Pindaya is probably the most visited cave in Myanmar, or certainly in the Shan State. The cave contains over 8,000 images of Buddha. Some of the older statues and images have inscriptions dating from the 18th century.
Pindaya Cave is located near the town of Pindaya in Shan State. Pindaya is a Buddhist pilgrimage site and also a tourist attraction. Also known as “South Pindaya Cave”, “Shwe Oo Min Cave”, “Shwe U Min Pagoda”, “Golden Cave Pagoda” and “Cave of Ten Thousand Buddhas”.
The southern cave is the main one. Archaeologists mapped this “South Pindaya Cave” in 1980, it was surveyed at 200m long. The cave was re- mapped by the “Shan ‘98” expedition with a length of 200 m stated at the survey (Bence1998).
A long roofed staircase leads to a temple at the cave entrance. There is also an elevator up to the cave. The large entrance chamber is packed with Buddhas. Beyond the entrance chamber a path winds through several large chambers. The cave has electric lighting.
In 2018 the Myanmar Times announced that Pindaya Caves had been awarded as a smoke free heritage site. This is the first heritage site in Myanmar to be smoke free. This site prohibits visitors from smoking tobacco in the area.
Refs :
Bence, P; Guillot, F. & Maifret, St. (1998) Le Myanmar (Birmanie) et l’Etat Shan. Expedition Report, 34 p.
Bence, P; Guillot, F. & Maifret, St. (1999) Shan 98. Spelunca, 74, 8-10.
Tedeschi, R. (2005) U Hmin Gu: La grotta dei Buddha. Kur Magazine, 5, 28-30; La Venta (Italy).
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