mandalay Hill, just north of the Fort. The hotel's facilities include a large swimming pool, small but well equiped gym and tennis courts. An 18 hole golf course is within view of the hotel.
Most rooms have good views of either the hill or the Fort.
