Mingun

King Bodawpaya began a stupa at Mingun in 1790 that was intended to stand around a hundred and fifty metres tall. Work stopped at roughly fifty and the base is what remains: a brick cube of enormous mass, split by huge fissures from the earthquake of 1839, with the ramps and lion guardians still visible. Beside it hangs the Mingun Bell, cast for the unfinished stupa and among the largest ringing bells anywhere at around ninety tonnes. A short walk north is the Hsinbyume Pagoda, white and built as seven wavy concentric terraces.

What you actually see

• Mingun Pahtodawgyi - the unfinished brick base, torn by earthquake fissures wide enough to walk into.
• The Mingun Bell - around ninety tonnes of bronze, cast for the stupa that was never finished.
• Hsinbyume Pagoda - white concentric wavy terraces representing the mountain ranges of Buddhist cosmology.
• The guardian lions - two colossal ruined chinthe on the riverbank, shattered by the same earthquake.

When to go

November to February is dry and cool. Boats from Mandalay leave in the morning and return early afternoon, which sets the shape of the day. The river is lower and the landing steeper in the hot season.

Honest expectations

Climbing the unfinished stupa has been restricted at times because of the earthquake damage, and the rules change. Shoes off across the whole site, and the brick is punishing in the sun. The boat is the pleasant part; the village itself is small and touts work the landing.

Nearby

Sagaing is downstream on the same bank, and Mandalay is an hour back down the river.