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destination >> Yangon and environment
YANGON
(Rangoon)
Yangon was formally a small village called Dagon.
Having been captured it in 1755 from the Mon people.
King Alaungpaya renamed it Yangon meaning “End
of Strife”. After the annexation of the
lower Myanmar by the British in 1852, they turned
this village into a major port and started constructing
major buildings in 1870 with the well known and
magnificent structures still standing in excellent
condition in the centre of the town. Yangon, in
addition to being the Capital of Myanmar situated
about 22 miles from the sea, is also the main
port of entry into the country by sea and air.
Yangon, with a combination of the mystery and
religious charm of the east with the modern facilities
of the west, is one of the most attractive cities
in the East, with evergreen tropical trees, shady
parks, beautiful lakes and golden Stupas. Yangon
is noted for lying in the shadow of Great Shwedagon
Pagoda, the largest Pagoda of its kind
in the world and the most revered religious site
in Myanmar, rising to a height of 326 feet from
the hill standing close to the heart of the city
and also widely known for having the most extensive
variety of urban colonial architecture in Southeast
Asia.
Sightseeing
includes Sule Pagoda, Botahtaung Pagoda, Chaukhtatgyi
reclining Buddha Image, Kabaaye Pagoda, Kyauktawgyi
Buddha Images, Kalaweik Hall, National Museum,
China Town, Bogyoke Market (Scott), Kandawgyi
Park and the center of the city.
No visit to Myanmar is really complete without
Shwedagon Pagoda.
Side
Trip:
There
are some short trips out of Yangon to the environs
which are practically musts, time permitting;
Thanlyin, Twante, Allied War Memorial Cemetery,
Bago, Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda and Pyay.
THANLYIN
From Yangon one of the most beautiful trip to
take is to the small town of Tyanlyin (Syriam),
once occupied by the Portuguese in early 17th
Century as a trading port, with the old buildings
standing in evidence of that during the reign
of Portuguese. It is a forty-five minute drive
from Yangon. Before entering the town, cross the
270 meters long bridge spanning the Bago River.
Places worth visiting are Kyaik-khauk Pagoda and
Kyauktan (Ye-le) Pagoda.
TWANTE
Twante,
situated on the Bank of the Twante canal, is a
two-hour drive by boat from Yangon. The boat trip
will give you excellent opportunity to see the
way of life of the local people living along the
canal. Being famous for its pottery industries,
it is now visited by tourists.
ALLIED WAR MEMORIAL CEMETERY
Located
32 km from Yangon, the cemetery is a calm and
peaceful place with 27,000 tombstones of allied
soldiers, who lost their lives in Myanmar during
the World War II, especially in defense of Japanese
troops.
BAGO
It is situated only 80 km away from Yangon (2-
hour drive).Having been an ancient royal capital
of Mon Kingdom in 15th century, Bago (Pegu) is
now one of the archaeological sites in Myanmar.
Tourist attractions in Bago are Shwemawdaw Pagoda
(highest Pagoda in Myanmar), Shwethalyaung Pagoda
(massive reclining Buddha image), Kyaik Pun Pagoda
(Four faces Pagoda), Mahazede. Also recommended
is a visit to the Place of king Bayinnaung, time
permitting. Bago is worth a day's excursion from
Yangon and worth a half-day's excursion on the
way back to / back from Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda (Golden
Rock).
KYAIKHTIYO
(Golden Rock)
Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda, over 1100 m above sea-level,
is situated about 160 km (5 hour drive) from Yangon.
It is one of the most visited Pagoda in Myanmar.
This mystical pagoda stands on a gold gilded boulder
precariously perching on the edge of the cliff
and it seems to be standing against the force
of gravity. This boulder is supposed to have been
placed by the king of the Devas or gods according
to the legend of the pagoda. There are two highly
satisfying trips to this pagoda from the foot
of the hill (Kinpun base camp). One of them is
an 11 km up-hill climb from the footpath and another
one is an hour-drive up-hill by open truck cars
to the foot of Mount Hermit from where it is a
45 minute-climb on foot to the peak. With the
pleasure of Kyaikhtiyo climbing, you can have
a pleasure derived from the local pilgrims there.
While in Yangon, time permitting after visiting
Yangon, don't miss making an excursion to Kyaikhtiyo
Pagoda.
Two day trip from Yangon to this pagoda is more
convenient to tourists.
PYAY
Pyay, previously called Sri Ksetra, an ancient
city of Pyu era during the period from AD 300
to 1000, is about 285 km north of Yangon, situated
on the east Bank of the river Ayeyarwaddy. It
can be reached by road or rail taking about 5
hours from Yangon. The ancient ruins of Pyu era
still remain. Baw Baw Gyi stupa, Be Be Temple,
Payagyi stupa, Shwesandaw pagoda, Shwenattaung
pagoda and the unique Buddha image with glass
are of interest.
Side
Trip:
With the combination of about 2 hour drive by
road across the river Ayeyarwaddy over the Nawaday
Bridge and a 15 minute boat ride, you can make
an excursion to Akhauktaung, with beautiful Buddha
images carved in the face of the rocky banks along
the Ayeyarwaddy river.
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