SAGAING DIVISION
Is sharing the border with Indian and Kalay-Tamu
border trade cities along the India-Myanmar border.
Kalay-TaMu road in Myanmar and Imphal main road in India
played a vital role at the time of the World famous
Imphal Operation in March 1944. Sagaing Division is a
golden land for Myanmar too. A major gold mine in
Myanmar is the Kyauk Pahto Mine, which is situated near
Banbway Gone in Salingyi Township, Sagaing Division.
Moreover, the person who are interested in eco-tourism
and visitors can visit and study many places in and
around Sagaing and the Sagaing Division such as
Alaungdawhathatpha wild life sanctuary, Tuintaung, well
spirulina produce and Shwebo, King Ataungmintayar U Aung
Zay Ya, that founder of third Myanmar Kingdom reside it.
It is also homes for Nagas, one of the primitives are
residing in the Northwest Montain region of Myanmar
close to the Indian border. The Naga Traditional New
Year Festival called Kainbi festival.
How to get there:
Starting point is Mandalay and from there you can only
travel by train, car or boat to visit other places.
Shwebo:
Shwebo is a rice-collecting centre on the railway about
50 miles (80 km) north-northwest of Mandalay and 17
miles west of Kyauk Myaung, a river-side town on the
Ayeyarwady, which is famous for glazed pottery works
from toys, cups, letters, bowls, pots to huge water jars
that are tied in hundreds and floated down the river as
rafts. These are widely used throughout the country.
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Shwebo was the birthplace of Alaungpaya, founder of
the Alaungpaya dynasty (1752–1885), and is the site of
his tomb. The palace and other royal parks, lakes, moats
and watch tower have been neglected, disrepaired,
ravaged and ruined in the last two centuries. With the
promotion of the tourism industry, the government has
launched upon the reconstruction of the palace
buildings, parks and dredged the royal lake for the
benefit of the visitors and locals. |
Monywa & Pho Win Daung:
About 136 km to the west of Mandalay lies Monywa, the
commercial center of the Chindwin Valley or northwestern
Myanmar. Places of interest include Thanbokde Pagoda,
with over 500,000 Buddha images; Bodhi-ta-taung (one
thousand Bo trees): Ledi Kyaungtaik, a teaching
monastery where Buddhist scriptures are inscribed on 806
stone slabs: and Kyaukka Village, known for its own
distinctive style of lacquerware.Just on the other side of the Chindwin River and a 30
minutes drive by pick-up is the seldom visited 15th
Phowin Taung temple complex where more than 450,000
sandstone Buddha’s were carved in the hillsides in
caves, alcoves, or tiny niches. The cave murals are
still intact with indigo blues and soft pastels. Many of
the Buddha’s can be seen without entering the caves or
niches and footwear is permitted as long as one is not
entering the sanctuaries. A stunning Buddha not to be
missed is the reclining Buddha resting on a rectangular
stone mosaic which shimmers with cut glass." |
Pho Win Daung |
Kalewa:
Is the main port on the Chindwin River for trading with
India just 40 miles (60km) away; here you can visit the
lively market or nearby Kalayemo, an interesting town
near the Chin State border where there are two good
markets.Kalay:
One of the famous towns in Sagaing Division, named
Kalay can be reached by boat from Monywa. Kalay touches
Chin State and is one of the gateways to enter the
Northern Chin State by road. Kalay (situated 35 km from
the Indian Border) was the administrative capital of
this area rich of Teak forests. It is a pleasant
colonial town with its golf course surrounded by
splendid colonial houses built by the Bombay Burma
Trading Corporation in the 1920’s and 1930’s (there is
still a small community of Indians that used to work for
the Scottish company and their descendents). The
governor’s house, the administrative building, the
school, the hospital, the “Dak Bungalows”, the
headquarter of the company are well preserved, still in
use nowadays and nicely maintained.
Htamanthi:
Was once notorious or famous, depending on your
perspective, as the place of were-tigers. There are
about 200 houses in Htamanthi. You can see some women
weaving the traditional blankets.
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Layshi:
Is around 1000ft to 12553ft above sea level. It rises
higher to the south and is a bit flattened to the east
and the south. To the west and the north, the place is
filled with hillocks, mountain ranges and valleys. The
area encompasses approximately 1057 square miles. The
temperature is around 15 degree Celsius in summer (March
to May) and 5 degree Celsius in winter (November to
February). The estimated rainfall is between 60 to 120
inches per annum and the rainy season is from June to
October. The road to Layshi is slippery nearly the whole
year because of the mud and rain. There is even a road
called Myauk Chaw Le Taung (Mountain where even a monkey
slips). It is approximately 56 miles and almost vertical
cliffs on one side with deep gorges on the other. There
are some orange gardens near Layshi. You can also view
the traditional weaving there. The Nagas normally build
their villages on high ground to make it inaccessible
and to protect themselves from marauding enemies.
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Mt. Saramati:
Mt. Saramati (3841 meter) is the highest in Nagaland and
it remains snow covered during winter. The mountain
range is covered with rich, natural and diverse forests,
visible at various altitudes, ranging from sub-tropical
ever green and semi ever green to temperate broad leaved
and Alpine vegetation. It also has good bio-diversity
with natural flora and fauna and various kinds of
orchids.
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The Naga Hills:
The Naga belong to the Tibeto-Myanmar group that
diverted to the west. There are 49 sub-groups
differentiated by their spoken language. The
southernmost point of the Naga Hill Tracts is the
sources of the Chindwin River and the northernmost point
is India-Myanmar border. The Naga can be found on both
sides of the India-Myanmar border. They live mostly
around the Patkoi Ranges and on the western hills of the
Chindwin River's sources. The Naga costumes must be
among the most colorful in the country. Feathers, fangs,
teeth, brass, beads, intricate weaving; they wear
everything in every colour. The females tattoo their
foreheads and chins.
Naga's biggest festival is New Year festival of January
15th, called Kaing Bi and organized by Naga festival
committee who choose each year's festival location and
details under the control of central government. All
Naga tribes send a few delegations to this occasion,
thus it is the perfect opportunity to see variety of
different Naga people at once. |
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