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.
Sule Pagoda is located right in the heart of Yangon, within a traffic circle, in fact. Indeed, Sule Pagoda is considered the very heart of Yangon. When the British administrators planned the grid-street system for Yangon, they used Sule Pagoda as reference point for the heart of the city. The landmark of Sule is the 48 metre (157 ft) pagoda. The octagonal structure is indicative of Brahman-Buddhist style.
The Sule Pagoda at night.
The name of Sule Pagoda is linked to the Sule Nat, the guardian spirit of Singuttara Hill (refer to the Shwedagon Pagoda for more details). According to legend, two monks Sona and Uttara, were sent from India to Thaton as missionaries after the Third Buddhist Synod, around 230BC. The King of Thaton gave them permission to build a shrine at the foot of Singuttara Hill to preserve a hair of the Buddha which they brought from India. The pagoda was known for centuries at Kyaik Athok, which means "the pagoda that contains the hair relic" in the Mon language, or Sura Zedi, after the minister who supervised its construction, Maha Sura.
Sights in Yangon
Yangon, previously known as Rangoon, was the capital of Myanmar until a few years ago. It continues to be the commercial hub of Myanmar. Click enter to view the sights there.
