The Budda sculpture in Ngahtatgyi Paya, Yangon, Myanmar.

© platongkoh/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Ngahtatgyi Paya

Top choice in Yangon


One of Yangon's, if not Myanmar's, most gorgeous buddha images is this 46ft-tall one at the Ngahtatgyi Paya, sitting in calm gold-and-white repose and adorned with a healthy splash of precious stones. It’s worth seeing for its carved wooden backdrop alone.

A lovely approach to the temple is to walk up via the monasteries scattered along Bogyoke Aung San Museum Lane.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Yangon attractions

1. Chaukhtatgyi Paya

0.14 MILES

Housed in a large metal-roofed shed, this beautiful 215ft-long reclining buddha is larger than a similar and better-known image in Bago. The statue's…

2. Bogyoke Aung San Museum

0.35 MILES

You'll have to work hard to imagine what life was like inside this colonial-era mansion, where Aung San lived with his family for just over two years…

3. Utopia Tower

0.78 MILES

On the north side of Kandawgyi Lake, this giant pile of artificial rocks houses bars, karaoke, a massage parlour and, on the 5th floor, a viewing deck.

4. Myanmar Aquarium

0.82 MILES

Singapore company Surbana Jurong designed this new, international-standard aquarium which is set to open by the end of 2019. Over 20 different tanks,…

5. Kandawgyi Lake

1.04 MILES

Also known as Royal Lake, this artificial lake built by the British as a reservoir is most attractive at sunset, when the glittering Shwedagon Paya is…

6. State Fine Arts School

1.05 MILES

Built in the early 20th century as the grand home of shipping-and-rubber magnate Lim Chin Tsong, this is another decaying but highly evocative slice of…

7. Martyrs' Mausoleum

1.12 MILES

This striking mausoleum houses the remains of General Aung San and the six comrades who were assassinated on 19 July 1947. The Soviet-style, red-painted…

8. Shwedagon Paya

1.17 MILES

One of Buddhism's most sacred sites, the 326ft zedi (stupa) here is adorned with 27 metric tons of gold leaf, along with thousands of diamonds and other…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "myanmar-burma/yangon-rangoon/attractions/ngahtatgyi-paya/a/poi-sig/1368222/357104",
      "destination": "Yangon",
      "continent": "Asia",
      "country": "Myanmar-(Burma)",
      "city": "Yangon",
      "position": "superzone"
    }