Off the beaten path: Mrauk U
Mrauk U, which is now just a small archaeological town in Western Myanmar (Burma), not so long ago was the capital of the Arakan empire where Portuguese, Dutch and French traders were making their deals.
Mrauk-U lies on the rocky plain or watershed between the Lemro and Kaladan rivers intersected by ranges of hills and numerous canals.
In the beautiful hilly landscape of the Rakhine state hundreds of ancient temples and pagodas, many of which are well preserved, remain of the powerful empire that once flourished here. Some of the best known are:
- Koe-Thaung temple (shrine of the 90,000 images of the Buddha)
- Htukkanthein temple
- Le-myet-hna temple (four faced pagoda)
- Shite-Thaung temple (temple of the 80,000 images of the Buddha)
- Laungbanpyauk pagoda (colored tile pagoda)
- Ratana-Pon Pagoda
- Mahabodhi Shwegu temple
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