The skyrocketing popularity of unforgettable travels to mysterious Myanmar cities has turned this wonderful country, home of Buddhist temples and monasteries, into a desirable exotic tourist destination. Its functioning shrines and numerous ancient historical and cultural monuments have become one of the most visited places by tourists in this country and the whole of Asia. One of these main tourist attractions in Myanmar and an ancient functioning pilgrimage center for Buddhists from all over the world is sacred Mount Popa with a Buddhist monastery on the top of a nearby rock.

Extinct since ancient times, Popa Volcano can be seen at a distance of more than 60 kilometers, and its top offers a delightful view of the ancient capital of the kingdom of the same name, the beautiful city of Pagan, a canyon wrapped in local legends, almost a kilometer deep, and the elysian beauty of the small rock Taung-Kalat. Tens of thousands of pilgrims visit it annually. With a height of more than 1 500 meters, the awe-inspiring sacred mountain has been considered the most powerful sanctuary of the nat spirits in Myanmar from time immemorial. In the Middle Ages, mass animal sacrifices took place here to propitiate the fastidious spirits. Even today, the locals won’t wear red or black clothes when visiting the famous mountain. According to ancient legends, these colors and meat, if brought alongside, can make the spirits furious, causing hundreds of troubles and misfortunes. Besides, over 200 different springs run on the majestic mountain, creating favorable conditions for diverse flora and fauna.

And if the locals worship, first of all, sacred Mount Popa, the foreign tourists are attracted here by the mysterious monastery located on craggy Taung-Kalat. To get to the Buddhist shrine, you will have to overcome 777 steps of a winding staircase, a favorite location of a huge monkey flock, causing a lot of trouble for the locals and the monastery monks.

The name of the extinct volcano and the sacred mountain «Popa» translates from Sanskrit as «flower». The wonderful scent of flowers growing on its picturesque slopes more than proves it.

The greatest number of pilgrims can be seen on Mount Popa during the full moon celebration of Nayon at the end of May and on the full moon days of Nadaw at the end of November.

The monastery on the Taung-Kalat rock houses 37 sacred statues that symbolize ancient nat spirits.