KYAUK TAW GYI PAGODA

The marvelous marble Buddha at Kyauk Taw Gyi Pagoda is a testament to Burmese artistry

To read about my visit to Kyauk Taw Gyi Pagoda, visit the blog here: Photo Journal: Kyauktawgyi Pagoda

For all the high-resolution photos from Kyauk Taw Gyi Pagoda: Click Here

Entrance Fee: 5,000 Kyat (roughly $3 USD) for foreigners while locals can enter freely

Visiting Hours: The cave opens daily from around 6:00am until around 8:00pm

Location: The pagoda is located on Mindhamma Hill in Mingaladon Township, Yangon. It is a bit southwest of the Yangon International Airport and west of the Myanmar Golf Course

Kyauk Htat Gyi Pagoda (Kyaukhtatgyi Paya, Kyauk Taw Gyi, Kyauk Daw Gyi) is a marvelous Buddha Image located on Mindhamma Hill in the north of Yangon. Carved out of a single piece of marble, the incredible Buddha stands at 25-feet (7.6m) tall and weighs over 560 tons! Some say the Buddha is actually 37-feet tall, 23-feet wide and over 600 tons, however that seems to be a bit of an overestimate. Nonetheless, it’s incredibly impressive. It is housed in a climate-controlled glass case preventing damage from the hot and moist environment of Yangon.

Known as Loka Chantha Abhaya Labha Muni (also spelled Lawka Chantha Abaya Labamuni) or translated literally into English as “World Peace and Prosperity,” the image sits in the abhayamudra pose or “gesture of fearlessness.” Made entirely of a single piece of marble found in Sagyin Hill, Madaya Township in Mandalay Region in 1999, it was transported south using a special railroad carriage and then pushed down the Irrawaddy River on a 61-meters long barge by three steamers donated by the Asia World Company. The trip saw the barge accompanied by a fleet of decorated ceremonial boats and stop at major towns along the river before it reached Yangon. There are many paintings around the pagoda depicting the trip.

The marble image made landfall at Gyogon in Insein Township on August 5^th, 2000, to a crowd of over 500,000 people including many dignitaries and government officials. On August 10^th, the image was then moved atop Mindhamma Hill using a special railway carriage which required the use of 4 locomotives. The partially carved image was finished and erected at an auspicious location designated by astrologers (Aung Myay, or “victory grounds”), where it is currently housed. The Buddha image was consecrated in February 2002. This Buddhist project was reportedly a “Yadaya” exercise to avert misfortune. The Kyauktawgyi Buddha Temple was built on the site of the former Nine Mile Cemetery.