Page 248 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

246 INLE LAKE AND THE EAST PINDAYA
understated charm. Arid for most of the
PINDAYA year, the region explodes into a
N patchwork of green after the rains,
making this one of Shan State’s most
important agricultural zones. In and
Kantha Kyaung
around town, you’ll probably see some
HIGHWAY 41 of the many Danu and Pa-O who live in
6 to Taunggyi Bus to Taunggyi the area, resplendent underneath
Minibus
colourful headdresses.
KBZ Bank HIGHWAY 41
Pone
Taloke Lake
Shwe Oo Min Cave
• Daily 6am–6pm • K3000
Hidden away in the towering
Pindaya Nature limestone escarpment high above
Heho Airport, Nyaungshwe & Kalaw
Traveller Trekking
town, the spectacular Shwe Oo Min
Cave is one of eastern Myanmar’s great
sights: a cavernous, sepulchral cave,
crammed floor to ceiling with over
nine thousand Buddha statues,
gleaming magically in the dim light.
There has apparently been a pagoda at
S H W E O O M I N P A G O D A S T R E E T
Hsin Khaung the cave’s entrance since the third
Taung Kyaung
century BC, and townsfolk like to
regale visitors with the legend that the
grotto was inhabited by a giant spider
which took a fancy to local princesses
and imprisoned them here – perhaps
one reason why the statues inside the
EATING
Dagon 1 cave only date back to the late
Green Tea 3 eighteenth century. More are being
Happy Café 2
added all the time by Buddhist
Pone Ta Loke 4
pilgrims and an assortment of
ACCOMMODATION
Conqueror Resort 5 Shwe Oo international organizations. Statues
Golden Cave 4 Min Cave are made of various different materials
Global Grace Hotel 2
Inle Inn 3 0 500 – wood, marble, cement and more
Myit Phyar Zaw Gyi 1 metres
– almost all carved in the seated
position. Devotees touch the knees
of images for blessing, which accounts
for the rubbed-off gold leaf on the legs of many of the statues.
The cave itself divides into several distinct areas. The first section, in the
highest and most cavernous part of the cave, is far and away the most spectacular,
with Buddha statues crammed into every available space and stacked up
virtually to the roof. Towards the back, the aptly named “The Maze” has winding
walkways threading their way disorientatingly between further masses of statuary,
with superb views across the entire main cave from the raised section at the very
back. From here, further steps lead down into the depths of the cave, which
becomes warmer and muggier as you descend, although the further reaches of
the cave are less atmospheric – and less crowded with statues – than those near
the entrance.
There are a couple of other things to see while you’re up by the cave. One is the serene
monastery just alongside – the whitewashed walls and rarefied air make it feel almost
Tibetan. Then there’s Alegu, the biggest Buddha on the mountainside at over 12m in
height, sitting in a side-hall a little further along.