Chaukhtatgyi Reclining Buddha

The Chaukhtatgyi image is around sixty-six metres long and lies in a hangar-like open-sided shelter of steel and corrugated roofing, which is not what most people expect and is part of the effect. The figure has glass eyes, a heavily made-up face, and soles of the feet divided into a hundred and eight squares showing the marks that identify a Buddha, which is the detail worth walking to the end for. The surrounding quarter is full of monasteries, and monks and novices are around the site all day.

What you actually see

• The image - sixty-six metres of reclining Buddha in painted plaster over brick.
• The soles - a hundred and eight squares of symbols on the feet, read as the marks of a Buddha.
• The face - glass eyes and painted features, unusually expressive at this scale.
• The shelter - a plain industrial roof over the whole thing, and monastery buildings all around.

When to go

November to February is the comfortable season. Mornings are quieter; the shelter is open-sided so heat rather than rain is the issue. Full moon days bring worshippers in numbers.

Honest expectations

The building is a shed and there is no attempt at architecture around the image, which surprises visitors expecting a temple. Shoes off, and the floor is hot. Twenty minutes covers it unless you stay to watch the monastery life around it.

Nearby

The Shwedagon Pagoda is a short drive southwest, and Kandawgyi Lake is between them.