Bago

written by unknown at 11-Sep-2019

Bago was formerly known as Pegu and the city is formerly known as Hanthawaddy is the capital of Bago region. It is located 80 kilometres north-east of Yangon. It is a popular trip destination for tourists visiting Yangon due to proximity. Bago offers a perfect milieu of nature and culture to tourists. It is renowned for handicrafts as well as a vast wildlife sanctuary. Tourists can enjoy a wide range of experiences in Bago ranging from visiting an elephant camp to experiencing the urban life of Bago City.
It is just about an hour drive from Yangon. Bago is accessible easily from Yangon, Mandalay, Pyay and other cities.

 

 
How to get there:

·         by car, only about 2 hour drive from Yangon

·         by train,only about 1 hours 45 minute drive from Yangon


Attraction places to visit



Shwegugale Paya


A little beyond Myanmar Mahazedi, this Myanmar Shwegugale zedi has dark go around the circumference of the cylindrical superstructure. The monument dates back the reign of Myanmar King Byinnya Yan. Inside are 64 seated Myanmar Buddha figures. From here you can take a short cut back to the corner in the road, just before the Shwethalyaung Myanmar Bago pagoda.



Mahazedi Paya


The design of the Mahazedi Paya (Great Stupa), with its whitewashed stairways leading almost to the stupa’s summit, is unusual for southern Myanmar and certainly one of the more attractive religious buildings in Bago. Originally constructed in 1560 by King Bayinnaung, it was destroyed during the 1757 sacking of Bago. An 1860 attempt to rebuild it was unsuccessful and the great earthquake of 1930 levelled it, after which it remained a ruin. This current reconstruction was completed in 1982.

Shwemawdaw Paya

Shwemawdaw Paya stands northeast of Myanmar train station. You can’t miss this Myanmar stupa, as its height of 114 m dominates Bago town. The Shwemawdaw Myanmar paya is said to be over 1000 years old and was originally build by the Mon King to the height of 23m to enshrine two hairs of Buddha. In 825 Myanmar Shwemawdaw Paya was raised to 25m and then to 27m in 840. In 982 a sacred tooth was added to the collection in 1385 another tooth was added and this Myanmar stupa was rebuilt to a towering 84m. In 1492, the year Columbus sailed the Atlantic, a wind blew over the hti (umbrella like pinnacle) Hti Roe in Burmese and new one was raised. Myanmar King Bodawpaya, in the reconstruction of Myanmar Bago after the ravages of Myanmar king Alaungpaya, rebuilt the stupa to 91m in 1796, but from that point it has had a rather chequered career. A new Hti Roe was added in 1882, but a major earthquake in 1912 brought it down. Shwemawdaw Myanmar stupa was repaired, but in 1917 major quake again brought it down and caused serious damage in Myanmar. Again it was repaired, but in 1930 the biggest earthquake of them all completely leveled Shwemawdaw stupa and for the next years only the huge earth mound of the base remained.

Reconstruction of the Myanmar Shwemawdaw Paya commenced in 1952 and was completed in 1954, when Shwemawdaw paya reaches its present height. The glittering golden top of the stupa reaches 14m higher than Shwedagon in Yangon. At the northeastern corner of the stupa, a huge section of the Hti tipped by the 1917 earthquake has been mounted into the structure of the stupa. It is a sobering reminder of the power of such Myanmar geological disturbances.

 

Shwethalyaung Reclining Buddha

his Myanmar reclining Buddha is so big that from looking up from the bottom steps it’s impossible to determine exactly what’s ahead of you. The golden slap you see is only the torso. Measuring 55 m long and 16 m high and Myanmar Shwethalyaung Pagoda is 9 m longer than the reclining Buddha at Wat Pho in Bangkok, but still 19 m short of the Myanmar Buddha in Dawei. You’ll find the Shwethalyaung to the west of the Yangon Bago road, only a little more than 1 km to the Yangon side of Myanmar train station. A sign on the platform in front of the image gives the measurements of each body part the little finger alone extends 3.05m. The Shwethalyaung is reputed to be one of the most lifelike of all Myanmar reclining Buddhas. Myanmar Burmese people say the images represents Myanmar Buddha in a relaxing mode instead of parinibbana (death) since the eyes are wide open and the feet lie slightly splayed rather than parallel. Myanmar Bago Shwethalyaung Buddha is originally built of brick and stucco in 994 by the Mon King Migadepa II, Myanmar Bago pagoda Shwethalyaung was allowed to deteriorate and was then restored several times before the destruction of Myanmar Bago in 1757.

Hintha Gon Paya

Located behind the Shwemawdaw Pagoda, this shrine has good views over Myanmar Bago town from the roofed platform on the hilltop. According to Myanmar legend, this was the one point rising from the sea when the mythological bird landed here. A stature of the bird, looking rather like the figures on opium weights, tops the hill. This Myanmar stupa was built by U Khanti, the Burmese hermit monk who was also the architect of Myanmar Mandalay Hill. You can walk to it by taking the steps down the other side of the Shwemawdaw Paya from the main entrance. Across town we can visit Bago’s largest monastery – home to about 400 monks.

 

 

 

Winga Baw Elephant Camp
Just about 60 km north from Yangon, for any nature and animal lovers, don’t miss a natural setting in Bago region called Winga Baw Elephant camp, also known as one of few important elephant orphanage of Myanmar. Here you could get some heartwarming experiences with friendly young elephants that used to live in different remote forests around the country. Besides watching elephant dancing show at 8:30 am, enjoy your time playing with these gentle giants or feeding them with milk, canes or corns before witnessing them in their natural habitat as they roam over the nearby jungle. Be prepared for surprise as sometimes they could appear out of nowhere after a while hiding away among the bushes. Just slow down and have your sense put in turn for nature and wild beloved friends.

 

Kanbawzathadi Golden palace
The original site of Hanthawady which surrounded a former Mon place was excavated just south of the huge shwemawdaw Paya in Myanmar Bago. Walled in the Mon style, the square city measured 1.8 km along each side and has 20 gates. The palace compound in the center, known as Kanbawzathadi, housed Myanmar King Bayinnaung from 1553 to 1599 and covered 82 hectares. About 26 hectares of this area have been excavated. The small, well stocked, octagon shaped museum displays Mon, Siamese and Myanmar Bagan style Buddha; clay tobacco pipes; glazed tiles and pots; bronze weights and scales; pieces of the original teak stockade; and weaponry.

 

Kya Kha Wain Kyaung Monastery in Bago

During my Bago day trip (Bago is about 2 hour from Yangon, former capital of Myanmar), ones were able to see one of the monastic schools, Kha Khat Wain Kyaung Monastery is one of three largest monasteries in Myanmar. The sight of some 500 monks and novices filing out in the early morning from one of largest monasteries in Myanmar to collect alms is worth getting up early for. Otherwise, join the tour groups visiting at 10.30am to see the monks eating lunch in a giant hall. You’re free to wander around; most of the monks think it’s hilarious that tourists come and watch them eat, but the atmosphere is a bit zoo-like there is about 500,000 Buddhist monks in Myanmar and over 1000 monastic schools which providing primary and secondary education to more than 100,000 Myanmar children.

 

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