Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Shweyinhmyaw Paya
Thida St • Daily 5am-10pm • Free
For the best views of the Thanlyin River and Mount Hpar-Pu's distinctive silhouette, head
down to the petite
Shweyinhmyaw Paya
at dusk to watch the sun set over the riverbank.
The pagoda is also home to a statue of a giant green frog (frogs are an important symbol for
the Kayin) and a
naga
- a reference to the story behind Hpa-An's name, which means “Frog
Vomit”. Kayin legend tells of a
naga
swallowing a frog that had a gem in its mouth. The
gem magically stopped the
naga
from keeping his dinner down, and it vomited the frog onto
the banks of the Thanlyin where Hpa-An stands today - immediately bestowing Myanmar's
most memorable and least poetic place name upon the town.
Mount Hpar-Pu
Ferry across the river K500/person (every 30min: daily 6am-6pm)
The nearest limestone peak to downtown Hpa-An,
Mount Hpar-Pu
, is a quick boat trip
across the Thalwin River from Shweyinhmyaw Paya. Once on the opposite bank it's a short
walkthroughvegetablefieldstoavillagewherethere'sanEnglishsignpointingtheway.The
road leads to the foot of Hpar-Pu, before swinging right towards the river. Follow the road
around to the bottom of the steps up the mountain - a sweaty twenty-minute climb from here
ought to see you close to the summit. Note that after a landslide swept away a chunk of the
hillduringthe2013rainyseasonitisnolongersafetoclimbtotheverytop,butitisstillpos-
sible to get high enough for wonderful views of the river and out towards Mount Zwegabin.
