Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In cave systems across East Asia, locals will delight in pointing out rock formations which
look - from a certain angle, in a certain light or with a certain leap of the imagination - like
Buddhist images. How delightful, then, to find the
Shwe Oo Min Cave
, which is filled with
bona fide Buddha statues - more than nine thousand of them, in fact. There has apparently
been a pagoda at the cave's entrance since the third century BC, and townsfolk like to regale
visitors with the legend that the grotto was inhabited by a giant spider which took a fancy
to local princesses and imprisoned them here - perhaps one reason why the statues inside
the cave only date back to the late eighteenth century. More are being added all the time by
Buddhist pilgrims, and an assortment of international organizations.
The cave is located way up on a limestone escarpment above town; you'll see several
covered stairways making their way up from nearer to ground level, and the views just keep
on getting better the higher up you go. Those lacking the necessary time or energy can make
use of a lift, which heads from the top of the road to the cave level (though note that, for
some reason, it takes a lunch break). It's wise to head up as early as you can, for the site is
at its magical best, and most refreshingly tourist-free, around dawn. Another little tip: take a
picture of the mountainside before you head on up, since this will aid navigation once you're
there and when you're coming back down.
The
cave
itself is rather spectacular. On your way to its depths, you'll note that the statues
are made of various different materials - wood, marble, cement and more. Both the temper-
ature and the CO2 level increase suddenly as you enter the largest of the grotto chambers,
a muggy place which, it's tempting to believe, may well contain breath and sweat from the
colonial period.
There are a couple of other things to see while you're up by the cave. One is the delightful
monastery
just alongside; a combination of whitewashed walls and rarefied air makes it feel
almost Tibetan. Then there's
Alegu
, the biggest Buddha on the mountainside at over 12m in
height, sitting in a side-hall a little further along.
Hsin Khaung Taung Kyaung
Daily 24hr • Free • Accessible on a variety of paths from Shwe Oo Min Rd, about a 15min walk south of town
Thislarge,captivating
monastery
,madefromcarvedteakwood,iswellworthtrackingdown
ifyou'reinPindaya formore than just afewhours.It'squite easy tovisit this onyourwayto
or from Shwe Oo Min - it's downhill to the north of the cave, along a dirt track from one of
thecovered arcade exits. Fewvisitors make itthisway,soexpect abitofattention fromlocal
monks and children.
Pone Taloke Lake
Pindaya life revolves around this pretty
lake
, and given the lack of much else to do, you're
pretty much guaranteed to find yourself wandering along its banks if you're overnighting in
Pindaya. It's best appreciated from
Green Tea
restaurant on its western bank, and there's a
