Myanmar

The 99-meter gold-plated stupa (112 meters including the hti spire) atop Singuttara Hill in Yangon, Myanmar's most sacred Buddhist monument, traditionally believed to enshrine eight hairs of Gautama Buddha brought by the merchant brothers Tapussa and Bhallika alongside relics of three preceding Buddhas. Raised by Queen Shin Saw Pu in the 15th century and rebuilt by King Hsinbyushin in 1774, its crown is set with thousands of diamonds.

UNESCO Tentative List (Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill, 2018)No. 1 Shwedagon Pagoda Road, Singuttara Hill, Dagon / Bahan Township, Yangon

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A masterpiece of early Bagan Buddhist architecture in the Mandalay Region, begun around 1091 and completed in 1105 CE by King Kyanzittha after the legendary Nandamula Cave in the Himalayas. Laid out as a symmetrical Greek cross measuring 88 meters along each axis and crowned by a 51-meter gilded shikhara spire, its central cube enshrines four 9.5-meter gilded teak standing Buddhas facing the cardinal directions alongside over 1,400 glazed Jataka terracotta plaques, inscribed within the Bagan UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Bagan, 2019)Southeast of Tharabar Gate, Old Bagan, Nyaung-U Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar

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One of the three most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Myanmar (alongside Shwedagon and Mahamuni), perched at an elevation of 1,100 meters atop Mount Kyaiktiyo in Kyaikto Township, Mon State. The sanctuary is famed for its gold-leaf-covered granite boulder standing about 7.6 meters high (15 meters in circumference, weighing over 600 tons) balanced on the brink of a sheer cliff, crowned by a 7.3-meter stupa believed to enshrine a single strand of the Buddha's hair passed down by the hermit Taik Tha.

One of the Three Most Sacred National Buddhist Pilgrimage Sites of MyanmarMount Kyaiktiyo (Kelasa Hills), Kinpun Base Camp Road, Kyaikto Township, Mon State, Myanmar

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A premier Buddhist pilgrimage sanctuary in southwestern Mandalay, originally built in 1785 by King Bodawpaya (reconstructed in 1896) to enshrine the 3.82-meter, 6.5-ton bronze Mahamuni Buddha image brought from Mrauk U in Arakan in 1784. Revered as a living likeness of the Buddha, its body is covered in a 15-centimeter-thick layer of gold leaf applied by devotees over two centuries, and every morning at 4:00 AM senior monks perform an elaborate ritual of washing the Buddha's face and brushing his teeth.

One of the Three Most Sacred National Buddhist Pilgrimage Sites of Myanmar82nd Street, Chanmyathazi Township, Southwest Mandalay, Mandalay Region, Myanmar

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A 49-meter gilded bell-shaped stupa on the eastern bank of the Irrawaddy River at Nyaung-U, begun around 1059 CE by King Anawrahta where a sacred white elephant knelt to enshrine the Buddha's frontal bone, collar-bone, and tooth relic replica, and completed in 1102 CE by King Kyanzittha alongside two Old Mon stone inscription pillars and the historic shrine of the 37 Nats.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (2019)Nyaung-U, Đông Bắc cố đô Bagan, bờ Đông sông Irrawaddy, Vùng Mandalay, Myanmar

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The tallest Buddhist monument on the ancient plain of Bagan in the Mandalay Region, rising to a height of 61 meters (201 feet) inside the southeastern quarter of the Old Bagan walled city. Erected between circa 1144 and 1150 CE by King Alaungsithu (Sithu I) of the Pagan Dynasty to honor the Omniscience (Sabbannuta-nana) of Gautama Buddha, the temple features an innovative asymmetrical two-cube vertical composition that ushered in the bright, soaring architectural style of the Middle Bagan period and was inscribed within the Bagan UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Bagan Archaeological Area, 2019)Old Bagan Citadel Zone, 500 meters southwest of Ananda Temple, Nyaung-U Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar

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The largest and most massive brick Buddhist monument on the ancient plain of Bagan in the Mandalay Region, erected between 1167 and 1170 CE by King Narathu of the Pagan Dynasty. Laid out on a monumental Greek-cross plan modeled after Ananda Temple and rising across six receding stepped terraces like a red-brick pyramid, the sanctuary is celebrated across Asia for its precision mortarless-looking brickwork, its mysterious twelfth-century bricked-up inner corridors, and its rare twin seated statues of Kassapa and Gautama Buddha side by side in the western shrine, inscribed within the Bagan UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Bagan Archaeological Area, 2019)Central Bagan Plain, 1 km southeast of Thatbyinnyu Temple, Nyaung-U Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar

