Places - Shan @ Myanmar.com

Last updated on Sunday, May 21, 2006.

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Pindaya Cave

Pindaya, 45 kilometers from Kalaw, is the site of ancient caves and a boulevard of some of Myanmar's biggest banyan trees.The caves are about of 200 million years old and since ancient times they have been places of worship, There are 8,094 Buddha images made out of wood, marble, alabaster, brick, cement and lacquer, enshrined in the niches and corners of winding caves. The limestone cave is 490 feet in length. The numerous stalactites and stalagmites in the caves are given names such Fairy Princess Loom, and Posts for tying horses and elephants.

Wish-Fulfilling Bamboo Reed Phaya

This is located in Mong Nung Village over 50 miles north of Kyaington in eastern Shan State. Upalan (Ashin Maha guru Nanda) started the building in AD 1118 and completed it in 1120 in pursuance of a dream he had.
The pagoda was built of bamboo strips and gilded, but it seemed as though it was built in gold. The posture of the Buddha image here is cross-legged, both hands upturned with eyes downcast. According to the study of the posture of Buddha, it is read as Jana Mudra or Yoga udra or Thamadi Mudra.

Inle Phaungdaw Oo

Thirty 30 kilometers south of Taunggyi is Inle lake, famous for its unique leg-rowers, floating villages and colourful markets. The Phaung-Daw-Oo pagoda (pagoda on the big raft) is enshrined with five Buddha images which are celebrated in an annual festival in Thadingyut (October). It is also a famous tourist attraction.

Mywe Daw Kakku Relic Pagoda

The location of the pagoda is at the Relic Village, Kakku Village-tract, in Taunggyi. Although it contained relics of Gautama Buddha, the name refers to Kakkusana Buddha, the first of the Buddha world.

Inlay Lake (Wetland) Sanctuary

The famous Inlay Lake (Wetland) Sanctuary is located among Nyaung Shwe, Pinlaung and Peh Kon Townships of Southern Shan State in the eastern part of Myanmar at an elevation of over 2,950 feet. The Lake covers an area of 642.32 square miles. You can reach there by car, by air or by train depending on your choice of transport. If you go by car, you can drive from Yangon to Nyaung Shwe, that is 430 miles. If you want to fly, you can do it from Yangon to Heho, 335 miles by air, then drive from Heho to Nyaung Shwe, 14 miles by car. If you prefer train, Yangon via Thazi to Shwe Nyaung is 320 miles along the track then drive for 10 miles from Shwe Nyaung to Nyaung Shwe.

Inlay Lake (Wetland) Sanctuary was established in 1985 with the aims to conserve and protect natural vegetation, wetland birds and fresh water fishes in Inlay Sanctuary and to conserve geological features and scenic beauty of mountain areas.

Among the vegetative types growing in the area, Oryza granulate, Dalbergia spinosa, Hypericum prunizolium, Coladium spp, Desmodium oblongum, Enhydra zluctuans, Panicum sarmentosum grow on the natural floating islets. Salix tetrasperma, Ficus spp, Crataexa nurvala, Mitragyna parvizolia, Salmalia malabarica syn, Bombax malabaricum are found in shallow water or on the shores. Moreover, Inlay Lake (Wetland) Sanctuary is home to 37 species of birds, 27 species of wetland birds, 14 species of migratory birds, and 40 species of freshwater fishes, otter and turtle.

At present, the Ministry of Forestry of the Union of Myanmar has been carrying out programmes for the protection of land and wetland birds, conservation of their natural habitat and refuge, and construction of bird watch-towers. By visiting Inlay Lake (Wetland) Sanctuary, you surely can experience the world-renowned wetland ecosystem nearly 3,000 feet above sea level, enjoy the scenic beauty of the Shan plateau, research on various types of birds, study endemic fish species such as Ngapweh (Chaudhuria caudata) and Ngaku-Shinpa (Silurus bumanensis), and marvel at the traditional agriculture practiced by the lake-dwellers.

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