|
|
 Pindaya
is a small town of Burmese dialect speaking
Danu people, located in a fertile valley
bordered by 1700-meter high mountain range
in the west. The road to Pindaya is highly
scenic, whether you come from Inle Lake,
Kalaw, Mandalay or Bagan, especially the
road segment between sizeable town Aung
Ban and Pindaya. The multi-color fields,
ethnic villages, buffalo cowboys, bamboo
hat makers, orange farms, Chayote shelves,
bullock carts loaded with cabbages, Pine
tree clad hills and farms with different
vegetations could make you an interesting
and pleasurable rolling hill drive. There
is a huge lake in the middle of the town,
and it is related with the fascinating stories
of Pindaya caves. The caves of Pindaya are
the naturally formed last 200-million years
ago. The southernmost cave is the main cave
and home to over 8,000 ancient Buddha images
made from different material such as alabaster,
teak, lacquer, bamboo, cement, and marble.
Some images date more than 300-years. And
the cave entrance provides breathtaking
views of entire Pindaya valley and Pontalouk
Lake. There are also a few comfortable hotels,
for those who don’t like to drive back on
the same-day or who wants to explore tribe
villages. Pindaya can be visited easily
from Heho and then overnight in Kalaw or
Inle Lake if you fly either from Bagan,
Yangon, or Mandalay. It can be visited from
Mandalay by road on the way to Kalaw or
Inle Lake. And it can be reached direct
from Bagan or Mt Popa within a day if you
plan to stay overnight in Pindaya.
|
|
