Myanmar country is located in the Southeast Asian which accumulated the cultural beauties of excellence. This country owns many captivating attractions for visitors from all over the world to drop in and discover! Myanmar is home to thousands of religious and spiritual wonders. Not only that, the country is famous for the boasts astonishing natural beauty, and rural communities with traditions. In this article, we offer the top of best Myanmar temples in the exquisitely constructed temples.
The thousands of temples located in Myanmar, there are several that stood out from the rest in terms of historical significance and physical appearance. These are the most impressive testament to the religious devotion of Myanmar’s people and rulers. Unlike anywhere, Myanmar is one of the richest archaeological sites in Asia and provide views on earth.
Burmese style temple architecture
In Myanmar country, the temple plays an important role in the life of local people, the vast majority of whom is Buddhist.
Over 80% of the population worships Buddhism which is the most represented religion in Myanmar. Because Myanmar is considered to be the land of Buddhist in the world so Buddhism is a attraction of any traveler’s visit to Myanmar.
Pagodas and temples in Myanmar are appeared from city centers to remote islands and mountaintops. When you join in the traveling tours, you will understand and discover Buddhist culture or even a mere walk through any town. Yangon’s glittering Shwedagon Pagoda and Bagan’s thousands of ancient structures are must-see landscapes. As you known, with Burmese people, Buddhism is such an integral part of life, so travelers will learn and practice the traditions associated with the religion. For example, you need to take off shoes, wear solemn clothes the before entering a temple. If you book the guide tour, you will discover more about Buddhism in Myanmar during your trip.
The old temples in Bagan were built in the 12th century. Both are spectacular and worth a visit. Like to Angkor, Bagan is growing in popularity now that Myanmar is more open to travelers. Angkor is drier and the setting is on a giant plain. Buddhist temples save the most beautiful landscapes in Myanmar. Actually, these temples are influenced by temples in neighboring countries by a number of distinct features. There are many typical Burmese temple architecture such as the Pyatthat, the hti, and guardian Naga serpents and Chinthe.
1. Shwedagon Pagoda
Shwedagon Pagoda is the symbol of Buddhist Temples in Myanmar. Located in Yangon, this 99 metres Pagoda is also known as The Golden Pagoda due to the massive amount of gold used to build the structure.
Shwedagon Pagoda is the oldest Pagoda Temple in Myanmar, which was built more than 2000 years ago. Some people even said that this temple was made back when Buddha was still alive as a human. The main stupa is the temple’s most impressive structure. The stupa is surrounded by 64 small stupas, standing on here, you will grace views from above.
The main stupa is high 99 meters. It is covered with gold plating and enshrines the sacred Buddha relics. Its core is solid and not open to the public. The hti is decorated with thousands of diamonds and other precious stones. At the top of the pagoda, an ornament shaped as an umbrella with golden bells attached to it is setted up.
If you want to see the reflection of the rays of the sun from the huge diamond on top of the gold plated hti in various colors like red, purple and orange, you should stand in the right spot of the pagoda platform.
2. Golden Rock Pagoda
In Myanmar, there is a single most unique Pagoda that is very interesting for tourists. The name of that pagoda is Kyaiktiyo Pagoda or also known as Golden Rock Pagoda. The selling point of this pagoda is not its number or exquisiteness like other pagodas and temples around Myanmar. The most unique thing about this pagoda is that it’s built right on top of a Golden Rock that is situated right on the edge of a valley, with balance that defy the gravity.
The locals believe the boulder, which sits 1,100 meters above sea level, is held in place through a miracle of Buddha; the pagoda is said to contain a strand of his hair. This place is a sacred place for the pilgrimage of Myanmar Buddhist. Golden Rock is about a five-hour drive from Yangon, and also involves a long walk. Walking on the staircase, you will approach to the pagoda complex that houses several viewing platforms and Buddha shrines. When visiting this place, visitors are charged for $6.
3. Shwesandaw Pagoda.
If you want to grace the best sunset view over the plains of Bagan, you should visit Shwesandaw Pagoda. You should find out the amazing point to stand in order to admire the masses of temples scattered across the land. One suggestion for you is to prepare your camera for some truly spectacular photographs. And you can keep the clips when climbing the steps from the side of the pagoda past the five terraces.
