- Location: Pindaya, Myanmar (2 kilometers from the city center)
- Working hours: daily
- Cost of visiting: 3 dollars
Pindaya is a glorious town in the southwestern part of the state of Shan, part of Myanmar , one side of which is on the shore of a small lake, and the other is framed by green hills. The city is famous for the caves of Pindaya, a shrine that is deeply revered by both shanas and adherents of Theravada Buddhism. Caves of limestone origin, are located two kilometers from the center of the city and are located on a hill.
To them from all directions from below up lead the covered staircase galleries, climbing along which, tourists stroll through the park and the complex, consisting of thousands of pagodas, admiring the giant trees. Also, an asphalted road leads to the caves, which actually approaches the entrance itself. Elevators rise to the top platform of tourists. Therefore, you can visit relics without problems even in rainy weather. The ticket costs three dollars. Near the entrance there are souvenir shops.
The legend of the origin of the name of the caves
There is a local ancient legend telling the tourists about an unusual composition: not far from the foot of the stairs, there are amazing two statues. On one of them, the good Prince Kumammbai is aiming at a huge formidable spider depicted on the second sculpture. Once the spider kidnapped seven beautiful princesses and a brave prince rushed to their search. Kummammiya found the unfortunate captives in the caves and freed them from the terrible villain. "Pin kaya, I took a spider," so, according to legend, a fearless young man exclaimed, killing an ominous monster from his bow. Such is the ancient history, thanks to which the name of the caves of Pindaya (Pinguya, in translation means "Taken Spider") occurs.
What are the famous caves?
At the entrance to the caves of Pindaya there is a small wooden pavilion decorated with a lot of gold Buddha images, a stupa made entirely of gold, and astrological mandalas.
Long ago, when Myanmar was threatened by an attack of enemies, local residents feared for their sacred things. They collected all the Buddha statues in the country and placed them in the caves of Pindaya, where the statues are to this day. Many centuries in a row and up to the present time, local residents and pilgrims from all over the world bring here and establish the statues of their God - Gautama Buddha. Under each of them is written the date of manufacture, the name and the wish of the donor.
At the moment inside the holy place, there are eight thousand seven hundred sculptures. They stand everywhere - in the notches of the wall and between them, on shelves and on the floor, between stalagmites and stalactites. Buddha's statues are made of various materials: from ordinary plaster, from marble, from bronze and there are even covered with gold foil. The view is certainly impressive and grandiose for any visitor.
What to see?
The Pindaya caves are more than one and a half kilometers long, with many ramifications, but some of them can not be accessed, as they are shielded and designed for meditation. The labyrinth twists between a huge number of stone Buddha statues and goes down. He leads his visitors to the cave lakes and a string of stalactite halls, as well as to Buddhist altars with illumination of amazing beauty.
An important attraction of the Pindaya caves is the Shwe Ming pagoda, its height is fifteen meters. It was built in 1100 by order of the king Alauntsithu and complemented the interior.
How to get to the caves?
The caves of Pindaya can be reached by public transport (bus) from Mandalay or Kalo, a distance of about 48 kilometers. From the city center to the caves can be reached on foot or by taxi.
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