Advertisement
Phowintaung
Phowintaung
4.5
Points of Interest & LandmarksCaverns & Caves
About
Duration: More than 3 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.

Top ways to experience Phowintaung and nearby attractions

The area
Reach out directly

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles316 reviews
Excellent
204
Very good
81
Average
22
Poor
9
Terrible
0

Angela W
Brisbane, Australia40 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2013 • Couples
We weren't at all inspired by Mandalay (one of the big 4) so were so glad we made the small (3 hour) journey from Mandalay to this off the beaten track destination. You will not be disappointed. We hired a Jeep to go there for 20,000 but I would suggest the 4 wheel drive or sedan to keep your teeth in your mouth and to prevent any further dust asphyxiation that you normally get in Myanmar.

When we arrived our driver introduced us to a lovely young woman Kiama who would be our guide. I can thoroughly recommend her, she has pretty good English and is sweet and knowledgeable. She doesn't have a set fee, just a donation to help her studies. Generally she gets about 3000 but we gave her 10000 as she was so good. She nearly fell over with appreciation as she had never earns this much, yet it was less than we would pay for 2 drinks at home!

Anyway we learnt a lot about the journey of Buddha and the 14th century caves carved out of the hill that all house an impressive array of buddha's. The monkey's were also an entertaining attraction.

Enjoy! And say hello to Kiama from Angela and Tim if you see her.
Written 5 December 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TrailBlazer741942
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2017 • Solo
The "caves" were different from the other Myanmar's sights and therefore worth to see. We were amazed by our local guide Khaing Mar who was born and lives in the village. She is very nice, friendly and very happy to present the caves to foreigners, because there is not many tourists. She speaks above-average English and has a very good knowledge of the site, religion, history and local life. We felt like going around with a friend. She leaves it to you what you pay. You can phone or SMS her +95 9779988532.
We went there from Monywa by taxi for 30.000 kyats.
Written 26 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

shula m
israel129 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2015 • Friends
If at all possible, try travel from Bagan to Mandalay by road, otherwise you will miss this beautiful site. Around 150,00 caves or niches, carved in the stone of hill slope. each niche (or cave) with one or several Budah statues. Some decorated, some simple. Most statues sits, some reclines There are beautiful stone decoration outside the caves. We were told there are 450,00 statues in total.
What is nice about this site, is the feeling and patina of age. No glittering lights like you see so often in other temples. just a place to pray.
Written 1 February 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

stonemanSydney
sydney422 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2014 • Solo
Took a moto taxi 12000 Kyats return plus tip. Arrived & asked for the female guide Kiama who was immediately summoned. Speaks very good English. Purchased some peanuts to feed the monkeys as we walked around. A sign said $2 entry for foreigners but no one asked me to pay. So much more interesting with Kiama to explain the history etc. Another guy followed us around so gave Kiama 2000 Kyats in secret & 1000 Kyats at the end. Certainly worth the effort to visit.

On the way there I visited Shwe Daung Oo Pagoda which has a small zoo (couple of bears, deer, rabbits etc) adjacent, all free.
Written 13 August 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SIEW Ngung Chia
Singapore, Singapore1,083 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2017 • Couples
Good site. Lots of walking. Lots of temples but in bad shape. Beware of moneys - quite fierce. Better to wear good walking shoes and appropriately dress. Many statues in cave and paintings very badly maintained. Better to have a guide. Rich in history
Written 8 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MIB Tour Compan... M
Mandalay Region, Myanmar91 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2017 • Friends
We can get to the cave by crossing Chindwin river by boat and taking van. We can also get there directly by car. There are two ways to reach the cave by walking along the star-cases or climbing by car along the little high road. A lot of monkeys are spread out. We saw many sand stone made sitting Buddha images and caves. Sand stone pagodas can be found only abundantly in Mrauk U in Rakkhine State. We can walk inside the caves and see ancient wall paintings. The caves look cool. Some of them are under the maintenance. At the mouth of some cave, we can see artful stucco carvings like angels, giants and mythical animals of Nyaungyan period
Written 28 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ashish T
291 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2017
Located in out skirt of Monya but worth a visit. Surprisingly such a good site is totally in negligence and in a bad condition. Would suggest to go by boat as it is just another side of city across the river. You can choose approaching road also but it is a long way.
Written 17 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mavo2
Hamburg79 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2017 • Solo
The caves are in a not well-kept state. It is as if you just discover them. The buddhas in there are carved out of stone, some walls are colorfully painted. Ask in the village for Khaing Mar, a woman that can guide you with above-average English and a very good knowledge of the site and history. She makes more out of a visit and leaves it to you what you pay. I gave her 10000 kyat (ca. 6 euros, 7 dollars) for a two-hour guidance and she was happy. You can phone her +95 9779988532.

If you want to go use a taxi or rent a motorbike as tuktuks are nearly as expensive as the taxi. The prices were in Oct. 2017 motorbike 15000 per day, tuktuk 25000 for the trip, taxi 30000 kyats.
Written 23 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ballie2014
Amsterdam, The Netherlands1 contribution
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2017 • Solo
These caves and their Buddhad are all manmade. It was a combination of a small Petra in Jordan with Lalibela in Ethiopia.
I have seen many places in Myanmar but this was one of the best.
The girls name who is mentioned in other posts is Khine Mar and you can call her in +95 9779988532. or ask for her at the restaurant. Wonderful, knowledgeable and great guide!
Written 1 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Christopher
Pennsylvania762 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2017 • Solo
I arrived via boat and pick up truck from Monywa. The driver asked me to wait while he got someone... a pretty young lady appeared to show me around.

The cave complex is actually carved alcoves and larger areas out of sandstone. Many Buddhas carved inside along with some wonderful interior painting. Worth a couple hours.

But the highlight was Khaing. She spoke quite good English and was very well versed on Buddhist imagery and background. Speaking to her about her life, hopes and aspirations, it was like having a special friend to hang out with.

Go! Enjoy it, ask for Khaing when you arrive and tip well! You will be making a difference in someone's life...
Written 22 February 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 127
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

PHOWINTAUNG (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

RestaurantsFlightsTravel StoriesCruisesCar Hire