Monywa

Begin your tour by being picked up early in the morning at your hotel in Mandalay and drive to Monywa. Here, you will visit the Thanboddhay and Bodhi Tahtaung Pagodas. The Thanboddhay pagoda is very different from other sacred buildings as it is surrounded by a wall and its entrance is adorned by giant elephants. The impressive highlight here is the 43 m high pagoda covered by turrets. The Bodhi Tahtaung pagoda is located in front of a grove of bodhi trees. Its construction was funded by Buddhists from around the world and each of the donor countries is represented in an exhibition of images over the pagoda's 32 floors. Phowintaung is across Monywa on the other side of the Chindwin River. Although there is a lot to discover, only a few foreign tourists come here. Hundreds of thousands of Buddha statues decorate the sandstone caves of Phowintaung and a variety can be discovered during a visit to the site.