Discovering the secret Burmese capital

Just 20 kms from Mandalay is the longest-serving capital of Burma. On a small island, accessible only by boat, the ruins show you the country that was.

Written by Michael Turtle

Michael Turtle is the founder of Time Travel Turtle. A journalist for more than 20 years, he's been travelling the world since 2011.

Michael Turtle is the founder of Time Travel Turtle and has been travelling full time for a decade.

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Inwa, near Mandalay, Myanmar

For a foreigner, the history of Myanmar has become as repressed as its people for the past half century. The country closed its borders to the world and with the physical isolation came cultural barriers.

Before coming here, all I had generally heard about was the military junta which took control of the country in 1962, its human rights abuses and the imprisonment of The Lady.

I was probably aware vaguely of the period of British colonialism but I can’t remember ever hearing it talked about much in the conversations of global history which, admittedly, I tend to flit in and out of and pay only passing attention.

Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar

I certainly knew nothing of the centuries before the British invaded and so it was a surprise to be taken to the remnants of an ancient city and told it was the capital of Burma for about 360 years (on and off) between the 14th and 19th centuries. That’s much longer than any other capital of this country.

Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar

The city is called Inwa and it’s about 20 kilometres away from Mandalay.

What makes it particularly interesting is that it’s built on an artificial island, made in the 1300s by connecting the Irrawaddy and Myitnge Rivers with a canal. The city of Inwa was also once surrounded by a huge wall, which apparently formed the outline of a seated lion.

Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar
Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar

Visiting Inwa, the old Burmese capital

What is left of the city is quite spread out and, after getting a small boat across to the island, there are plenty of horse-drawn carriages waiting to take you around. We canter and trot from sight to sight.

Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar

The old Bagaya Monastery is made completely of teak wood and in good condition for something built in the 1770s. It was used during the peak years to educate the royals… so it was quaint to walk in and find a small school still being run in one smoky corner of the building.

Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar
Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar

The watchtower, 27 metres high, looks precarious these days and you can’t climb up it. I took a while to work out it was actually on a lean and that it wasn’t just the heat playing tricks with my eyes.

Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar

There’s the large Maha Aungmye Bonzan Monastery, built in 1822, that has rooms and passages all connecting to each other inside, where the cool air is trapped by the stone. Oh, and there was a cute little kid who insisted I took his photo and kept posing in front of different things.

Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar

The ancient walls give you a reference point from time to time when they reappear from behind some trees. Old temples sit by the side of the dirt tracks, protecting the ancient Buddha statues within.

Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar

There isn’t a whole city these days, though. A series of devastating earthquakes in 1839 destroyed most of Inwa and the decision was made by the King to not rebuild but move to the nearby location of Amapura.

Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar

But life has sprung up again and across the island today ‘modern’ life takes place. People walk their animals to water, they tend their crops, they bicycle past with the spoils of their farms.

Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar
Inwa near Mandalay, Myanmar

Like much of Myanmar, the ancient parts of the country’s history have not become too overrun with progress. It probably helps that there’s little progress outside of the main cities.

It means that, even though not all structures are in good condition, you can get a better sense of the past than in more developed countries.

I may not have known where the longest-serving capital of Burma was… but at least I can find out and see it for myself.

If you would like a guide to show you around the best things to see around Inwa, you can have a look at these options:

20 thoughts on “Discovering the secret Burmese capital”

  1. I went through the UK education system and British colonialism is never talked about. Many youngsters are unaware of the history of their ancestors. There seems to be a reluctance to discuss it in many sections of society, yet we pre-occupy ourselves with every other country’s history.

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    • It’s quite hard to get to so basically no other tourists. The horse drawn carriage was nice but mainly I used it for practical reasons because it’s a bit too large an area to easily walk around.

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    • Yeah, you couldn’t have planned that light better. I thought the whole place was just going to be ruins and the like – so it was a pleasant surprise to come across a little school like this!

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  2. I didn’t get to Inwa; by the time I reached Mandalay my visa was up. It’s great to see it through your eyes though and gives me yet another reason to return to this wonderful country and its people.

    Reply
    • Those four week visas are just not quite long enough, are they? Although in some ways it’s nice to know there are things to come back for. There were quite a few places I didn’t make it to… but, then again, maybe I would have got a bit tired of the country if I’d tried to squeeze everything in. They’re better to save for another time perhaps…

      Reply

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