Phowintaung ( my, ဖိုလ်ဝင်တောင် , also spelt as Hpowindaung, Powintaung, Po Win Taung) is a
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
cave complex located approximately west of
Monywa and southeast of
Yinmabin Yinmabin () is a town and seat of the Yinmabin Township in the Sagaing Division in central Myanmar some west of Mandalay
Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, ...
, in
Yinmabin Township
Yinmabin Township is a township in Yinmabin District in the Sagaing Division of Myanmar. ,
Monywa District,
Sagaing Region
Sagaing Region ( my, စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Sagaing Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and lon ...
, Northern Burma (Myanmar). It is located on the western bank of the
Chindwin River. The name of the complex means ''Mountain of Isolated Solitary Meditation''.
The complex contains 947 small and large richly decorated caves. It is carved into a sandstone outcrop and contains numerous carved Buddha statues and mural paintings of geometric patterns and
Jataka
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, th ...
stories. The statues and paintings have been dated to between the 14th and 18th centuries.
Accessibility
It is accessible from Monywa either by direct road over the new bridge or by a ferry across the Chindwin and then taking a jeep at the scenic Nyaungbin village.
Gallery
References
Monywa - Santa Maria Travel and ToursLuminous Journeys Travel
External links
Photos of PhowintaungPanoramio pictures for Phowintaung
{{Buddhist sites in Myanmar
Buddhist caves in Myanmar
Buddhist temples in Myanmar
Sagaing Region
Tourist attractions in Myanmar