If you want to squeeze full value out of your Mandalay 'combo' ticket, head to this 1996 concrete-pillared reconstruction of an early 19th-century monastery. It has plenty of flying wooden filigree roof work, a substantial ancient library of Pali scripts and a museum of 19th-century buddha images, but few travellers are greatly impressed. Nearby there are several distinctive tobacco-drying barns and, further east, the hefty ruins of two former palace buildings.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
7.35 MILES
To get a sense of Mandalay’s pancake-flat sprawl, climb the 760ft hill that breaks it. The walk up covered stairways on the hill's southern slope is a…
7.61 MILES
This lovely 1834 teak monastery is Inwa’s most memorable individual attraction. It's supported on 267 teak posts, the largest 60ft high and 9ft in…
2.58 MILES
Every day, thousands of colourfully dressed faithful venerate Mahamuni's 13ft-tall seated buddha, a nationally celebrated image that’s popularly believed…
26.96 MILES
Founded in 1915 and carved out by Turkish prisoners captured by the British during WWI, this lovingly maintained 435-acre botanical garden features more…
8.66 MILES
Staring distantly towards Mandalay Palace, temple-topped Yankin Hill is worth climbing for views of greater Mandalay's rice-field setting and of the Shan…
1.91 MILES
The world’s longest teak footbridge gently curves 1300yd across shallow Taungthaman Lake, creating one of Myanmar’s most photographed sites. In dry season…
3.26 MILES
A meditative departure from the usual Burmese 'douse-it-all-in-gold-and-pastels' aesthetic, this gorgeously carved teak monastery is beloved by tourists…
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4.44 MILES
This ‘early offering shrine’ is the most important of the temples on Sagaing Hill’s southern crown and the first you’ll come to on climbing the One Lion…
Nearby Myanmar (Burma) attractions
0.12 MILES
You can see giant woks being cast at this fascinating little foundry, located near Bagaya Kyaung. There are no real hours – these guys seem to work…
0.56 MILES
This vast bell-shaped pagoda, erected by King Bagyidaw in 1820, is the tallest structure (185ft) for miles around. Men only are allowed to climb halfway…
0.58 MILES
This attractive 19th-century square-based stupa has a gold spire and white/ice-blue lower sections from a 2006 makeover. It's set in a nursery of…
0.62 MILES
There's not much to see at these ruins beyond crumbling foundations and kids playing, but they do make for an atmospheric detour. They're just east of…
1.47 MILES
Little visited, this curious latter-day monastery features massive seated and reclining Buddhas, a hall-of-mirrors-like prayer hall full of monk-posture…
1.64 MILES
Hand-worked silk-weaving workshop that welcomes visitors without sales pressure.
1.64 MILES
Just west of U-Bein Bridge, this sprawling monastery is a pleasantly meditative place for most of the day. But you may want to avoid it at about 10.30am,…
1.75 MILES
Around 200yd beyond the eastern end of U-Bein Bridge, this 1847 pagoda, built by Pagan Min, was supposedly modelled on the larger Ananda Pahto at Bagan,…