Hailed as The Highest Pagoda Temple in Myanmar, Shwemawdaw Temple stood at a spectacular height of 114 meters, a whole 15 meters taller than the famous Shwedagon Pagoda. Built over a thousand years ago by the the locals, Shwemawdaw truly deserve its name (Shwemawdaw = Great Golden God, in English) with its massive structures.
The land around the Temple itself is quiet and have nothing special, but the temple is one of the most sacred Buddhist Heritage Site because it’s one of the few temples that held several of genuine relics from Buddha. According to legend, the hair strands were given to two Burmese merchants by the Gautama Buddha himself. In the historical, tooth relics were enshrined in the pagoda.
Another interesting thing about Shwemawdaw Pagoda is the Shrine. Surrounding the stupa are eight shrines and statues of Nat spirits. There is one shrine for each day of the week and two for Wednesday, that is split in two. Each of shrine has special meaning in accordance with Eastern astrology. On the birthday, people come to pray to the shrine.
4. Bagan temple
Housing the highest amount of Buddhist Temple in the entire world, Bagan Temple is one of the most sacred pilgrimage site for any Buddhist followers. This number itself is only a pale reflection from its most prosperous period, back in 11th century.
Most of the temples in Bagan is not very significant, but there are some that managed to become famous because of their uniqueness such as the Ananda temple and Shwezigon Pagoda.
Currently, UNESCO considers the Bagan archeological belong to its tentative list as a future World Heritage Site. For people who want to visit Bagan Temples, they must be careful. Going around at the hottest time of the day can get very hot and sweaty, and if the person is not strong enough, they can get a heatstroke.
5. Taung Kalat Temple
Located at the top of Mount Popa, which in itself a religious site for Buddhist people, Taung Kalat is a very famous Buddhist Temple Monastery in Myanmar. To reach Taung Kalat, you have to hike to the top of the mountain then climb a stairway with exactly 777 flights.
Next, you should walk up the stairs to see two giant golden colored Chinthes, a lion like creature that guards the entrance to most temples in Burma. Once arrived in the monastery area, you need to take off your shoes and socks as is usual in Burmese temples. Entrancing the region, you will find a golden spiralled pagoda surrounded by many smaller pagodas.
Once you arrived at Taung Kalat Monastery, you can see the most breathtaking sight in the whole Myanmar. This made it worth the time spent to reach this place. For people who worried about supplies, you don’t need to. Outside the monastery, there are various small stalls that sell small things like supplies and souvenirs for tourists.
6. Mahamuni Temple
Mahamuni Pagoda is one of the Buddhist Temple located in Mandalay. Mahamuni Pagoda is not exactly known for the Temple itself, but rather, the Buddha Statue located inside the Temple. In fact, the name Mahamuni Pagoda originated from the name of the statue, Mahamuni Buddha.
The Mahamuni is seated on a very ornate 1.80 meters high pedestal. Bhumisparsha Mudra posture is height of 3.80 meters and weighs about 6½ tons. When people devotee paid respect to it, they will put a of gold leaf on the statue. Therefore, the Mahamuni Buddha is covered with gold leaf for long time.
7. Shwezigon Pagoda
The Shwezigon Pagoda is one of the oldest and most impressive monuments of Bagan. It is one of the many temples located in Bagan. It is said that Shwezigon Pagoda is one of the few unique individual temples in Bagan and is one of the oldest and most impressive monuments of Bagan. Tourist will be attractive by the huge gold plated pagoda glimmering in the sun. The design of the Shwezigon Pagoda has been copied many times across Burma over the centuries. Shwezigon pagoda is one of the fifty five located in Bagan. It has the bell shaped dome above which rises a series of concentric mouldings ending in a finial and crowned by an umbrella.
The inner one was built by the father king Anawrahta and covered with the stones by the son king Kyanzitthar. There are many images around the terraces of the pagoda, which reflect the scenes in the previous lives of the Buddha. All festivals in this pagoda are held in great veneration by the Buddhists of the whole of Myanmar.
There is a small temple enshrines a standing Buddha with the height of 13 feets. A square stone located on the side of the east pillar with Mon inscriptions on all four sides dedicated by king Kyanzittha.
