Monywa is a worthwhile trip for Burmese temple enthusiasts or others who just want to go where few travelers go. It lies 136 km north-west of Mandalay along the Mandalay-Budalin branch railway line but is best reached by bus.
Situated on the eastern bank of the Chindwin River, Monywa serves as a major trade center for agricultural produce from the surrounding. Chindwin Valley, especially beans, pulses and jiggery (palm sugar). In addition to some 600 warehouses,

Monywa supports mills for the production of cotton, flour, noodles and edible oils. Rough cotton blankets from Monywa are famous in Myanmar. some even end up sewn into knapsacks which are sold to tourists in Bangkok. Other regional crafts traded here include mats and baskets made of bamboo and reed, bullock carts and agricultural implements such as hoes and machetes. 
Black-market goods from India, especially saris and bicycle parts, pass through Monywa on their way to other parts of Myanmar. A forest reserve west of the Chindwin River produces teak and other hardwoods.
The Monywa area - particularly the region west of the river - was for many years a centre for the Burmese Communist Party. Although the BCP is no longer active here or elsewhere in Myanmar, military intelligence in Monywa can be particularly watchful. 
The old market near the river is still active despite the large new market sheds built by the government near the Monyaw Hotel and Great Hotel. Most likely this is because the government ordered the relocation of a Muslim cemetery to make way for the new market; people fear the hats that may have been left behind.
There is talk of building a km-long bridge across the Chindwin at Monywa as part of the so-calle "Western Highway" that may some day link Pathein (Bassein) in the south-west delta with Ye U in the north-west. With the northern reaches of Sagaing Division opening up to foreigners, Monywa can serve as a stepping stone for Chindwin River trips north-west to Kalewa. From Kalewa it's just a short road trip to the Chin State.
Fact and Places in Monywa
Twinn Taung Festivals (Alon Nat Pwe) Places & Eating MoeNyin Thanboddhay
Ledi Kyauk Tsa Shwe Gu Nyi Paya Kyauk kar Po Win Daung
University, College GTC Gov. Technical College ChinDwin River & Bridges Shwedigon Paya
SuTaungPye Paya Zay Thit (Market) Htan Ta loke Chaung Railway Station
History Airport Other Links  

 Twinn Hill, in Budalin township about three km east of the river, stands only 200 meters above the surrounding plain but features a deep round lake. According to some sources the depression holding the lake was left behind by a volcanic eruption: others say a meteorite bounced of the earth's crust here.
Monywa is one of the hottest places in the entire country in April and May, when temperatures approaching or exceeding 40 degree celcus are not uncommon.

 Festivals
Monywa sits at a north-western edge of what might be termed the 'nat belt', a region of Upper Myanmar where the nat cult is particularly strong. Nat pwe followers will find the Zeedaw Nat Festival a Zeedaw and Maungdon (cross the Chindwin River at Monywa and travel 22 km west along the Yimmabin road) between the 8th day of the waning moon and between the first and seventh days of the waxing moon of Tabaung (Febuary/March).
Coinciding with the festival at Zeedaw, the Ahlone Nat festival is celebrated at Ma Ngwe Daung (12 km north of Monywa on the Shwebo road)

  Places to Stay & Eat
On the north-eastern side of the main road into town, the new Great Hotel (071-21930) has rooms with good mattress and attached shower and toilet for US$10 per person. Although the rooms themselves aren't air conditioned, the corridors are. Next door, in a similar style, is Shweltaw Guest House which didn't accept foreigners at the time.
A bit further in towards the town centre on the same side of the road as the accomodation listed above is the recently privatised Monywa Hotel (071-21549). Wooden bungalows with corrugated metal roofs are divided into four rooms, each with attached hot-water bath, fridge and air-con for US$24/30 single/double, or Us$30/36 for slightly better-furnished rooms with TV. All rates include breakfast. One of the Monywa Hotel's main advantages is its pleasant outdoor bar. This hotel is supposedly about to undergo renovation so prices may change. 
The Pann Cherry Restaurant in the centre of town near the old market serves good Chinese food in both the open-sided dining room downstairs and the air-con room upstairs.

