Alaungdaw Khatthahpa is a sacred shrine where the body of the great arhat Shin Maha Khatthahpa lies. Shin Maha Khatthahpa was an arhat at the time of Gautama Buddha. This place is located in a very remote place west of the Chindwin river among ravines, gorges and gullies. People say you can get there only by riding on elephants. The earth road is usable only a short period of time at the end of the cold season, during the dry season before the rainy season starts. There are legends that say the body of the arhat is in a cave. When people place offerings in the stream that goes into the cave, the offerings do not come out from the other side, etc. The place is rich in legends and tales of ancient history. So let us see what a pilgrimage to Alaungdaw Katthahpa is all about.

The Pilgrimage Begins...
     The pilgrimage tours to Alaungdaw Katthahpa start mostly from Mandalay. It takes about 4-5 hours to get to Monywa from Mandalay. You have to take the "Z" ferry to cross to the opposite bank of the Chindwin river to Nyaungbingyi port, from Monywa. The roads from then on are tar roads and better quality so it takes only about an hour to get to Hpo Win Taung (Hpo Win Mountain) that is a common stop over point. 

     "Popa Kyaung" monastery of Hpo Win Taung arranges pilgrimage tours to Alaungdaw Katthahpa twice a year; on Tabotwe (February) full moon days and Tabaung (March) full moon days.  People from all over the country congregate at Hpo Win Taung and continue to Alaungdaw Katthahpa.  The tour organizers from Yangon, Mandalay and Taungyi arrange to bring the pilgrims to Po Win Taung and the monastery takes care of the travel arrangements from then on. From Yangon, the cost is Kyat 6,500/person and it includes transportation cost for Ygn - Hpo Win Taung, Hpo Win Taung - Alaungdaw Katthahpa round trip, Hpo Win Taung - Mandalay and meals are included as well. On the other hand, you can come to Hpo Win Taung with your own arrangements. Then you have to contribute Kyat 3,500/person and the monastery takes care of the meals and transportation cost for Hpo Win Taung - Alaungdaw Katthahpa round trip. 

     Lunch is arranged for the pilgrims at the Popa Monastery dining hall. The rice is of decent quality and the menu includes Ngapi gyet, one kind of soup, a salty dish, a salad, dippers such as young tama (neem tree, margosa tree) leaves that grow only in Upper Burma, lettuce, cabbage, etc., so the meals are quite tasty.

The Full Moon Days...
     At Alaungdaw Katthahpa platform, there are festivities on the full moon days of Tabodwe and Tabaung. On Tabodwe full moon days, there are htamanae pwes (festivals making a delicacy called htamanae made of glutinous rice, oil, sesamum, groundnut, etc). On Tabaung full moon days, there are ceremonies offering provisions to monks (hsun hsan zein laung hlu pwe) and lighting of 1000 oil lamps/candles as offertory (si me ta taung pu zaw pwe). People who want to participate in these festivities should go to Hpo Win Taung by the 11th or 12ve days of the waxing of the moon, before the full moon day. There are free meals for all pilgrims starting from the 11th day of waxing moon. 

From Hpo Win Taung...
     From Hpo Win Taung, the journey continues to the township of Yinmarbin which is about 17 miles away.

From Yinmarbin...
     You cross several villages until you reach to Kapaing village which is 20 miles away.  The scenes from Yinmarbin are yellow sunflower fields, green wheat and pea fields, dark and gloomy toddy-palm trees but from Kapaing village, the scenery changes as the road is now ascending up a mountain.

The National Park...
     With the Alaungdaw Katthahpa shrine at its center, there is "Alaungdaw Katthahpa National Park". The reserved forest area comprises 620.35 sq. miles (397,026 acres) and it protects not only the forests but also the wild life. The staff from the Ministry of Forestry, trained at the CAS- California Academy of Science, are at the area researching and collecting data of live species. Starting from January 2001, the staff, with the help of NGOs such as GSN, WCS, FREDA, collect data and photos of the wildlife using trap cameras that use infrared rays. They were able to take photos of wildlife species such as saing (banteng/wild ox), pyaung (gaur), Kyaung Myin, Kyathit (leopard), Kway Tu Wet Tu (hog-badger), Gyi (barking deer), Taw Sate, Taw Kway (wild dog), Thit Kyaung, Hpyu (porcupine), Taw Wet (wild boar). However, they are not yet able to get any photos of the tigers. It is guessed that there are 200-250 tigers living in Myanmar currently. 

