Temples play an important function in Burmese people’s life because most of Burmese are Buddhist. On Myanmar tours, you should come to the temple and pray, send flowers and burn incense sticks, or you can also ask to seek a monk for advice during vital events like Buddhist holidays and cremations. Many men at young ages have become monks, regularly for a short time. Every morning, they leave their temples and walk through a lot of streets while holding an alms bowl to receive merit like food from villagers.
Architecture in the Burmese style
Temples of Buddha have fascinating structures in this country for you to visit while on Myanmar travel tour. Temples in Burma are different from those in other countries nearby in terms of some particular features. One of the most outstanding architecture is in the Pyatthat with metal sheets which are delicate, as well as Naga serpents and Chinthe as guardians.
Chinthe guardians and Naga serpents
At the majority of Burmese pagodas and temples, there is typically a pair of Chinthe, a mythological creature just like lions protecting the grounds, at entrance gates. Naga serpents are often guardians of stairways to temple buildings entrance. Naga is considered as the Buddhism protector because it helped shelter the Buddha against heavy rain while he was doing his meditation under a tree of Bodhi.
Pyatthat multi-tiered roof
A Pyatthat is a multi-tiered roof which is obviously ornamented in the Burmese style, with each tier dwindling in its size when it comes up to the top. Temples in Burma have roof ends decorated with work metal sheets of delicate ornamental, which can make your Burma tours interesting to think of.
Hti finial
A lot of pagodas in Myanmar have a hti on their top, a style of Burma and in the form of a ceremonial umbrella that is multi-tiered. Most pagodas of significance like Shwedagon in the city of Yangon has the hti made of gold and filled with diamonds or gems.
Most ancient pagodas and temples in Burma
Since countless centuries pagodas have been built to enshrine relics of the Buddha or a very important monk. Most pagodas in Myanmar are locked and not accessible to the public, even people on tours. They usually enshrine bones, teeth or one or more strands of hair.
The most ancient pagodas can be seen in the city of Yangon. According to the legend, the oldest ones in this country may date back to around 2,500 years. The first like the Shwedagon, and the Sule the Botataung might have been built when the Buddha was alive. The initial structures were not as big as they are now. They have been developed and made larger several times after many centuries.
Over Bagan plains in the center of Burma, there are the ruins of many pagodas as well as temples which appeared from the 11th to 13th century while the Bagan Kingdom was at the peak of his power.
Well-known temples and pagodas, Burmese Buddha images
The most vital site of pilgrimage
The most vital site of pilgrimage in Burma is the pagoda of Shwedagon, which is also the most attractive landmark in the city of Yangon and the oldest one in this country according to the legend. The Buddha has hair strands whose height is 99 meter and it is made of gold, helping it dominate the skyline of Yangon.
The tallest pagoda
During holidays to Myanmar, you can see Shwemawdaw in Bago, whose height is largest in this country with 114 meters. It was constructed in the 10th century in order to carry out Buddha relics.
The most highly revered image of Buddha
Mahamuni is the most highly revered image of Buddha and it is placed in Mahamuni pagoda of Mandalay. Burmese people believe this image was erected while the Buddha was alive and he was visiting the Arakan Kingdom of West Burma.
The biggest images of Buddha
Throughout this country, there is a great deal of very large and beautiful Buddha images for you to enjoy Myanmar tours. Out of them are the Chauk Htat Gyi with the length of 65 meters and the Shwethalyaung Buddha with the height of 55 meters in Bago, the latter is believed to be aged at over 1000 years.
The Nga Htat Gyi Pagoda is a very huge and found in Yangon. This Buddha has 5 stories and its height is 14 meter. This image was cut from a small piece of white marble which had been enshrined in the pagoda in the year 2008.
Monywa town located in the center of Myanmar is well-known for the Monywa Buddhas. This Buddha of 90 meters long and 116 meters tall is located on the top of a nearby hill.
