A lovely town, situated on the eastern bark of the Chindwin River, and a major trade centre for agricultural produce from the Surrounding Chindwin Valley. It is the gateway to the magnificent Thahboddhay Pagoda complex with its 845 stupas, 7.350 statues and almost 600.000 sacred images as well as the impressive sandstone Hpo Win Taung Caves.

Monywa is located 2 ½ hrs drive from Mandalay. It was very interesting to visit the famous caves on the other side of the Chindwin River, but need to stay overnight in Monywa. Crossing the river early the next morning, one can be able to enjoy a beautiful sunrise over the city while on the ferry. After visiting Hpo Win Taung Caves and Shwebataung Paya, we will proceed back to Mandalay or go on to Pakkoku from where we can cross the Irrawaddy and reach Bagan.

Thanboddhay Pagoda - Thanboddhay Pagoda lies 20km southeast of Monywa, built between 1939 and 1952, therefore it is relatively modern origin and an interesting sight. It's most imposing feature is the over 500,000 small images of Buddha's disciplines featured inside the Pagoda. From outside, the Pagoda itself looks vaguely like Borobudur in Indonesia, except covered in gold.There is a little watchtower on the compound, which you can climb to enjoy the view over the pagoda.

Bodhi Tahtaung - From Thanboddhay Pagoda you can go by car about five miles along a good branch road to Po Khaung Taung, a small range of hills in the Monwya area. There you will see more unusual sights not found in other parts of Myanmar. First you should stop for a while in the fast growing forest of one thousand Bodhi trees (Ficus religiosa); this Bo or pipal tree is sacred to all Buddhists because Gaudama Buddha attained Enlightenment while meditating under this tree.

Aung Sakkya Pagoda - Near the reclining Buddha image, also on Po Khaung Taung range is the Aung Sakkya Pagoda , 441.75 ft in height (including the base of 216.75 ft). This pagoda is a landmark for the area around Monywa as it can be seen from afar. It is surrounded by 1,060 smaller satellite pagodas which shelter over a thousand sacred images of the Buddha.

Pho Win Hill - The hills have probably been occupied since the dawn of human habitation in Myanmar; to the south - west lies the Pon Daung Pon Nya mountain range, where the fossilised remains of Pondaung Men's who may have lived 30 million years ago - were found. The caves themselves contain Buddhist statues and murals dating to the 17th and 18th centuries. Most exhibit the Inwa style, though some may date back as to the 14th to16th centuries. A covered stairway climbs a hill to the main cave shrine, but there are dozens of large and small caves in the area filled with old Buddha images. There are over 400,000 images in these and other nearby caves.

Shwe Ba Hill - Shwe Ba Hill, just beyond Pho Win Hill, features unique pavilions cut from the surrounding sandstone and filled with plain Buddha images. Shweba Taung is on the West Bank of Chindwin river. There, temples and caves are curved out of volcanic rocks and inside walls of some caves are decorated with 13th century / 18th century mural paintings.

Shwe Gu Ni Pagoda - The Shwe Gu Ni Pagoda is about 20 miles east of Monywa. The Buddha image in the pagoda is offered (stick) by gold foils and the face of the Buddha image could not be make out very easily. Typical black and gold lacquerware from nearby Kyaukka is the festival's speciality. Held from the 5th to the 8th waning day of Kason. Shweguni Pagoda is famous for its magnificent architecture.

Kyaukka village - is right behind Shwe Gu Ni Paya and the point of origin for Lacquer Ware, though these days most are finished in Bagan. The pieces produced here are more utilitarian and basic.

Twin Daung - is a deep lake, known as the lake of love. It grows plants that are supposed to have healing power and used in certain medicine in Myanmar.