Chaukhtatgyi Buddha Temple

The Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda houses a massive reclining Buddha — 66 metres long and one of the largest in Myanmar. Unlike the Shwedagon, this is a largely local experience: pilgrims come in large numbers and the atmosphere is devotional rather than touristic.

The enormous figure reclines in a corrugated metal shelter that somehow adds to the experience rather than detracting from it. The face is surprisingly moving at close quarters. Located in Bahan Township, about 3 km north of the Shwedagon. Easily combined with a visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda.

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The reclining Buddha here is 66 metres long, making it one of the largest in the world. The face is extraordinary — delicate, almost feminine features painted in careful detail, with mother-of-pearl eyes and intricately decorated soles of the feet showing the 108 auspicious marks of the Buddha. The whole figure was completed in 1966 to replace an older version that collapsed in the 1950s.

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