Located 11 km upriver from Mandalay, this enchanting former capital on the opposite side of the Irrawaddy River is something you absolutely must visit when staying in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is possible to combine a visit to Mingun with a visit to Sagaing.
Mingun can be reached by boat from Mandalay and is famous for it's impressive unfinished pagoda, as well as for the Hsinbyume Pagoda.
My suggestion
Mingun can be toured in half a day. It's time enough to see the Mingun Paya - the unfinished pagoda - as well as the Hsinbyume Pagoda and Mingun clock tower, the biggest intact clock tower in the world.
Lorette Vinet
Travel writer
5
Located 11 km upriver from Mandalay, this enchanting former capital on the opposite side of the Irrawaddy River is something you absolutely must visit when staying in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is possible to combine a visit to Mingun with a visit to Sagaing.
My suggestion
Take the boat to get there. It's not in the best condition, and it's very slow, but you have time to slowly – then, very quickly, almost impatiently – see the place you're heading for approaching.
Nat Ma Taung, which is also called Mount Victoria, is the highest point of the Chin Hills and also the highest point in Chin State. It is more than 3,000 m high, which makes its one of the highest in south-east Asia.
When you talk about Burma (nowadays also called Myanmar), people immediately think about Buddhist monks, a multitude of pagodas with golden roofs, unequalled cultural riches or luxuriant forests. They usually forget that the country has coasts along a large part of its borders and is a seaside destination that hasn't yet been discovered by mass tourism.
Myanmar's cuisine is perhaps less sophisticated than that of its neighbours but it is full of flavour and more consistent. You need to find the place where the locals eat - on the street - to admire the variety of meals made with rice and 5-10 sides. Feasts are savoured tepid in Myanmar so you need to come with a large appetite!
Mandalay and Bagan. Two names which will quickly be written in travel guides as two spiritual and historic destinations in the amazing and welcoming Burma. Two names that you must write on your list of places to visit in this country.