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The crowning architectural jewel of the Late Bagan period in the Mandalay Region, erected in 1183 CE by King Narapatisithu (Sithu II) near Minnanthu Village on the eastern Bagan plain. Combining the soaring two-story vertical elevation and bright interior lighting of Thatbyinnyu Temple with the symmetrical four-porch plan and precision brickwork of Dhammayangyi Temple, Sulamani is celebrated across Myanmar for its intricate exterior lime-stucco carvings, turquoise-glazed cornice plaques, and multi-layered twelfth-to-eighteenth-century Buddhist murals, inscribed within the Bagan UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Bagan Archaeological Area, 2019)Minnanthu Village Area, eastern Bagan Plain, Nyaung-U Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar

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A royal Buddhist pagoda complex at the southeastern foot of Mandalay Hill in Mandalay, founded in 1857 CE by King Mindon Min as the spiritual centerpiece of his new capital and the textual foundation for the Fifth Buddhist Council of 1871. Surrounding the 57-meter gilded Maha Lawkamarazein Stupa stand 729 whitewashed brick shrines (Kyauksa Gu), each sheltering a double-sided white Sagyin marble slab engraved with the complete Pali Tipitaka canon, celebrated worldwide as the World's Largest Book and inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2013.

UNESCO Memory of the World Register (Documentary Heritage, 2013)Southeast foot of Mandalay Hill, 62nd Street, Aungmyethazan Township, Mandalay, Myanmar

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A snow-white Buddhist pagoda rising above the west bank of the Irrawaddy River at Mingun Village in the Sagaing Region, eleven kilometers upriver from Mandalay. Built in 1816 CE by Crown Prince Bagyidaw (later King Bagyidaw of the Konbaung Dynasty) in loving memory of his first consort Princess Hsinbyume (Lady of the White Elephant), the entire monument is a three-dimensional architectural model of Buddhist cosmology: seven concentric, wave-like whitewashed terraces represent the Seven Cosmic Mountain Ranges and Seven Seas surrounding Mount Meru and the celestial Sulamani shrine at its summit.

National Historic and Architectural Monument of Myanmar (Mingun Heritage Zone)Mingun Village, west bank of the Irrawaddy River, 11 km north of Mandalay, Sagaing Region, Myanmar

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The premier Buddhist pilgrimage sanctuary of Inle Lake in Nyaungshwe Township, Shan State, situated beside the floating village of Ywama at an elevation of 880 meters on the Shan Plateau. Enshrining five twelfth-century Buddha images traditionally brought to the lake on the prow of King Alaungsithu's royal barge and covered over the centuries with so many layers of pure gold leaf that they have become rounded golden orbs, the pagoda is famous across Southeast Asia for its eighteen-day Thadingyut festival procession aboard the gilded Karaweik royal barge towed by hundreds of one-legged Intha rowers.

Premier Buddhist Sanctuary of Shan State (Inle Lake UNESCO Biosphere Reserve)Ywama Floating Village, southwestern Inle Lake, Nyaungshwe Township, Shan State, Myanmar

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A natural karst limestone cave sanctuary perched at 1,426 meters on the Myelat Ridge overlooking Pone Taloke Lake in Pindaya Town, Danu Self-Administered Zone, Shan State, Myanmar. Revered as Shwe U Min (the Golden Cave), its 150-meter subterranean labyrinth houses more than 8,000 Buddha images cast or carved in bronze, white Sagyin marble, teakwood, dry lacquer, and gilded brick stucco dating from the eighteenth century (earliest dated inscription 1773) to the present day.

Historic Buddhist Pilgrimage Sanctuary and Archaeological Heritage Site of Shan State, MyanmarLimestone ridge west of Pindaya Town, Danu Self-Administered Zone, Shan State, Myanmar

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A fortress-like sandstone Buddhist temple built in 1535 to 1536 by King Min Bin of the Mrauk U Kingdom (Arakan) on Pokhaung Hill in Mrauk U, Rakhine State, Myanmar. Officially titled Ran Aung Zeya (Temple of Victory) and popularly known as Shite-thaung (Shrine of 80,000 Buddhas), its three concentric vaulted corridors are carved with six tiers of sandstone reliefs depicting Buddhist cosmology, Jataka tales, and sixteenth-century Arakanese court life, while an adjacent pavilion shelters the eighth-century Sanskrit pillar of King Anandachandra.

Principal Archaeological Monument of the Ancient Capital of Mrauk U (UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List), Rakhine StatePokhaung Hill, north of the Royal Palace ruins, Mrauk U, Rakhine State, Myanmar

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A sheer 737-meter basaltic volcanic plug rising on the southwestern flank of extinct Mount Popa in Kyaukpadaung Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar, about 50 kilometers southeast of Bagan. Celebrated as the Mount Olympus of Myanmar, the base of Taung Kalat houses the national pantheon shrine of the 37 Great Nats (guardian spirits headed by Thagyamin, Min Mahagiri, and Popa Medaw), while a covered stairway of 777 steps climbs the precipitous rock column to a crown of gilded Buddhist stupas and Weizza meditation shrines.

