Kuthodaw Pagoda, at the foot of Mandalay Hill, is a white-walled complex housing 729 marble tablets, each one inscribed on both sides with a page from the Tipitaka — the complete canonical texts of Theravada Buddhism. They were carved in 1860 at the order of King Mindon and represent one of the most extraordinary acts of religious scholarship in the Buddhist world.
Each tablet is housed in its own small white stupa (kyauksa gu), arranged in rows across the compound like a stone forest. The central golden Kuthodaw stupa is a copy of the Shwezigon Pagoda at Bagan. The pagoda is directly north of the royal palace and makes a natural first stop before climbing Mandalay Hill behind it.