The Great Buddhas of Monywa, Myanmar

The Maha Bodhi Ta Htaung, a Burmese monastery noted for its two huge Buddha images, is located in the hills south of Monywa. Images on top of a hill dominate the landscape and may be seen from a long distance. Thousands of seated Buddha figures under Bodhi trees dot the huge grounds at the foot of the hill.

The Monywa reclining Buddha is one of the world's largest, measuring 90 meters long and 20 meters high. The picture depicts the Buddha on the eve of death and entering Nirvana, clad in a golden robe and lying on a golden pedestal. The picture, which was completed in 1991, is hollow; visitors can walk inside the interior, which houses 9,000 miniature Buddha images.

The Laykyun Setkyar Buddha, a standing image of the Buddha draped in a golden robe, towers above the terrain. Two enormous white Chinthes, mythological monsters resembling lions, guard the stairs leading to the platform where the image is located. The standing statue is 116 meters (129 meters with the pedestal) tall and has thirty-one floors, which correspond to the Buddhist literature's 31 planes of existence or 31 Realms of Life Cycle. It was finished in 2008. The picture is hollow, and visitors can climb almost to the top. On the ground floor, there are multiple Buddha images in various mudras.

Murals show images from Buddhist hell and the penalties meted out to those who remain there on the image's interior walls. Some graphic scenes depict the consequences of various types of transgression. Visitors can see the surrounding countryside and the mountains in the background from the top of the image.

Location: Khatakan Taung, near Monywa, Myanmar