Mountain Roads... 
     The road is now going up the mountain and it is rather eerie to look down the Pyar Pon Taung cliff which is about 1000 feet above a valley and the top of the trees down below seem tiny.

     The scenery is exceptionally beautiful. The big trees that lined the mountain are so tall and straight that if you look up, even your hat could fall off. All along the road, there are birds and other wildlife enjoying their natural habitat, colorful butterflies frolicking, floral species in abundance and creeks and waterfalls at nature's best. The weary traveler appreciates the picturesque scenery. 

     There are places where you have to take a very steep stretch after a sharp turn.  Most of the times when climbing uphill, the passengers get off the car and push the car uphill.  What most people do is stop the car every time it gets to a mountain top and the car takes a break and so do the passengers from pushing the car uphill. The travelers take out the food they brought from their homes and share with their fellow travelers. 

     The trip includes not only going uphill and downhill but also creeks and streams. The road is dusty because it is an earth road. It is refreshing for the passengers when they see these creeks. They wash themselves in the water and take out their food supplies and eat again.

Hpayawa Base Camp...
     After resting awhile at Chaungmagyi, the journey continues for two miles to Hpayawa base camp. Hpayawa is very close to Alaungdaw Katthahpa, only about 1.5 miles away. However, the rest of this trip is a jungle road where cars cannot drive through. All the cars are left behind at Hpayawa (entrance of pagoda) base camp.
The owners of the food stalls are people from Hpo Win Taung and nearby villages. They open the shops from the beginning of the month of Pyatho (approximately December-January) and close the shops and return home before the rainy season starts.  They consider that getting the opportunity to pay respects to the shrine and donating their income is the benefit they get out of their work.
     There are a series of food stalls at the base camp. The touts (shwe kjyo) from the food stalls at Alaungdaw Katthahpa are found here touting for the food stalls and souvenirs such as Alaungdaw Katthahpa's pictures and the history of Alaungdaw Katthahpa from their shops. 

     The gold that is being sold at Alaungdaw Katthahpa is in the form of packets of gold leaf that are used to gild the statues or anything that is of reverence to the pilgrims.  The touts sell you gold leaf packets (shwe zaing) in black market. Although it is a black market, the price is not necessarily higher. The reason some pilgrims buy from the touts is because the owners of the authorized gold leaf shops at Alaungdaw Katthahpa are known to be non-Buddhists. 

     The owners of the food stalls are people from Hpo Win Taung and nearby villages. They open the shops from the beginning of the month of Pyatho (approximately December-January) and close the shops and return home before the rainy season starts.  They consider that getting the opportunity to pay respects to the shrine and donating their income is the benefit they get out of their work here. 

Elephant Rides...
     You can walk or ride elephants for the rest of this 1.5 miles distance. If you are riding an elephant, up to 4 people can ride on the elephants for Kyat 1500/elephant.  These elephants are normally used for pulling logs but during the festivals, they are used to taxi from Hpayawa base camp to Alaungdaw Katthahpa.

     For people who prefer to walk they can get coolies/porters to carry their bags for 15-20Kyat/viss.  There is a 10 feet stage from where people climb up onto an elephant.  Four people can sit in a big cane basket on top of the elephants.  The elephants are very tame.

Entrance of Alaungdaw Katthahpa...
     The experience of coming up to Alaungdaw Khatthahpa is exhilarating; the car ride up the mountain road is pleasant, the ride on the elephant's back is unusual, the narrow tracks that are just big enough for two elephants to pass by are woven through the path, some places are creeks and streams and some are cliffs and ridges.

     You can hear the distinct sound of the kjei zi (triangular brass gong) as you approach closer to Alaungdaw Khatthahpa. About 100 small gongs are hung from wooden poles and when people sound the gongs, the sound is clear and beautiful in the quietness of the mountains. 

