• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Time Travel Turtle

A travel blog with stories beyond the brochure

  • HOME
  • ABOUT ME
  • CONTACT ME
  • BY COUNTRY
    • WEST EUROPE
      • Belgium
      • England
      • France
      • Germany
      • Ireland
      • Liechtenstein
      • Luxembourg
      • Netherlands
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Switzerland
      • Wales
    • NORTH EUROPE
      • Estonia
      • Finland
      • Latvia
      • Lithuania
      • Norway
      • Sweden
    • SOUTH EUROPE
      • Cyprus
      • Gibraltar
      • Greece
      • Holy See
      • Italy
      • Malta
      • Portugal
      • San Marino
      • Spain
    • EAST EUROPE
      • Austria
      • Belarus
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • Hungary
      • Montenegro
      • Poland
      • Serbia
    • NORTH ASIA
      • China
      • Japan
      • Kazakhstan
      • Kyrgyzstan
      • Mongolia
      • North Korea
      • Tajikistan
      • Uzbekistan
    • SOUTH ASIA
      • Cambodia
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Myanmar
      • Malaysia
      • Nepal
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Sri Lanka
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • NORTH AMERICA
      • Antigua & Barbuda
      • Belize
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Guatemala
      • Mexico
      • USA
    • SOUTH AMERICA
      • Argentina
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Uruguay
    • AFRICA
      • Egypt
      • Morocco
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
    • OCEANIA
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
    • MIDDLE EAST
      • Jordan
      • Turkey
  • MOST POPULAR
    • The world’s oldest backpacker
    • Orangutans in Borneo
    • The need for speed
    • Trying to get out of the slum
    • The lake swamped with tourism
    • Journey into Dreamland
    • The village where life begins again
    • Is Cambodia safe for travellers?
    • Making the perfect gin and tonic
  • UNESCO

High on a hill and guarded by monkeys

July 7, 2019 | Michael Turtle | 28 Comments

INCREDIBLE DESTINATION

Mount Popa Monastery, Myanmar

You feel every one of the 777 steps climbing to the top of the monastery at Mount Popa. Partly because of the burn in your legs. Party because of the constant threat of attack from the hundreds of monkeys who live along the staircase, seemingly guarding it, army-like, from any enemy invasion. In lieu of any enemies, they make food in your bags or pockets their target.

Mount Popa Monastery, near Bagan, Myanmar

Mount Popa Monastery, near Bagan, Myanmar

The monastery is built on the top of a volcanic plug, caused by the nearby volcano Mount Popa. It rises 737 metres above sea level and stands out awkwardly on the landscape, like a lone skyscraper in a city of shacks. From below, the gold at the top shimmers in the Myanmar sun.

Mount Popa Monastery, near Bagan, Myanmar

Along the staircase to the top, various temples and shrines provide a chance for rest and spiritual reflection on why you’re tackling such a climb.

Mount Popa Monastery, near Bagan, Myanmar

A hermit called U Khandi maintained the staircase until he died in the 1940s. For a hermit, it wouldn’t have been a particularly solitary life, though. The monastery is a popular pilgrimage site for the Myanmar people.

Mount Popa Monastery, near Bagan, Myanmar

Mount Popa Monastery, near Bagan, Myanmar

They come in a large part for the residents of the mountain. Not the monkeys… or the monks… but the spirits known as nats. There are 37 of them in residence, apparently, and are depicted in their human forms in these statues at the bottom of the staircase.

Mount Popa Monastery, near Bagan, Myanmar

Mount Popa Monastery, near Bagan, Myanmar

The Mount Popa monastery, or Taung Kalat as it’s technically known, is an easy day trip from Bagan. It takes just over an hour to drive there and there are plenty of people in Bagan who will gladly take you.

If you would like to book a tour in advance, there are some options here:

Mount Popa Monastery, near Bagan, Myanmar

If you’re not scared of monkeys – or nats – it’s worth it.

Myanmar Travel Guide

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MYANMAR?

See my Myanmar Travel Guide

To help you plan your trip to Myanmar:

  • Five ways to experience local Myanmar
  • Why the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is so important
  • What to expect on the Circle Line in Yangon
  • How to spend a day in Bagan
  • Visiting Mount Popa Monastery from Bagan
  • The best things to see in Bago
  • The story behind the Royal Palace of Mandalay
  • Don’t miss the U Bein Teak Bridge near Mandalay
  • Here’s why I didn’t like visiting Inle Lake
  • Hiking with locals in Shan State

Let someone else do the work for you:

You may also want to consider taking a Myanmar tour, rather than organising everything on your own. It’s also a nice way to have company if you are travelling solo.

I am a ‘Wanderer’ with G Adventures and they have great tours in Myanmar.

You could consider:

  • Myanmar on a Shoestring (14 days)
  • Classic Myanmar Adventure (14 days)
  • The Heart of Myanmar- National Geographic (12 days)

When I travel internationally, I always get insurance. It’s not worth the risk, in case there’s a medical emergency or another serious incident. I recommend you use World Nomads for your trip.

