Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Shwemawdaw Pagoda
Pagoda Rd • Daily 5am-10pm •
Bago Archeological Zone ticket
, although ticket checks are less zealous from
late afternoon onwards; camera fee K300
Visible for many kilometres around,
Shwemawdaw Pagoda
's vast golden dome dominates
Bago's skyline. Buddhist legend has it that a pair of merchant brothers built the monument
to enshrine two of Buddha's hairs in 582 BC, with successive generations adding relics and
extending the spire to its current height of 114m - taller than even Shwedagon in Yangon -
and covering it with 1.5 tonnes of gold leaf.
The
zedi
hasfallenvictimtonumerous
earthquakes
overtheyears.Alargechunkofbrick-
work that collapsed in 1917 is dramatically embedded in its western side, sprouting incense
sticks from cracks in its mortar. After the most recent earthquake in 1930, the pagoda lay in
ruins for twenty years, until unpaid volunteers built the structure you see today in the early
1950s.
The four staircases leading to the pagoda are flanked by large chinthe with tiny golden
Buddhas in their open mouths; the western staircase leads east to
Hintha Gon Paya
along a
covered arcade. Shwemawdaw is the site of a major ten-day pagoda festival around the Tagu
full moon, which falls in March/April each year.
BAGO ARCHEOLOGICAL ZONE
Entrance to the Shwemawdaw Pagoda, Kanbawzathadi Palace, Shwethalyaung Reclining
Buddha and Kyaik Pun is covered by the
Bago Archeological Zone ticket
, which costs
K10,000andisvalidforaweekfrompurchase.Whileyoucanseeallthesesightsfromthe
street,youwon'tbeabletogetupclosewithoutstumpingupthecash-particularly worth-
while at Shwemawdaw Pagoda. Tickets can be purchased at any of the covered sights.
Hintha Gon Paya
Off Thanat Pin Rd, 500m east of Shwemawdaw Pagoda • Daily 5am-10pm • Free; camera fee K300
Its name meaning “Hamsa Hill”,
Hintha Gon Paya
was once the only point of land above
sea level around Bago, and the hill is believed to be the place where Buddha spotted the two
hamsa
that gave rise to his prophesy about Bago. King Bayinnaung constructed the complex
in 1567, but the current tiered shrine is the creation of the hermit monk
U Khanti
, and dates
from 1924.
Inadditiontodecentviewsofthepagoda-stippledsurroundings,themainreasontoclimbup
here is for the chance to witness one of the
nat ceremonies
for which Hintha Gon is known.
Transvestite
natdaws
(mediums) energetically channel the
nat
to the frenetic accompaniment
of a traditional orchestra, purportedly bringing good luck to worshippers. Several
nats
are
