Mandalay Travel Guide - Mandalay Hill

The dominant geographical structure on the plain of Mandalay is Mandalay Hill which is 790 feet high. The city actually got its name from the name of Mandalay Hill. (The official name of the city is Yadanapon or Ratanapura). It is also one of the places in Mandalay that is worth visiting. There are a number of pagodas on the hill and the view from the top of the hill is also breathtaking.

Legend

Legend is that Gautama Buddha himself visited the region and from the top of this hill, he pointed to the plain below and prophesied that a great city would emerge one day on this plain. According to this popular legend, on his visit to Mandalay Hill, Gautama Buddha met a certain ogress named Sandamukhi. Although she was an ogress, she was overwhelmed with the teaching of Gautama Buddha that she decided to devote the rest of her life to follow the teachings of Buddha. As a sign of humility, she cut off her breasts and offered them to Gautama. Buddha declined the offered as it is against the rules of Buddhists monks, but he prophesied that the ogress would one day become a great king and would build a great city on the plain below the foot of Mandalay Hill. The city would prosper and would become the centre of Buddhism. This is the popular story believed by many Buddhists in Myanmar. The true believer of this story is King Mindon who believed that he was the reincarnation of ogress Sandamukhi. And true to the legend, he built the great city, called Mandalay.

Going to Mandalay Hill

The cheapest way to go to Mandalay Hill is by bus. However, it is crowded and quite dangerous too. The easiest and most convenient way to go there is by hiring a taxi. You can hire the taxi for the whole day to travel all over Mandalay, including the hill. The best time to climb the hill is in the early morning or at sunset. Not only the weather is cool, you can also see the breathtaking view of the surrounding plain.

To the top

Chinthe at Mandalay Hill

If you don’t have enough time or enough stamina, you can climb up the hill by car up to the foot of the pagoda at the top of Mandalay Hill. From there, you can either climb up a few hundred steps, take an escalator or an elevator to the top of the hill. However, if you have enough time and stamina, our advice is to take the stair way from the beginning, that is, from the foot of the hill.

There are a total of 1729 steps leading up to the top of the Mandalay Hill. The entrance to the stairway (zaungdans) is guarded by two white chinthes (lions). The whole stairway is covered with roof and is a gentle climb. Along the way, there are many rest places (tazaungs) as well as small pagodas. There are also a number of stalls selling flowers, paper streamers, miniatures pennants, umbrellas, food, drinks and refreshment for the visitors and pilgrims. There are also a number of astrologers along the way.

The stairway and many tazaungs along the way are the merit and work of the Hermit U Khanti. He raised enough money from donation to repair and rebuild the many ruined pagodas, temples, tazaungs and structures on Mandalay Hill. He also repaired many other pagodas all over Myanmar.

Editor’s Note: Many of the above information has been obtained from our reference book Lonely Planet Guide to Myanmar (Burma). This is a very good guide book on Myanmar, and essential book that you must bring on your trip to Myanmar. The book can be obtained from Amazon store.

Related posts:

1. Mandalay Travel Guide – Standing Buddha at Mandalay Hill
2. Mandalay Travel Guide – Mandalay Hill Summit
3. Mandalay Travel Guide – Mandalay Hill and Peshawar Relics of Gautama Buddha
4. Mandalay Travel Guide – History
5. Mandalay Travel Guide – Sandamuni Pagoda