Mandalay & North

The cultural soul of Myanmar

Mandalay is Myanmar's second-largest city and cultural capital — a dusty center clogged with motorcycles and pick-ups that doesn't seem impressive at first glance. But beneath the unassuming surface lies a city of enormous cultural depth: Mandalay is the heart of Burmese Buddhism, home to the most important monasteries and religious schools, center of traditional arts and crafts — from puppet making to gold leaf beating to stone carving.

The city was only founded in 1857 by King Mindon as the last royal capital — thus fulfilling the prophecy of Buddha, who is said to have predicted that a great city would arise at the foot of Mandalay Hill after 2,400 years. Despite its relative youth, Mandalay's cultural significance is immense: The Fifth Buddhist Council was held here, the purest Burmese is spoken here, and craftsmen preserve traditions that have long disappeared elsewhere.

Highlights in the city

• Kuthodaw Pagoda — The world's largest book: 729 white marble slabs, each in its own stupa, on which the entire Pali Canon (the Buddhist holy scripture, Tipitaka) is engraved. Completed in 1860, after the Fifth Buddhist Council. To read all the slabs would take an estimated 450 days — the largest book in the world. The sight of the 729 white stupas in geometric order is overwhelming in itself.
• Mandalay Hill: The 236 m high hill on the northern edge of the city, rising above the royal palace, offers the best panoramic view: the city, the palace, the Irrawaddy, the mountains of Shan State in the distance. 1,729 covered steps lead up, lined with pagodas, Buddha statues, and fortune tellers. Alternatively by car or elevator. The sunset from the summit is a must-see.
• Royal Palace: A vast complex (4 km², 3 km side length!) behind high red walls and a moat. Mostly destroyed during World War II and later reconstructed. The dimensions are impressive, the watchtower offers the best view over the grounds. Entrance: 10,000 MMK. Foreigners may only enter through the east gate (bring your passport).
• Mahamuni Pagoda: The second most important Buddha statue in Myanmar. The seated figure is covered with so much gold leaf (layers 15 cm thick!) that the body shape is hardly recognizable — only the face is kept clear. Every morning at 4:00 am the Buddha's face is ritually washed in an elaborate ceremony. This intimate ritual is an unforgettable experience for early risers.
• Shwenandaw Monastery: The only surviving building of the original royal palace — completely made of golden teak, with fantastic carvings depicting scenes from the Jataka (Buddha's birth stories). A masterpiece of Burmese woodcarving.

The longest teak bridge in the world

The U-Bein Bridge near Amarapura (11 km south of Mandalay) is the longest and oldest teak bridge in the world: 1.2 km long, built in 1850 from 1,086 teak pillars recycled from the demolished royal palace of Inwa. It crosses the shallow Taungthaman Lake, which swells in the rainy season and partially dries up in the dry season.

The U-Bein Bridge is a photo icon of Myanmar: At sunset, when monks in saffron robes, farmers with ox carts, cyclists, and walkers wander across the bridge and their silhouettes reflect in the golden water, images of surreal beauty are created. It is one of those places where even mediocre photographers can take shots that look like paintings.

Experiencing the sunset

• From the shore: From the western shore of the lake, you see the bridge as a silhouette against the orange sky — the classic perspective.
• From the boat: Rent a boat (2,000–3,000 MMK / 0.60–1 EUR) and photograph the bridge from the water. Even more dramatic, as you get closer to the silhouettes of people on the bridge.
• Timing: Be there at least 1 hour before sunset — the best spots on the shore fill up quickly.

Four ancient royal cities

Around Mandalay lie four former royal cities — each was once the capital of a Burmese empire. Together they form a fascinating panorama of Burmese history. They can be combined as a day trip:

• Amarapura: The U-Bein Bridge and the Mahagandayon Monastery, where every morning at 10:30 am over 1,000 monks line up silently for lunch — a fascinating, humble, and photogenic spectacle.
• Inwa (Ava): By ferry across the river (1,000 MMK), then by horse cart through the ruins of a 400-year-old capital. The leaning watchtower (Nanmyin), teak monasteries amidst rice fields, and an atmosphere as if time had stood still.
• Sagaing: Hundreds of white pagodas and monasteries on the Sagaing Hills on the west bank of the Irrawaddy — one of Myanmar's holiest sites. Over 600 monasteries, 3,000 monks and nuns. The panoramic view from the U-Min-Thonze Pagodas over the Irrawaddy is breathtaking.
• Mingun: By boat up the Irrawaddy (1h from Mandalay). The unfinished Mingun Pagoda would have been the largest in the world (150 m high!) if an earthquake in 1839 hadn't stopped the construction. What stands is still overwhelming: 50 m high, with gigantic cracks. Next to it: the Mingun Bell — at 90 tons, the second-largest hanging bell in the world — and the elegant white Hsinbyume Pagoda.

Off the beaten path in northern Shan State

Hsipaw (pronounced: Si-Paw) is a sleepy town in northern Shan State — and one of the best places in Myanmar for authentic trekking off the tourist trails. While Kalaw and Inle Lake are populated by trekking groups during the high season, Hsipaw remains a hidden gem where villagers greet you with genuine amazement and heartfelt curiosity.

The area is home to various ethnic groups — Shan, Pa-O, Palaung, and Lisu — who live in the mountains around Hsipaw and have largely maintained their traditional way of life. The Palaung women wear silver necklaces and colorful costumes, the Shan farmers cultivate tea plantations, and in the villages, rice is still planted and harvested by hand.

Gokteik Viaduct — Thrill on Rails

The train journey from Hsipaw to Pyin Oo Lwin (or vice versa) crosses the Gokteik Viaduct — an over 100-year-old railway bridge over a 300 m deep gorge, considered one of the wonders of colonial-era engineering. Built in 1901 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company, it was the highest railway bridge in the world at the time.

The train creeps at a snail's pace over the viaduct — the steel structure creaks, the carriages sway, and the view down into the jungle-covered gorge is dizzying. There are no railings at the window, no seat belts, no warning signs — just the trust that a 125-year-old bridge of steel and rivets will hold what it promises. An experience that is both terrifying and grand.

Train ride Hsipaw → Pyin Oo Lwin: 7–10 hours (yes, for 200 km). About 4,000 MMK (1.20 EUR). You don't travel for speed, but for the experience: the landscape, the people on the train, the vendors at the stations, and of course the moment on the viaduct.

Trekking from Hsipaw

• 1-Day Trekking: To the Shan and Pa-O villages in the hills, through tea plantations and past waterfalls. From 15 USD/person with an English-speaking guide.
• 2-Day/1-Night: Overnight stay in a Palaung village — one of the most authentic trekking experiences in all of Southeast Asia. The Palaung women with their traditional silver necklaces, the meal by the open fire, the starry sky over the mountains.
• Shan Palace: In Hsipaw itself, a visit to the Shan Palace of the former prince (Saopha) is worthwhile. The widow of the last prince (who disappeared after the military coup in 1962 and never reappeared) sometimes personally guides through the building — a moving testimony to Shan history.