Late medieval · Buddhist · Myanmar

Shwedagon Pagoda

ရွှေတိဂုံစေတီတော်

Singuttara Hill, Yangon, Yangon · 16.7983°, 96.1497°

Relic stupa (eight hairs of the Buddha)Mon (Hanthawaddy)Burmese gilded stupa (99 m)
Sacred since
600 CE
Mon foundations; legend places relics in the Buddha's lifetime
Standing structure
raised to present form 14th–18th c.; origins far older
patron: Queen Shin Sawbu; King Dhammazedi; crown re-gilded by Mindon

History & significance

The golden heart of Myanmar: a 99 m stupa sheathed in genuine gold plates, its hti umbrella crusted with thousands of diamonds and rubies — enshrining, by tradition, eight hairs of the Buddha and relics of three predecessors, making it the oldest relic pagoda in Buddhist reckoning. Queen Shin Sawbu gave her weight in gold to gild it, beginning a national practice; every movement in Burmese history, royal or democratic, has rallied on this hill.

Sthala katha — the legend

The merchant brothers Tapussa and Bhallika, first lay disciples, carried the Buddha's eight hairs home across the sea; opened on Singuttara hill, the casket blazed — the hairs rose, rays healing the blind and deaf, jewels raining — and the relics were sealed where the gods had kept the staff, water-filter and robe of three earlier Buddhas.

Reaching there

Yangon; four covered stairways & lifts; dress code, barefoot precinct.

Official site ↗Open in Google Maps ↗Wikipedia ↗View on the atlas map

Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Mon (Hanthawaddy)