Pindaya Cave – An Interesting Destination In Eastern Myanmar

When mentioning Shan State, the eastern land of Myanmar, tourists usually think about Inle Lake. However, if you have a lot of time to discover, you will find out that Shan also has many other interesting attractions for those who love the ancient cultural beauty. But if you have a lot of time to explore, visitors will recognize in addition to Inle, Shan also has many interesting destinations for those who love the beauty of ancient culture. For visitors from the West, Pindaya Cave located about 100 kilometers from Inle Lake is an unforgettable destination if you have a Myanmar tourand have a chance to come to Shan.

Image 1: Gateway to Pindaya Cave

Traveling by car from Heho Airport to Inle Lake takes about 45 minutes and one more 45 minutes to take us from Heho to Pindaya Cave, but in the opposite direction. When arriving at Shan area, the car stops in front of a ticket station to get into this state. The ticket price is $2 per visitor.

On the way, the car drops in a house that produces Myanmar cigar shells from a garden plant. We learn the process of picking leaves, putting them in the kitchen (specially designed) for dry, then arrange them into the basket and sell them to families making the cigars.

When approaching the Pindaya cave, the car stops for a visit to a local market. Besides the richness of the items and the characteristic specialties, visitors are also free to take some photos of women, children made up with thanaka – a powder made of thanaka tree’s bark. The local people are very friendly and hospitable. They communicate freely with tourists because every day there are many international visitors to visit here.

Image 2: Pindaya located in a beautiful bazalt plateau

Image 3: Local market

Pindaya cave is located in the mountain range with 1,200m height above sea level. Along two sides of the road to the cave are hundreds-year-old banyan trees spreading and covering an enormous space.

Pindaya cave looks like a temple from the outside. The walkway for visitors is roofed from the foot of the mountain up to the entrance of the cave. In the cave, you will see the Buddha statues with many sizes… All these statues are gold-plated.

According to the introduction of the guide of Myanmar tour package, there are all nearly 8,000 Buddha statues stretching over 150 meters of the cave, including many precious ancient statues.

Some statues have distinct shapes and styles representing for different dynasties. There are so many statues that the paths are only enough for two people to avoid each other. The statues are arranged to the ceiling of the cave, so visitors can go around the cave entrance to the top and can see the panorama of the cave with thousands of Buddha statues.

Image 4: Buddha statues inside the cave

Image 5: A local girl with thanaka makeup

In the second compartment of the cave is an open space with thousands of other Buddha statues. Buddha statues are interspersed with stalactites steeped in sparkling lights. All of them show a solemn and magnificent beauty.

In the cave is decorated with white light to illuminate paths for pilgrims and gold light to increase the fanciful beauty for Buddha statues. Depending on the faith and spirit, the Buddha was built based on the idea and layout given.

Inside the cave, there are stalactites connecting from the ceiling to the ground, whereby the water from the ceiling flows down day after day. In this second space, there is also an area decorated with a population of Buddha statues and a circle of samsara in front of it. People believe that if pilgrims pray to Buddha and go around seven times, they will be lucky.

Image 6: Beautiful scenes along the way

Image 7: Looking down into the cave from above

Sau khi thăm hang Pindaya, chúng tôi dừng chân tại một nhà hàng địa phương ăn trưa. Các nhà hàng ở đây được xây dựng theo kiến trúc truyền thống của Myanmar nên không gian rất đẹp và thoáng đãng. Đồ ăn khá ngon với giá cả hợp lý, một phần ăn gồm ba món chính và một ly nước trái cây giá chừng 180 ngàn đồng.

The local people do not incense in the cave, the only offerings they bring are fresh flowers. Salespeople around here are only looking forward to selling souvenirs to guests. The offerings are sold widely as many other regions.

After visiting Pindaya Cave, we stop at a local restaurant for lunch. The restaurants here are built according to the traditional architecture of Myanmar, so the space is very nice and airy. The food is quite delicious with reasonable prices. A portion including three main dishes and a glass of juice costs about nearly $10. Pindaya Cave is one of the popular destinations in Myanmar tours. In addition to it, there are many other tourist attractions in Myanmaryou should visit in a certain occasion.