Experience the best of Mandalay

Mandalay stands on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River in central Myanmar. King Mindon founded it in 1857 as the last royal capital of Burma, laying out a grid of streets around a square walled palace and moat, and it remained the royal seat until the British took the city in 1885. Mandalay Hill rises about 240 metres from the plain and is climbed by long covered stairways lined with shrines.

At the foot of the hill, Kuthodaw Pagoda is ringed by 729 marble slabs carved with Buddhist scripture, sometimes called the biggest book in the world, and the Shwenandaw Monastery is a teak building carved with scenes that once formed part of the royal palace. The Mahamuni Buddha image has been built up with thick layers of gold leaf pressed on by devotees over the years. The older capitals of Amarapura, Inwa and Sagaing, and the giant unfinished pagoda at Mingun, lie near the river.

Mohinga, a fish and noodle soup eaten at breakfast, is the daily dish, with Shan noodles, tea-leaf salad and sweet milky tea in the tea shops. Mandalay is known for its gold-leaf beating and its marionettes. The cool season from November to February is the mildest, and March to May is very hot.