AROUND MONYWA
  Thanboddhay Paya
The big attraction in Monywa is the magnificent, Mt Meru-type structure. From the outside the central stupa is vaguely reminiscent of Borobudur in Indonesia, though considerable smaller. Small stupas numbering 845 surround the richly decorated central stupa.
First built in 1303 by Monywa Sayadaw, Thanboddhay assumed its present from during a major reconstruction in 1939. The solid section of the monument is said to enclose 7350 relics and other holy materials. Inside the attached pahto, votive Buddhas of bone and other materials decorate every wall and larger sitting and standing Buddhas in niches. Altogether these images reportedly number 582,363. 
Ancillary buildings in the compound resemble place architecture from the konbaung era (18th and 19th centuries) and feature three-dimensional jataka relief's on their exteriors.
The paya complex is open daily 6:30 am to 5 pm; admission is free. Thanboddhay is located 19km south-east of Monywa on the north-eastern side of the main road from Mandalay, just past a small bridge.

  Ledi Kyaung
This monastery at the north-eastern edge of the township, 21 km north-east of town on the road to Ye U, was constructed in 1886 by order of renowned Pali scholar Ledi Sayadaw. Similar in concept to Kuthodaw Paya in Mandalay, the kyaung features 806 stone slabs inscribed with Buddhist scriptures.

  Shwe Gu Nyi Paya
About 20 km east of town via a scenic tow lane road is one of the most important pilgrimage sports in Upper Myanmar. Dating to the 14 century, the main zedi of Shwe Gu Nyi Paya rises to 33 meters (an auspicious height made even more so when measured in feet - 108) and is famous for its 'wish-fulling' powers. The main antechamber to the shrine hall contains exemplary jataka paintings and is well decorated with mosaics.

  Kyaukka
This village just beyond Shwe Gu Nyi Paya has been a center for the crafting of lacquerware since the Konbaung era. The pieces produced here are for the most part more basic and utilitarian than those make in Bagan. Consisting of simple bamboo frames finished in black, silver or gold (or some combination thereof), the lacquerware here shows more links to the pre-Chiang Mai styles which existed before the Bagan artisan's began using a lacquer and incising techniques which allowed different colours to show through the outer layers. Becuse Kyaukka is less frequented by tourists, prices are particularly low though you won't find any pieces quite as striking as in Bagan. In output, however, the village is second only to Bagan and the pieces make here are very strong.
The road to Kyaukka is lined with picturesque tamarind trees and rice fields. Pickups to Kyaukka leave a couple of times in the morning from Monywa's central market; the last one back leaves around 4pm.

  Po Win Daung Caves
Its a short ferry ride across the Chindwin River to Nyaungbingyi, followed by a 25 km drive to this system of sandstone caves situated in a cleft in the Po win Daung (Po Win Hills). the hills have probably been occupied since the down of human habitation in Myanmar, to the south-west lies the Pon-daung-pon-nya mountain range, where the fossilised remains of 'Pondaung Man' - who may have lived 30 millions years ago - were found.
The caves and surrounding hills are named after U Po Win, a famous zawgyi (alchemist) who once lived among them. The caves themselves contain Buddhist statues and murals dating to the 17th and 18th centuries. Most exhibit the Inwa style, though some may date as far back as the 14th to 16th centuries. A covered stairway climbs a hill to main cave shrie. but here are dozens of large and small caves in the area filled with old Buddhas. There are said to be over 400000 image in these and other nearby caves.
Shwe Ba Hill, just beyond Po Win Daung, features unique pavilions cut from the surrounding standstone and filled with plain Buddha images. 


  History of Monywa
 central Myanmar (Burma). It is situated on the left bank of the Chindwin River, about 60 miles (97 km) west of Mandalay. During World War II, the town was a Japanese communications centre and was captured by the British in 1945. In October of 1952, the Triple Alliance Pact was signed near Monywa, demarcating zones throughout Myanmar in which various ethnic and political groups, including the Karen, Shan, Kachin, and communists, would have power. Monywa is situated in the dry zone above the confluence of the Mu and Chindwin rivers; paddy rice, sesame, millet, peas, wheat, and cotton are cultivated in the surrounding area. Monywa's manufactures include textiles and wood and bamboo products. Copper is mined near Monywa, and a copper refinery has operated in Salingyi since 1976. A hospital was built in Monywa in 1972. Paved roads and a railway line run through the town. Pop. (1983) 106,873.

   Photo from Ayeyarwady (Japan)

Monywa Current Weather 
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Copper Project at Monywa
Monywa Population from http://populations.com/

Note: This city has a beautiful history and wonderful people for Burmese society. We will collect more data and update the website.  We hope all people ever lived and worked at Monywa city will enjoy on this website..