Visiting Taung Kalat, Myanmar’s Mountaintop Monastery
For more photos from Mount Popa and Taung Kalat, explore the Mount Popa location page.
Perched on top of a volcanic plug in central Myanmar is Taung Kalat monastery, home to 37 နတ်—”nats”, or spiritual demigods—and a dramatic panoramic view. Located 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Mount Popa, the extinct volcano that once formed this 737-meter (2,417-foot) thumb, Taung Kalat draws pilgrims and tourists who are willing to climb its 777 stairs to reach the gilded rooftops and Buddhas above.
The stairs—a sacred site in their own right—were once maintained by the famed Buddhist hermit U Khandi. The compound is also home to a horde of macaques, where they pose for tourists and snatch their unattended bags in the hope of finding a snack.
