Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a Japanese bomb in World War II also failed to reveal any buried treasure (the damage has
since been restored).
Mahabodhi Shwegu
Daily7am-5.30pm•Entrycoveredbymaintempleticket•ToreachtheMahabodhiShwegu,gonorthalongthe
road from the Ratanapon towards the Laung Bwann Brauk; just before you reach the latter you'll see a covered
well on your right - follow the steep path up the hill behind this to reach the temple
Dating from the latter half of the fifteenth century, the tiny
Mahabodhi Shwegu
is one of
Mrauk U's more unusual monuments, with a quaint little octagonal domed shrine connec-
ted to a narrow antechamber. Its main interest, however, is the intricate, albeit very eroded,
carvingsdecoratingtheantechamberwallsandthethroneofthecentralBuddhaimage.These
include representations of the Buddhist heaven and hell along with some erotic images - al-
though you'll have to look very closely to make anything out.
Laung Bwann Brauk
Open access 24hr • Entry covered by main temple ticket
The slightly leaning stupa of Mrauk U,
Laung Bwann Brauk
temple is characterized by
its fractionally tilted outline (more obvious from some angles than others), the stupa having
crumpled slightly under its own weight. The base of the octagonal stupa is ringed with elab-
orately carved niches, some still containing Buddha images, or what's left of them, while the
front of the terrace is decorated with unusual flower-shaped glazed tiles, although many are
now sadly crumbling into dust.
Justnorthofhereontheothersideoftheroadstandsthediminutive
ShweKraTheinPhra
:
a pretty little stupa raised high on a finely carved six-tier base.
Pitakataik
Daily 7am-5.30pm • Entry covered by main temple ticket
Mrauk U's smallest and prettiest monument, the quaint
Pitakataik
is the only one of the
city's original 48 libraries to have survived - although it looks far too small to have stored
more than a handful of topics. The building was commissioned by King Mong Phaloung in
1591 to house a set of the Buddhist Tripitaka and is unusual in being constructed of solid
stone rather than the usual brick, elaborately decorated with abstract geometrical shapes, a
fancy door and a spiky zigzag roof in four tiers, now sagging slightly under its own weight.
The tiny vaulted interior is contrastingly bare.
Eastern group
MraukU's
easterngroup
ofmonumentsisrathermorescatteredandlow-keythanthenorth-
ern group, barring the massive
Kothaung Paya
, one of the town's stand-out sights. Many
date from the kingdom's middle years and include a trio of fine stupas - at the
MongKhong
Shwetu
,
Sakyaman Aung
and
Ratanaman
temples
-
exemplifying Mrauk U's later and
lighter architectural style.
