Phaung Daw U Pagoda, Inle Lake

Phaung Daw U Kyaung, or Phaung Daw U Pagoda, is an imposing Buddhist temple in Ywama Village, Inle Lake. The Phaung Daw U is the venue of one of Myanmar's most important festivals, the Thadingyut, or Festival of Lights. This festival marks the beginning of the Buddhist Lent.

Tourist gondolas parked at a lakeside restaurant at Phaung Daw U Pagoda, Inle Lake.

During the Phaung Daw U Festival, four sacred images of the Buddha are paraded for two weeks. These are four of five Buddha images which were brought back to Myanmar by the widely travelled King Alaungsithu, upon his return from the Malay peninsula, during the 12th Century. They were deposited in a cave, and was only rediscovered many centuries later. Since then, devotees have placed so many layers of gold leaves on these images, totally transforming them into lumps of gold.

During the festival, only four of the five images were paraded. This is due to an incident that happened in 1965, when a storm capsized the barge carrying the images, and it sank to the bottom of the lake. Only four of the images were recovered. When these were brought back to Phaung Daw U Pagoda, surprisingly the fifth image was also found, still covered with weeds. Since then, the fifth image has never left the pagoda. Today the site of the boat capsize is marked by a pole crowned with the sacred mythological hintha bird.

The Phaung Daw U Festival draws visitors from all over Myanmar who come not only as a pilgrimage, but also to witness the famed leg-rowing boat competitions.

Our tour guide Henry placing gold leaves on the Buddha images.

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