     The area of Alaungdaw Khatthahpa is quite big. People have donated zayuts (public rest places built on sacred premises) so pilgrims can stay over. The dwellings are built among the mountains, caves, and trees. You can ask the touts to help you request a place to stay from the monk who is in charge of the place. They even take you to the zayut where you will be staying without charging you anything. You can just eat from their food stall and buy souvenirs from them if you want to. If you don't buy from them, they won't hold you accountable for it. 

     The owners of the food stalls are people from Hpo Win Taung and nearby villages. They open the shops from the beginning of the month of Pyatho (approximately December-January) and close the shops and return home before the rainy season starts.  They consider that getting the opportunity to pay respects to the shrine and donating their income is the benefit they get out of their work here. 

     On the platform of Alaungdaw Khatthahpa and the vicinity, people do not seem to sleep at all. There are noises coming from all sorts of activities and the lights are bright throughout the night. The sound of dewdrops falling on the roof is noticeable. People gather here and there in groups sitting around the bonfires. The temple housing the reclining statue of Alaungdaw Khatthahpa is filled with pilgrims even before sunrise. 

The History of Alaungdaw Khatthahpa...
     Shin (reverend) Maha (great) Khatthahpa was a disciple arhat of Gautama Buddha and was famous for strictly following an austere 13 regimens (du din) set out by Buddha and was awarded ei tade' (recognition of pre-eminence in wisdom, power bestowed on the disciple by the Buddha).  After Buddha demised, in the month of WahGaung, in the Buddhist year of 148, Shin Khatthahpa organized the very first convention of a Buddhist synod.  It is believed that he traveled across Manipura Arthan in India, crossed the Upper Chindwin area and arrived at the place where the statue now exists.  He is believed to have passed away at this place, at a cave below the meeting point of three mountains Waybula, Waybahra, and Thonnandra.  People have made a temple housing a reclining statue of Shin Khatthahpa on the rock shelf above the cave where his body (Alaungdaw) is entombed.  The history of Alaungdaw Khatthahpa says that the remains will exist in natural state until the next Buddha, Arimittaya, attains Buddhahood. 

Upon Meeting Alaungdaw Khatthahpa...
     To see the entrance of the cave, you have to climb down the stone steps built on the edge of the rock-base mountain. The steps are now 30 years old. The cave is below the meeting point of the three mountains mentioned above. The cave is decorated by stalactites (kjau' se' pan zwe) and water is continuously dropping into the cave. There is a small shed with a roof so that people can pay respects to Alaungdaw Khatthahpa's body. If not for this little shed, people will be soaked from the continuously falling water drops. 

     There is a huge boulder with a big crack at the mouth of the cave which is about one inch wide.  The boulder acts as a door to the cave where the remains of Alaungdaw Khatthahpa are located. As an act of reverence, people gild layers of gold leaf on the boulder and you can see it is now bright and golden with gold. Villagers, who live along the creek that flows from the cave, wouldn't pan for gold in case the gold from the cave is in the stream of water. Devotees also put flowers, oil lamps/candles, incense, fruits, rice and water at the mouth of the cave as offertory. According to the history written at Alaungdaw Khatthahpa, some people even donated their own hair and cut their own fingers, as they were not satisfied with offering just water, fruits, and flowers.

      The history of Alaungdaw Khatthahpa goes on saying why there is a boulder blocking the entrance to the cave. King Azartathat revere Shin Maha Khatthahpa so much that when the great arhat went away to a secluded place to die, the king organized an expedition to search for the remains. When the king found Shin Maha Khatthahpa, he was so awed by the arhat that he donated all the jewelry, diamond, gold, precious stones that he had brought with him. So that people cannot destroy or steal what he had donated, the guardian spirits of the Sarsana (Buddhist Era) and other spirits made a boulder sealed tight by itself and so it did.

