Ananda pagoda and festival – Myanmar top attractions for tourists

The ancient city Bagan, inlike many other travel highlights in Myanmar, attracts tourists right from the first sight with the antique, peaceful and fresh beauty of magnificent archaeological relics. This sacred land is the home for thousands of grand Buddhist pagodas and towers. Among them, there are of course some outstanding structures that attract visitors the most. We can name some famous names such as Shwedagon, for its sacredness, or Ananda pagoda, for its splendid beauty.

Indeed, not too far from Shwezigon pagoda, Ananda pagoda in Myanmar was built in 1090 with surprising beautiful art works about Buddhism, which Myanmar is known for. On a travel to Myanmar and visit Ananda pagoda, tourists will see that besides the unique features of pagoda architecture, Ananda pagoda also symbolizes the immense knowledge of the Buddha.

This pagoda was completed under the rule of King Kyanzittha of Pagan dynasty (1084 – 1113). This is an outstanding religious architectural masterpiece in that time and it is almost well-preserved until now. Therefore, at this moment, when mentioning Myanmar top attractions in Bagan, Ananda pagoda is always one of the first names to be called.

It is retold from many tourists travelling in Myanmar reviews that there is a legend about the story of this pagoda. They said the creators of this building have ended up their lives with tragic. There were eight priests providing King Kyanzittha with the drawing draft about the architecture of the pagoda in the Himalaya range, where they meditated. The King was satisfied and required the priests to build a pagoda in Bagan delta. When they finished the work, to make sure that the building was unique and there would be no similar structure to be built anywhere else, the King ordered his soldiers to kill all these architects and priests.

The most impressive feature of this pagoda often mentioned in best Myanmar books is four gilded Buddha statues with the height of over 10 meters located in four directions. Among them, the two original gilded Buddha statues in the North and the South show different facial expressions when you look at them in different distances. If watching them from a distance of roughly 10 meters or less, you can realize the face of the Buddha is slightly strict and sad. However, if you step back a little and watch the statue again, the face starts to express the joy, kindness and happiness. This exploration is so exciting that it is considered one of most attractive travel highlights in Myanmar for tourists coming to Bagan. Unluckily, the two other statues in the East and the West, due to being restored after a fire, cannot remain the special expressions on the face of the Buddha anymore.

Ananda pagoda has been damaged badly in an earthquake in 1975. However, after that, it was rebuilt and preserved really well to restore its original attraction as a Myanmar top attraction as much as possible. In 1990, the high tower in the pagoda was gilded on the anniversary of 900 year-old of the pagoda. This made the beauty of this pagoda become more attractive and outstanding over the other architectural buildings in the area.

Ananda pagoda is already well-known for its exceptional beauty and valuable meaningful religious works. However, when mentioning this pagoda, people also think about a special event that is held every year and attract tremendous people to take part in. Actually, when asking a tourist about the reason why they visit Burma, the answer must also include Myanmar attractive festivals and traditional customs. It is the Ananda pagoda festival. Indeed, Myanmar is not only known for sparkling golden pagodas, temples and Buddhist architectural structures. It is also famous for many traditional festivals held each year. There are hundreds of festivals to be held annually in Myanmar, but they often take place in the spring, especially in March or April, when Burmese farmers are free from their farm work to enjoy the festivals.

In January annually, there is a festival in Ananda pagoda held for pilgrims and tourists from all over the country and even foreign tourists to come and explore the cultural special characteristics of this pagoda, in particular, and myanmar country and people, in general. This is one of the most outstandingly famous pagoda festivals in this country. The following is just arough guide for visitor to Myanmar to take part in the festival of Ananda pagoda.

Traditionally, people from everywhere in Bagan will come to the festival on their rustic ox carts. They also go camping during the time the festival is held. So how long should you spend in Myanmar in order to take part in this interesting festival? Actually, this festival often takes place during 15 days. Local circuses also take part in with tremendous interesting activities and stages for audiences. Besides, there are also hundreds of stalls selling a variety of products from foods to agricultural tools. Often times, these stalls attract many tourists and local people to come, manipulate and buy. As a smart traveller to Myanmar, this is an occasion that you cannot miss to explore and learn more about the culture of burmese people. Attending this festival, tourists will enjoy and learn more about the custom and traditions of the local citizens in Bagan.

There are many other interesting festivals over the country of Myanmar. However, Ananda pagoda festival is always one of the best options for you. Coming to visit this beautiful pagoda, you also have an opportunity to experience a trip to Myanmar top attractions. This is an exceptionally good chance to explore the culture, custom and traditional life of the people in this country and in the beautiful city Bagan.