Kyaikhtiyo, Myanmar (Burma)

Kyaikhtiyo pagoda is located in the small town called Kyaikhto, in the Mon State. This destination is 160km away from Yangon. The pagoda is 1100km above sea-level. It is a 11 kilometer uphill climb for the hikers from Kinpun base camp. There is also a steep winding road for 4-wheel drive cars from the base to the nearest point of the pagodas. The pagoda is also known as "the golden rock". The meaning of Kyaik Hti Yo : According to Mon tradition, the name is a corruption of Kyaiki-thi-yo being derived as follows. In Mon language the word "Kyaik" means " pagoda" and " yo" " to carry on the hermits head", in Pali the word" ithi" means a hermit and therefore the name means " the pagoda carried on the hermit's head. Structure :The pagoda, about 18 feet high, and 50 feet in girth. is situated on the hill of the same name on the ridge between Sittaung and Thanlwin. It is built on a huge, almost egg- shaped, rounded granitoid boulder perched on the very summit of a projecting and shelving tabular rock, which in itself is separated several feet from the mountain by a rent or chasm, now spanned by a small foot bridge of iron and on the further side drops perpendicularly into a valley blow.