Sagaing Myanmar
Myanmar
Frequently Asked Questions
Right at the river's edge, at the foot of the hills, on the west bank of the Irrawaddy a few kilometres upstream of Mandalay. The climb to the summits is then made by vehicle, then on foot up covered stairways.
An entire landscape given over to spiritual life: hundreds of white and gilded stupas clinging to the hills, more than six hundred monasteries, and thousands of monks and nuns who still study and meditate here.
Soon U Ponya Shin, at the top of the hill about 240 metres up. Its terrace offers one of Burma's most memorable panoramas: the Irrawaddy between its sandbanks and gilded spires piercing the canopy as far as the eye can see.
A shrine carved in an arc into the hillside, where 45 gold-robed Buddha statues fan out in a long crescent against a background of green ceramics. It is one of the most photographed images in the region.
An immense dome without tiers or spire, on the plain a few kilometres from the hills, recalling the ancient stupas of Sri Lanka. Its forecourt bustles with sellers of flowers, thanaka and wooden toys.
Yes, several itineraries stop at a silversmiths' village where the metal is worked by hammer using techniques passed from father to son. The workshops sell their output on site, with no middleman.
Yes, of a fourteenth-century kingdom. Over the centuries it became one of the great centres of Burmese Buddhism.
No, it demands neither long distances nor a packed programme. Mostly it asks you to climb a few covered stairways barefoot and to slow your pace.
The bridges linking Sagaing to the Mandalay side, the Irrawaddy unrolling its brown water between sandbanks, and gilded spires to the horizon.
Constantly. Lines of nuns in pink robes walk towards their monastery, alms bowls under their arms, and saffron-robed students happily strike up conversation to practise a few words of English.