Principal Sacred Center of Myanmar Nat Spirit Veneration, Buddhist Pilgrimage Site, and ASEAN Heritage National ParkSouthwestern slope of Mount Popa, Kyaukpadaung Township, Nyaung-U District, Mandalay Region, Myanmar

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The premier Roman Catholic cathedral in Myanmar and seat of the Archdiocese of Yangon, located at 372 Bo Aung Kyaw Street in Botahtaung Township, Yangon. Initiated through the vision of Bishop Paul Ambroise Bigandet (MEP), designed by the renowned Dutch architect Jos Cuypers, and constructed under the supervision of Father Hendrick Janzen between 1895 and 1911 in red-brick Neo-Gothic style, the twin-spired cathedral withstood both the 1930 Bago earthquake and World War II bombing and welcomed Pope Francis in November 2017.

Metropolitan Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yangon and Blue-Plaque Yangon City Heritage Landmark372 Bo Aung Kyaw Street, Botahtaung Township, Yangon, Myanmar

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An internationally renowned Theravada Vipassana (Insight) meditation center located at 80-A Than Lwin Road in Golden Valley (Shwe Taung Gon), Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar. Founded in 1990 by the venerable master Sayadaw U Pandita (1921 to 2016), principal heir to the lineage of Mahasi Sayadaw and author of In This Very Life, Panditarama (along with its Hse Main Gon Forest Center in Bago) has trained thousands of Burmese, Western, and Vietnamese monks, nuns, and lay yogis in intensive Four Foundations of Mindfulness practice.

Premier International Satipatthana Vipassana Meditation Center of Myanmar80-A Than Lwin Road, Golden Valley, Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar

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The historic world headquarters of the modern Satipatthana Vipassana (Insight) meditation movement, established in November 1947 on an eight-hectare (20-acre) wooded campus at 16 Sasana Yeiktha Road in Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar. Administered by the Buddha Sasana Nuggaha Organization founded by Sir U Thwin and led from 1949 until 1982 by the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw (U Sobhana, Questioner at the Sixth Buddhist Council), this monastery has trained over a million local and international meditators and inspired more than 300 branch centers across Asia and the West.

Historic Mother Monastery of the Global Contemporary Satipatthana Vipassana Movement16 Sasana Yeiktha Road, Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar

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The mother forest monastery of the international Pa-Auk lineage, nestled in dense tropical woodland along the western foothills of the Taungnyo Range fifteen kilometers south of Mawlamyine in Mon State, Myanmar. Founded as a quiet forest hermitage in 1926 and developed into a worldwide meditation sanctuary since 1981 under the guidance of Most Venerable Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw (Bhaddanta Acinna), the monastery is renowned for teaching the complete systematic path of Samatha (the Four Jhanas and forty meditation subjects) and Vipassana (insight into mentality-materiality and dependent origination) strictly according to the Pali Tipitaka and the fifth-century Visuddhimagga, welcoming hundreds of Vietnamese monastics and international practitioners for long-term forest retreats.

Premier International Forest Meditation Sanctuary of the Visuddhimagga Tradition in MyanmarPa-Auk Village, 15 km south of Mawlamyine on the Mudon Highway, Mon State, Myanmar

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An ancient octagonal gilded stupa rising 44 to 46 meters at the exact geometric center (Mile Zero) of downtown Yangon in Kyauktada Township, Myanmar. Known in the Mon language as Kyaik Athok (the Stupa Enshrining the Sacred Hair Relic), the sanctuary houses a revered Hair Relic of Gautama Buddha alongside the shrine of the ancient city guardian spirit Sule Bo Bo Gyi, who according to legend pointed out the location of Singuttara Hill for the building of the Shwedagon Pagoda. Selected in 1852 by urban planners William Montgomerie and Alexander Fraser as the focal point of modern Yangon's gridiron street layout, Sule Pagoda stands surrounded by City Hall, Maha Bandula Park, and neighboring Christian, Islamic, and Hindu houses of worship.

Yangon Urban Heritage Landmark and Historic Mile-Zero Centerpiece of Downtown YangonJunction of Sule Pagoda Road and Maha Bandula Road, Kyauktada Township, Yangon, Myanmar

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The World Peace Pagoda (Kaba Aye) and Great Artificial Cave Complex (Maha Pasana Guha) in Mayangon Township, Yangon, Myanmar. Initiated in 1950 and completed in 1952 under Prime Minister U Nu to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Buddhist Era and host the historic Sixth Buddhist Council (Chattha Sangayana, 1954 to 1956), the complex features a 34-meter hollow circular stupa enshrining sacred relics of Chief Disciples Sariputta and Moggallana along with an 800-kilogram pure silver Buddha image, standing beside the 10,000-seat Maha Pasana Guha assembly cave where 2,500 Theravada elders (including the Vietnamese Buddhist delegation) recited and authenticated the canonical Pali Tipitaka.

Historic Venue of the Sixth World Buddhist Council (1954 to 1956) and Seat of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka CommitteeKaba Aye Pagoda Road, Mayangon Township, Yangon, Myanmar

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