The hill has for long been a holy mount and legend has it that Buddha. on His visit had prophesied that a great city would be founded at its ‘foot. Mandalay Hill, 230 metres in elevation, commands a magnificent view of the city and surrounding countryside. At present, it has already finished the construction of motor-car road to reach hill-top easily.

The whole magnificent palace complex was destroyed by the fire curing the World War II. However, the finely built palace walls, the city gates with their crowning wooden pavilions and the surrounding moat still present an impressive scene of the Mandalay Palace “MYa-Nan-San-Kyaw Shwenandaw”, the model of the Mandalay Palace, Nanmyint- Saung, Cultural Museum and Pyi-Gyi-Mon Floating Restaurant in the moat are locate inside the Palace grounds.

Famous for its intricate wood-carvings, this monastery is a fragile reminder of the old Mandalay Palace. Actually, it was built inside Mandalay Palace but it was moved to this place by King Thibaw in 1880.

The Image is said to have been cast in the lifetime of Gautama Buddha and the Buddha embraced It 7 times thereby bringing It to life. Consequently, devout Buddhists embraced It to be alive and refer to It as the Maha Muni Sacred Living Image. Revered as the holiest pagoda in Mandalay, It was built by King Bodawpaya in 1784. The Image in sitting posture is 12 feet and 7 inches (3.8 Metres) high. This pagoda enshrines the famous Maha Muni Buddha Image brought from Rakhine State also called the Rakhine Buddha Image. The early morning ritual of washing the Face of Buddha Image draws a large crowd of devotees everyday. And the Image is also considered as the greatest, next t Shwedagone Pagoda in Myanmar. A visit to Mandalay is incomplete without a visit to the Maha Muni Pagoda Image.

Built by King Mindon in 1857, this pagoda modeled on the Shwe Zigon at Nyaung U, is surrounded by 729 upright stone slabs on which are inscribed the entire Buddhist Scriptures as edited and approved by the 5th Buddhist synod. It is popularly known as “the Worlds Biggest Book” for its stone scriptures.

Near the southern approach to Mandalay Hill stands the Kyauktawgyi Pagoda Image that was built by King Mindon in 1853-78. The Image was carved out of a huge single block of marble stone. The statues of 80 Arahats (the Great Disciples of the Buddha) are around the Image, 20 on each side. The carving of the Image was completed in 1865.

One of the Buddha’s Sacred Replica Tooth Replica Tooth Relic was enshrined in the Buddha’s Replica Tooth Relic Pagoda (Mandalay) on Maha Dhammayanthi Hill in Amarapura Township. The pagoda was being built with cash donations contributed by the people of Myanmar and Buddhist donors of entire world under the supervision of the Myanmar government.
The Myanmar government authorities and donors hoisted Buddha’s Replica Tooth Relic Pagoda Mandala/s Shwe Htidaw (sacred golden umbrella), Hngetmyatnadaw (sacred bird perch vane) and Seinphudaw (sacred diamond bud) on 13th, December,1996.

The “Atumashi Kyaung” (which literally means the inimitable monastery) is also one of the worth seeing place. Actually, it was ruined by fire in 1890 and partly survived. It was inimitable one in its heyday. The reconstruction project started by the government on 2nd May,1995. It is decorated with white and golden paint completed in june,1996.