Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sampanago
5km north of Bhamo • Daily dawn-dusk • Free • From Bhamo, cycle north to the prison, turn left shortly after,
and follow this road for 1.5km to Shwe Kyina Pagoda; Sampanago's remains are on the left-hand side of the
road 200m southwest of the pagoda
The plains around Bhamo were once part of Manmaw, an independent Shan kingdom that
ruled the area between the Ayeyarwady and the Chinese border. The remains of Manmaw's
ancient capital,
Sampanago
(locally known as “Old Bhamo” or
Bhamomyo haung
), lie 5km
north of town hidden away among the houses and fields near the modern
Shwe Kyina Pa-
goda
. All that can be seen today is a raised embankment and a ditch running alongside it -
fragments of the former city walls and moat, with occasional rammed earth hillocks that are
thought to have been watchtowers.
Thein Pa Hill
10km north of Bhamo • Daily dawn-dusk • Free • Cycle north towards
Sampanago
and turn left just before you
reach Shwe Kyina Pagoda, which will bring you to the bamboo bridge (Dec-June only; K300/person). When
the bridge is out of service, a long-tail boat (K300/person; K200/bike) ferries people across the river. Beyond
the river go straight until you reach the second village, where there's a small turning that leads to the riverbank;
Thein Pa is a few kilometres further north. It's also possible to take a boat here from
Bhamo
Aninety-minutebikeridenorthofBhamo,thepathup
TheinPaHill
islinedwithmeditation
halls, monastery buildings and small pagodas, and there are beautiful views from the hilltop
over the Ayeyarwady's midstream islands. While the hill makes a tranquil picnic spot, the
real attraction is the trip out here from Bhamo, the path winding along sandy riverbanks and
over a
400m-long bamboo bridge
that's swept away by the monsoon rains each year. Each
December, hundreds of villagers get together to rebuild the bridge over just two days.
Kyauk Sakhan
20km east of Bhamo • Daily 9am-6pm • Free
