The Shwedagon Pagoda

The Shwedagon stands on Singuttara Hill above Yangon, a bell-shaped stupa of around ninety-nine metres covered in gold plate and gold leaf, with a crown of gold, silver and set stones at the top. Tradition dates the foundation to the lifetime of the Buddha and holds that eight hairs are enshrined in it; archaeological opinion puts the earliest construction rather later. The platform around it is a dense field of subsidiary shrines, prayer halls, bells and planetary posts, and it is busy from before dawn until late.

History

Legend holds that the pagoda was built more than 2,500 years ago, in the Buddha's lifetime, to enshrine relics of four Buddhas, among them eight strands of the Buddha's hair. An earthquake in 1768 brought down the top of the stupa, and in 1775 King Hsinbyushin raised it to its present height of 99 metres, not counting the crown umbrella (Wikipedia, Shwedagon Pagoda).

Highlights

• The main stupa - a gilded bell around ninety-nine metres tall, plated in gold rather than painted.
• The platform - a crowded terrace of shrines, halls and bells around the base.
• The planetary posts - eight stations for the days of the week, where worshippers pour water over an image.
• The Maha Ganda bell - a twenty-three tonne bell that was dropped in the river and recovered in the nineteenth century.

When to go

November to February is the cool dry season. Late afternoon into evening is when the gold works and the platform fills with worshippers; the pagoda stays open and lit into the night. Full moon days bring very large crowds.

Before you go

Shoes and socks come off at the entrance and the marble is genuinely scorching from late morning to mid-afternoon. Shoulders and knees must be covered and wraps are lent at the gate. Foreign visitors pay an entry fee, and the lifts on some entrances are not always running.

Nearby

Kandawgyi Lake is immediately east and the colonial grid of downtown Yangon is a short drive south.

Key facts