Holiday in Mandalay

About Mandalay

Mandalay is the last royal capital of Myanmar and the cultural heart of the country — a city where golden pagodas, monastic scholarship, and the bustling activity along the Irrawaddy River create a unique atmosphere. The second-largest city in the country was founded in 1857 by King Mindon as a new capital and was the center of the Burmese monarchy until the British conquest in 1885. Mandalay Hill (236 m) offers a breathtaking panoramic view of the city, the royal palace, and the endless plain extending to the Shan Plateau in the east from its summit. The ascent involves 1,729 covered steps, passing by places of worship, monks, and golden Buddha statues. Especially at sunset, when the light bathes the golden pagodas and the Irrawaddy River in warm tones, the view is unforgettable. The Kuthodaw Pagoda houses the largest book in the world: 729 marble slabs, each housed in its own white miniature temple (stupa), contain the entire Theravada Pali Canon. King Mindon commissioned this monumental work to be carved in stone between 1860 and 1868 — it would take 450 days to read the entire book aloud. The U-Bein Bridge in Amarapura, just 11 kilometers south of Mandalay, is the longest teak bridge in the world at 1.2 kilometers. At sunset, when monks in saffron robes and fishermen in their boats create silhouettes against the golden sky, it becomes one of the most iconic photographic motifs in Southeast Asia. The former royal cities of Inwa (Ava), Sagaing, and Mingun are in close proximity and offer day trips to crumbling monasteries, massive pagodas, and the unfinished Mingun Pagoda, which would have been the largest structure in the world if completed.