Located at the heart of Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, the Sule pagoda is believed to be over 2500 years old. The pagoda is considered to be an important space in the contemporary Burmese politics, ideology and geography. The pagoda apart from it’s religious importance has also served as a rallying point for the 1988 up rising as well as the saffron revolution later in 2007.
If you plan on visiting the city , the pagoda is a definite must check. When booking into a hotel in Yangon it would make sense to book into one that is close to the pagoda and some other key attractions, such as the Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon.
It is believed that the site where the pagoda now stands was once the home to a powerful spirit known as Sularata. There is a story that Buddhas hair relics were buried in the same site and later on Lt. Alexander Fraser made the pagoda the centre of Yangon. The pagoda played the role of a nucleus for the British to rebuild the city in 1880. Due to its artistic beauty and religious significance it was decided that the Pagoda will be kept at the centre of the city of Yangon. The Pagoda is golden in colour and takes a rare octagonal bell shape upto the inverted bell. There are a handful of shops and astrologists and palm readers around the monument.
This is the very same site where the king, Ukkalapa, held meetings to build the famous Shwedagon pagoda as well.
Today the pagoda is a tourist attraction. The gates stay open from 4 am to 10 pm and there is an entrance fee levied. One must keep in mind to dress appropriately when visiting the site. There are also other nearby attractions such as Maha Bandoola Park, the city hall which are worth a stroll.
Roland Lefevre is a travel writer who specializes in creating features on leisure as well as business travel destinations across the globe. Google+