Pyin Oo Lwin is a former British hill station, located in the Shan hills east of Mandalay at an altitude of 1.070 m (3.510 ft). It features many examples of colonial architecture, transport in traditional stagecoaches and a beautiful botanical garden. Pyin Oo Lwin is also called the “city of flowers” which bloom here all year around. Its forested country lanes provide a welcome respite from the heat of the plains.
Sights around Pyin U Lwin:
Peik Chin Myaing: a large Hindu-Buddhist shrine cave developed by local Nepalese. A 600m path leads inside the cave, which is decorated with relatively modern Buddha images and models of Myanmar's most famous payas like the Shwedagon Pagoda or Kyaikthiyo, the Golden Rock.
Naung Kan Gyi Paya: nice view from the hilltop overlooking the town. Colonial town center surrounding the Purcell Tower, a clock tower given to the town by Queen Victoria, (she offered an identical tower to Capetown in South Africa).
Church of the Immaculate Conception: 100-year-old brick church with belltower and cruciform floor plan. The simple exterior belies the beauty of its interior.
Chinese Temple: colourful temple built by Yunnanese immigrants.
Candacraig Hotel: beautiful and atmospheric colonial relic in peaceful grounds, previously the "chummery", or bachelor quarters, for employees of the Bombay Burmah Trading Company.
U Naung Gu: a small cave with Buddha image and stupa just across the river from Yangum Monastery. Monks use it for meditation.
To reach Hsipaw you have the unique possibility to take the train from Pyin Oo Lwin which will run over the Goteik Viaduct, the second highest railway bridge in the world.
Hsipaw, or Thibaw, as it is called in Myanmar, is one of the oldest of the northern Shan cities and throughout history, the Sawbwa or Shan Chief of Hsipaw had close relations with the Myanmar kings. King Thibaw, the last king of Myanmar who reigned in Mandalay from 1878 to 1885, got his title as a prince when his father, King Mindon, gave Thibaw State to him to govern during a period when the state was without a Sawbaw chief.
