This destinations are fascinating highlights in the north west of the country
This interesting small place is in Rakhine State, in the north west of the country. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Arakan from 1430 to 1785. Today Sittwe at the Gulf of Bengal is the capital.
Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is the most famous in the country. Every day pilgrim come from everywhere in the country and other countries to pay respect or are just curious what's up here and get a real surprise since this is huge, read more.
How to get there:
Best travel is by air or ship. There is a road into this area coming from Mandalay and Monywa but it is not possible to pass he mountains towards the west. Another road is from Tandwe which is actually the well known Ngapali Beach this is from the south and could be used but is in very bad condition which blocks most road travel in the country.
There are dozens of pagodas, stupas, temples, monasteries and other brick and stone buildings. Long time ago the city was much closer to the coast which brought many foreigners to trade mostly Portuguese and Dutch.
The old structures of the temples and ruins are still of remarkable good conditions. Although it is a bit difficult to get there it's worth the journey to spend a few days holidays. The place is a real exotic one of a similar culture level as Bagan and Borobudur in Indonesia. With a bit of fantasy even as Angkor Wat but the temples and pagodas are more widespread. They are no as compact a Angkor and also the travel infrastructure is much more cumbersome.
Ngapali Beach
Relax at Ngapali Beach which is the top waterfront destination in the country since more than 20 years. Now slowly two more destinations closer to Yangon become more popular after the they built a road to the west, read more.
Travel to Sittwe the capital of Rakhine.
Sittwe is a real rotten place it somehow appears that nothing was done anymore since the British left. From the tourism point of view there are mainly 3 interesting spots that is Nagpali Beach further south, Mrauk U up the Kaladan River and Chin Villages a bit to the north east. Ngapali is the top beach destination in the country and also the only with an airport which detach travelers from the awful road travel.
To the north is Bangladesh and the region bordering Myanmar is Cox Bazar >.
A river travel to Mrauk U
It needs a 60 km slow journey upstream the Kaladan River from Sittwe which is the capital of today Rakhine State. A 7 hour slow float from the port at the Bay of Bengal definitely a exotic river journey if was over shadowed in recent times with the conflicts Bangladeshi Muslims with the help of Arabs brought into the country. A passage to Mrauk U means old fashioned travel on an ancient steamer still floating since colonial times .
Travel back in time to Arakan
The main difference to other places in Burma is, most pagodas and temples are built with stone, and elsewhere they used bricks. The style is Kunhaung architecture which means smaller pagodas have been built at the corners of the lower basements.
This ordination hall was also used for novitiation and other celebration.
The city is not far away from the Bangladesh border and had its best days in the 16th - 17th centuries, when the Tudor Kings ruled England, the Moguls India and Ayutthaya was the capital of Siam. The place was fortified with a 30 km long wall and moats. The size was similar to London of that time and the ocean ships were able to navigate up the river.
More Mrauk U Pictures >
There are many pagodas around, a truly impressive structure is the
When on holiday in Burma this is a must see travel destination.
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