12 Best Things to Do in Mandalay in 2026
Travel advisory: Both the US and UK governments warn against visiting. The US advises against all travel to Myanmar; the UK advises against all but essential travel to Mandalay and against all travel to Sagaing and the area north of the city. Fighting, drone attacks, curfews and internet shutdowns continue, and the March 2025 earthquake damaged many sites. Check the US State Department and UK FCDO before making any plans.
Read this before the list. Myanmar has been under military rule since the 2021 coup and a civil war has run since, so most governments currently advise against travel, check your own government’s current guidance rather than any number printed here. A magnitude-7.7 earthquake also hit the Sagaing-Mandalay area on 28 March 2025 and damaged several sights below; each one gets an honest status note, and “verify” means verify, not “probably fine.” Mandalay city is calmer than the Sagaing Region across the river, which is still an active conflict zone. If and when it’s safe to go, favor small, independent, locally run operators. Official advice currently recommends against travel. This list describes Mandalay as it was and could be again.
Twelve things Mandalay has been known for: the sunset climb up Mandalay Hill, the pre-dawn Mahamuni ritual and the city’s craft trades. The current condition and access of every sight below are unconfirmed since the 2025 earthquake, and none can be treated as open.
1. Sunset from Mandalay Hill
A traditional Mandalay activity: four covered, barefoot stairways climb roughly 230 meters past small pagodas to Sutaungpyei Pagoda at the top, with views over the city and the Irrawaddy at golden hour. No damage has been reported, but access is unconfirmed.
2. The Mahamuni face-washing ritual
Every morning around 4:30-5am, attendants wash the face of the Mahamuni Buddha, a 6.5-tonne bronze image now under roughly 15cm of accumulated gold leaf from centuries of devotees. Only men may enter the inner sanctum to apply leaf themselves; women are barred from that part of the complex. The 2025 earthquake caused confirmed significant structural damage here, and its current status and access are unconfirmed.
3. Shwenandaw Monastery and the rebuilt Palace
Shwenandaw is a Konbaung-era royal building, a carved teak structure moved outside the palace walls in 1878. The Royal Palace nearby is almost entirely a 1990s concrete-and-metal reconstruction after WWII-era destruction. The Palace sits in an active military zone with restricted access even before the quake, and the quake itself damaged its gates and walls; Shwenandaw’s condition is unconfirmed, and access to both is unconfirmed.
4. The 729 marble slabs at Kuthodaw Pagoda
Kuthodaw is nicknamed “the world’s largest book”: 729 marble slabs of Buddhist scripture, each sheltered in its own small white stupa across the pagoda grounds. Surveyors reported serious structural damage after the 2025 earthquake, and access is unconfirmed.
5. Gold-leaf beaters
Mandalay is Myanmar’s crafts center, and the hand-pounded gold leaf that gilds Mahamuni is beaten here in small workshops that were historically free to watch, alongside wood, stone, and marble carving trades. Whether they are operating is unconfirmed.
6. Zegyo Market
Central Mandalay’s market covers produce, textiles, and handicrafts in one sprawling stop, and was a place where the crafts above were sold. Its trading status is unconfirmed.
7. Mandalay’s own mont di noodles
Mandalay has its own noodle dish, mont di, distinct from the Shan noodles and mohinga you’ll find across the rest of the country, alongside a large Yunnanese-Chinese food thread from the city’s ethnic-Chinese population. The full picks are in the best places to eat guide .
8. Sunset boats on the Irrawaddy
Slow boats along the river at golden hour were the closest thing Mandalay had to a nature outing, since the surrounding land is flat, dry plain. No operator can currently be confirmed.
9. The ancient capitals
The classic loop out to Amarapura’s U Bein Bridge, Inwa, Sagaing, and Mingun is the reason people add extra days here, and it’s also the part of Mandalay hit hardest by the 2025 quake: Inwa lost an estimated 75% of its structures, Sagaing was very heavily damaged, and Mingun’s Hsinbyume Pagoda is reported largely destroyed. Sagaing and Mingun lie in Sagaing Region, where the UK advises against all travel. The full breakdown, site by site, is in the Mandalay day trips guide .
10. Trishaws
Trishaws and horse-carts were a traditional way to get around parts of Mandalay and the ancient capitals.
11. Marionette puppet shows
Traditional Burmese marionette performances are part of the country’s performing arts. No current performance schedule can be confirmed.
12. Tea shops
Tea-shop culture, with laphet yay and long conversation, is a Mandalay institution.
Official advice
For the advisory itself, see the US State Department and UK FCDO guidance on Myanmar, and see the full Mandalay guide .