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.