Pindaya is widely known as a quiet town perched on the bank of the placid Pone Ta lote Lake. The Pindaya Cave, containing thousands of Buddha images, is one of the most attractive destinations in Inlay region, Myanmar. Those images are in different sizes and materials in every imaginable corner of these mysterious Pindaya caves, awaiting curious travelers to come and discover.
This huge cavern is set on a limestone ridge filled with many chambers and tunnels all crammed with thousands of gilded Buddha statues. Every small corner and nook of the cave is fully cramped with Buddha images up to the ceiling. It is not known with certainty when the first images were placed inside the cave, but the oldest ones bearing inscriptions date back to the Konbaung dynasty of the second half of the 18th century. Besides the images are also a number of small pagodas as well as stalagmites and stalactites made from alabaster, teak, marble, brick, lacquer and cement which have been put there over centuries and arranged in such a way as to form a labyrinth throughout the various cave chambers.
From the entrance you can enjoy a beautiful view over the town. At the entrance of the cave is a large bronze bell cast in 1842 and a sculpture of a giant spider and a Prince aiming his bow at it. Local legend tells that once a giant spider lived in the cave. One day the spider captured a local Princess and held her captive in the cave. According to the legend, the Prince armed with bow and arrow killed the spider, thus rescuing the Princess.
Don’t forget to make a pause on the way to this ancient and historical place in must – to – go Myanmar.
