Golden Rock

The Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda, commonly known as the Golden Rock, is a holy Buddhist shrine in Burma. An significant pilgrimage site for Burmese Buddhists is a large boulder on the edge of a cliff with a pagoda on top enshrining a hair of the Buddha.

The massive Golden Rock in the highlands north of Yangon, dangling over a steep precipice, is an incredible sight. The gold-colored rock is actually a granite boulder that has been coated with gold leaf by Buddhist enthusiasts.

The rock is 712 meters tall and is topped with a golden pagoda known as the Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda or Kyaik Hti Yo Pagoda, which houses the Buddha's hair relic.

According to legend, when the Buddha visited the region, he bestowed a hair relic on a recluse. The hermit went to the King and begged that the relic be enshrined on a boulder shaped like the hermit's head.

The King, who possessed magical abilities, discovered a suitable stone on the sea floor and carried it to Kyaikto, where it was set in its current location.

It is thought that the Buddha's hair, which is kept in the pagoda atop the rock, keeps the Golden Rock from collapsing.

The tradition goes that the boat that was used to deliver the boulder turned into stone. The Kyaukthanban Pagoda is located on top of a big rock near the Golden Rock that resembles the shape of a boat.

Location: Ka Dai Dutt