     There is a small cave entrance not too far away from the statue of Alaungdaw Khatthahpa. It is called "shin thu-nge paut". It is located on a very steep slope of the rock-mountain. Some young people would climb on the stony edge and try to get into the shin thu-gne paut. The history of the existence of this shin thu-nge paut is this; at one time very long ago, a monk and a young novice monk from Kapaingtheekone village, Yinmarbin township, came for Alaungdaw Khatthahpa pilgrimage and somehow got into the cave where the remains of Alaungdaw Khatthahpa lay. The monk warned the young novice not to have any desire for the jewelry and the precious stones that are in the cave but when he actually saw the donations, he himself got greedy. Because of that the stone walls closed by themselves but the young innocent novice was helped by the guardian spirits to escape. The novice was shown the way out through a complicated path among the stone caves and where he finally got out was the shin thu-nge paut that pilgrims are now fascinated with. 

Thitsar (Truth), Metta (Love, Compassion) and Lwan Zaydi (Lwan Pagoda)...
     There is a Thitsar (Truth) well, also known as a "Wishing Well" on the slope of Waybahra hill. When King Azartathat searched for Shin Maha Khatthahpa, he stopped at the crest of one of the three hills and took a solemn vow by making three circular motions on the ground with his dagger. He vowed that if he were to find Shin Maha Khatthahpa, there should be water coming out from this place, and this water should flow to the place where the arhat is resting. Clear water indeed sprouted and trickled down the slope and into the steep rock-base ravine below. That spot is where the well was dug. The pilgrims believe that if they drink or use the water from this Thitsar well, they would avoid any form of danger, so they drink from the well. Some people take the water from the well in bottles. There are some people selling the water from the well for Kyat50 per bottle. 

     The Metta (Love, Compassion) well is located nearby the buildings where pilgrims stay. The pilgrims can not only drink but also take showers with water from the Metta well.

     There are also a temple called Lwan Zaydi and Sutaungpyay shrine that is related to the history of Alaungdaw Khatthahpa because it is a common belief that the pagoda and the shrine are built by King Azartathat on the same trip searching for Shin Maha Khatthahpa. Lwan Zaydis are normally erected in memory of a dear departed person and Sutaungpyay means to have one's prayers answered. The distance to the pagoda and shrine is about 1.5 miles from Alaungdaw Khatthahpa and you have to cross three mountains and three streams to get there. If you ride on an elephant, the fare is Kyat 1,500/elephant. 

     The path is so pleasant that most people walk and the queue looks like a parade because pilgrims are walking one after another on their way to the pagoda. It is beautified by the sounds of young women singing along the path, the wild flowers in their hands and the singing of the forest-dwelling birds. 

     The heights of both the pagoda and the shrine are not too high. The reason for pilgrims going there is not only because of the pagoda but also because of the pleasantness of the trip. In the stream along the path, there are tiny pebbles in the water that look like rice. It is believed that the stream is where Shin Maha Khatthahpa himself washed his lunch bowl (thabeit) and the rice from the bowl has turned into pebbles and has been spreading. People pick these rice-like pebbles from the streams and take them home as souvenirs.

Why People Visit Alaungdaw Khatthahpa...
     The memorable experience of going to Alaungdaw Khatthahpa is riding the elephants. There are many people who are taking pictures with the elephants. Some people ask to cut the tail of the elephants to make rings out of the hair of elephant tails. (It is a common belief in Myanmar that wearing elephant tail rings keeps you healthy and many people look for authentic elephant tails). People are crowded around the sale of elephant tails for Kyat 50/hair. 

     The road to Alaungdaw Khatthahpa is very rough and long. When you reach there, you do not really get to see the alaungdaw (body) of Shin Maha Khatthahpa but only see the boulder at the mouth of the cave. However, there are many pilgrims who go every year. It is worth going because of the natural beauty of the mountains, the cool weather, the rare experience of riding on an elephant and the experience of paying respects to Shin Maha Khatthahpa by climbing down in such difficulty to the fascinating cave full of stalactites. It is probable that when you get to Alaungdaw Khatthahpa, you get the same experience of overcoming difficulties that mountain climbers get when they reach the top of the mountain. That is probably one of the reasons why many pilgrims go to Alaungdaw Khatthahpa every year.