A caution about access
Several of the places described here lie in regions where security conditions and travel permissions have changed repeatedly in recent years. Rakhine State, where Mrauk U is found, has at times been closed or heavily restricted to foreigners, and parts of the Sagaing Region have seen serious conflict. Whether any of these sites can be visited, by whom and under what conditions, is something only current official sources can tell you. Check your own government travel advice and relevant Myanmar authorities before planning anything, and treat this article as cultural background rather than a route.
What “hidden” means here
The term is relative. Bagan and the Shwedagon draw most attention, and the places below receive far fewer visitors, though all are well known to Burmese Buddhists and in several cases are living centres of worship and study. They are not secret sites, and many are busy on festival days.
Mrauk U
Mrauk U, on the Kaladan river plain in Rakhine State in the west of the country, was the capital of the Arakan kingdom, which flourished from the fifteenth century (traditionally from 1430) until the Burmese conquest in 1784. Its temples are quite unlike those of Bagan. Many are built of heavy stone blocks, with thick walls, narrow vaulted corridors and small windows, and are often described as fortress-like, in part because the city was defended and the temples sometimes served protective purposes. Scholars disagree about how much of that was deliberate.
Among the best-known structures are the Shite-thaung, whose name is commonly translated as “temple of eighty thousand images”, the Htukkanthein, a hill-top ordination hall with a labyrinth of passages, and the Andaw-thein and Ratana-pon. Many walls are carved with figures and relief scenes. The Arakan kingdom also had contact with Bengal, Portugal and the wider Indian Ocean, and some architectural features are thought to reflect that wider context.
Mrauk U also has a connection to the Mahamuni image now in Mandalay. According to tradition the image was originally made in Arakan and was carried to the Burmese heartland in 1784 after the conquest, which helps explain why the Arakan region holds a particular place in Burmese religious memory.
Because of the region’s recent history, access and the situation of local communities should be treated with sensitivity and caution.
The Sagaing Hills
Across the Irrawaddy from Mandalay, the Sagaing Hills are dotted with white and gold stupas, meditation huts, monasteries and nunneries. Sagaing served as a royal capital in the fourteenth century and again briefly in the eighteenth, but its lasting identity is as a religious centre. The hills hold a large number of monks and nuns, and many monasteries run teaching and meditation programmes. Anyone considering a monastery guesthouse stay or attending a programme is expected to follow community rules and ask for guidance from the monastery.
Well-known sites include Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda, which commands wide views over the river, and Umin Thonze, a covered walkway with a crescent of seated Buddha images. Close by, the Kaunghmudaw Pagoda is a large, plain, rounded stupa traditionally dated to the early seventeenth century and associated with King Thalun, and its profile is often said to echo Sri Lankan models. Details of the dates and form vary among sources, and such matters are better checked against local histories.
Climbing steps to hilltop shrines in the heat can be taxing, and the usual practice of walking barefoot makes sun-heated stone uncomfortable. Plan early or late hours and carry water, and follow current medical advice for your own circumstances.
Monywa and its surroundings
Monywa lies west of Sagaing on the Chindwin river, in a region that has seen significant conflict in some recent periods. Its sites are quite different from those of the old royal cities. The Thanboddhay Pagoda, begun in the twentieth century, is known for the extraordinary number of small Buddha images covering its walls, and the Bodhi Tataung complex, farther out, is known for very large modern Buddha statues, one standing and one reclining, among the largest of their kind.
Further afield are the Hpo Win Daung cave complexes, in which numbers of chambers cut into the rock carry painted murals and carved images. They belong to a long Asian tradition of rock-cut caves, though the Burmese examples are generally later and smaller than the Ajanta murals or the Dambulla cave temple in Sri Lanka. Dating of the murals is uncertain, and surveys differ.
Why visit quieter places at all?
Seeing less-visited sites usually means seeing more of everyday religious life: a family bringing food for monks, children reciting, or a nun sweeping a courtyard. It also means a greater responsibility. Smaller communities have fewer resources to manage visitors, and a donation or a gesture of respect carries more weight. A few general principles apply:
- Follow temple entry customs: dress modestly, remove shoes and socks at the precinct entrance and keep your voice low.
- Do not touch monks or nuns, particularly if you are a woman, and do not touch images or relics.
- Ask before photographing people, and do not photograph inside a shrine if signs or attendants say not to.
- Avoid climbing on ancient brickwork, which is fragile.
- Customs differ among communities, and local guidance takes priority.
Reading the landscape
Taken together, these three areas show how varied Burmese Buddhist heritage is. Mrauk U reflects a coastal kingdom with a distinct architecture, Sagaing shows the long-standing role of monasteries and meditation, and Monywa reveals how devotion has continued to produce new monuments and cave sanctuaries. None replaces the major sites such as the Bagan temple plain, and none can be visited without checking the situation first, but each adds something to the larger picture of Theravada life across the country.