Reader Interactions

    Comments Cancel reply

  1. Kym Ciftci |

    February 9, 2013 at 5:22 am

    Reply

    Wpw that’s impressive. To get to the top I would have not to look down. Getting down might be a problem though!

    • Michael Turtle |

      February 9, 2013 at 3:50 pm

      Reply

      I felt like the monkeys were even more vicious on the way back down. That was the hardest thing!! 🙂

  2. Lillie - @WorldLillie |

    February 10, 2013 at 5:32 am

    Reply

    This article would have been cool without the monkeys, but once you add monkeys to anything, it becomes AMAZING! 🙂

    • Chail ReSort |

      February 14, 2013 at 8:41 pm

      Reply

      Trip to this monastery really worth, and stepping up makes it rappelling while monkey makes it rappelling adventure. Awesome place to visit. From downwards, it seems like a castle built on the top of the skyscraper.

      • Michael Turtle |

        February 16, 2013 at 6:05 pm

        Reply

        Yes, it does look like a skyscraper. And it seems even more dramatic because it’s the only one you can see from all around!

    • Michael Turtle |

      February 16, 2013 at 5:37 pm

      Reply

      Ha ha – the monkeys certainly added to the experience. Although some people might say that they made it harder and scarier! 🙂

  3. BlogDaz |

    February 10, 2013 at 10:59 pm

    Reply

    Now that, is absolutely amazing, why oh why have we never seen this place before. How many more gems is Burma waiting to show us ??.

    • Michael Turtle |

      February 16, 2013 at 5:40 pm

      Reply

      Lots more gems from Burma! I hadn’t heard of Mount Popa either (even though it is referred to in guidebooks and stuff, I hadn’t read that bit too carefully). So it was a really pleasant surprise to get there and realise exactly what it looked like!

  4. Bama |

    February 10, 2013 at 11:22 pm

    Reply

    This place really reminds me of Sigiriya in Myanmar which is a lonesome volcanic plug amid the vast plains of the island. It seems like this place is really worth a visit when I go to Bagan one day.

    • Michael Turtle |

      February 16, 2013 at 5:41 pm

      Reply

      Do you mean Sigiriya in Sri Lanka? If so. I haven’t been there myself but would love to check it out if it’s anything like this.

  5. The GypsyNesters |

    February 11, 2013 at 5:34 am

    Reply

    What a freakin’ trip Michael- the pic of the stairs gave me vertigo! Let’s talk monkey… on a scale of 1 to 10, exactly how aggressive? -Veronica

    • Michael Turtle |

      February 16, 2013 at 5:43 pm

      Reply

      I would put the monkeys at 11 on the scale! 🙂 No, seriously, most of them were quite well-behaved but there were a few that were so not afraid of humans that they would just jump right on you and try to go through your bag or pockets. I had to bat them away with a water bottle!

  6. Natasha von Geldern |

    February 11, 2013 at 11:08 am

    Reply

    Aw the little guy with the flower in his mouth is sweet! Sounds like a very interesting place, need to get myself to Burma.

    • Michael Turtle |

      February 16, 2013 at 5:44 pm

      Reply

      Yeah, they look cute until they jump on you! Still, it was a really interesting place and the monkeys just added to the experience.

  7. Stephanie - The Travel Chica |

    February 12, 2013 at 11:26 am

    Reply

    I like monkeys, but these seem a little intimidating.

    • Michael Turtle |

      February 16, 2013 at 5:48 pm

      Reply

      I prefer them when they’re up in trees looking cute! 🙂

  8. Jennifer |

    February 12, 2013 at 9:24 pm

    Reply

    Beautiful monastery and I love the monkeys!

    • Michael Turtle |

      February 16, 2013 at 5:54 pm

      Reply

      Then you’ll love this place!!

  9. thetravelfool |

    February 19, 2013 at 3:34 am

    Reply

    Gotta love Monkeys, my dream is to hang out with one on a beach drinking beer and being the crazy foreigner.

    • Michael Turtle |

      February 21, 2013 at 1:52 am

      Reply

      Ha ha. Maybe the smoking monkey from Hangover 2 would be the right companion for you? This ones didn’t seem quite relaxed enough to just sit quietly on the beach with a beer 🙂

  10. VItaliy |

    August 16, 2015 at 11:14 pm

    Reply

    I was so impressed. Thank you very much

    • Michael Turtle |

      August 26, 2015 at 8:25 pm

      Reply

      So glad you made it there! It’s a pretty cool place, isn’t it?

  11. Indochina |

    May 8, 2017 at 1:13 am

    Reply

    I like Mount Popa and Taung Kalat monastery

  12. Jurgen Nielsen |

    December 20, 2018 at 3:27 pm

    Reply

    How do they get their food and what do they eat

Primary Sidebar

This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.

Want Occasional Updates?

Sign up to be the first to hear the latest about the adventures of Time Travel Turtle. You'll also get access to special offers and exclusive news.
Thank you! You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter.

Search

  • PRIVACY POLICY