Amarapura

Burma Tours - Monks at Amarapura

Amarapura, Burma's penultimate royal capital (1783-1857), lies 7 miles to the south of Mandalay.  Little remains of the old city as large parts - such as the wooden palace buildings - were dismantled and taken to Mandalay, when the capital was moved there by King Mindon Min.  The famous Maha Ganayon Monastery, however, is well worth visiting; here you may observe the daily life of the thousands of monks studying Buddhism.  The biggest attraction in Amarapura is the remarkable 1300 yard-long U Bein teak footbridge which crosses the shallow Taungthaman Lake.  More than 200 years old, this popular walkway is always teeming with life - fishermen casting their lines into the water, locals walking their bicycles home to their villages, saffron-robed monks carrying alsms bowls between the monastries on both sides of the bridge.  Have your cameras at the ready!