Your base for exploring this tourist attraction is the city of Yangon (@ Rangoon). For travel information about Yangon, go to Yangon Travel Guide. To prepare for a trip to Myanmar, read also the Myanmar Travel Guide. Looking for budget accommodation there? Use AsiaExplorers Budget Accommodation Guide, the no-frills website to cover your budget accommodation needs.
Kyaiktiyo (pronounced chat-tee-yo), or the Pagoda of the Golden Rock, is the most sacred pilgrimage site in Myanmar. It is located 160km from Yangon, in Mon State. Devotees believe that the rock was placed there 2600 years ago by two nat. Crowning the gilded rock is a 5.5 metre (18ft) pagoda believed to contain a hair relic of the Buddha.
The Golden Rock is located at Mount Kyaiktiyo. Pilgrims have to hike for 16km (10 miles) to get there. Alternatively, tourists can reach the rock by taking a jeep, followed by a 3km walk. Women are not allowed to touch or even come close to the rock. The Golden Rock appears to perch precariously on a cliff, seemingly defying gravity. It can be rocked by coordinated pushing of just two persons - without falling over. A thread can even be passed under it, causing some to believe that the rock is not actually touching the base, but is miraculously afloat.
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