Shwedagon Pagoda
쉐다곤 파고다
The Shwedagon Pagoda is a huge golden stupa in Yangon, the largest city of Myanmar. A stupa is a dome-shaped Buddhist monument built to hold holy relics. The Shwedagon stands on Singuttara Hill, and its main body rises 99 metres, or about 112 metres including its jewelled crown. Because it sits on a hill, it towers over the whole city, and local rules limit how tall nearby buildings may be so that it stays the most striking sight on the skyline.
See it on the 3D globe →At a glance
- Country
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Location
- Yangon, Myanmar
- Built
- 6th–10th century (current form 1775)
- Height
- 99 m
- Type
- Religious building
Quick answers
Where is Shwedagon Pagoda?
Shwedagon Pagoda is in Yangon, Myanmar, Myanmar (Burma).
How tall is Shwedagon Pagoda?
Shwedagon Pagoda is about 99 m tall.
A 99 m stupa sheathed in gold plates, its tip studded with thousands of diamonds and gems.
It is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar. Buddhists believe it holds relics of four Buddhas, including eight hairs from the head of Gautama Buddha. Its brick body is covered with real gold plates, and its tip is decorated with thousands of diamonds and rubies. Every day crowds of pilgrims and visitors walk around the wide platform at its base.
Legend and history
A legend says the pagoda is more than 2,500 years old. Two merchant brothers met the Buddha, received eight of his hairs, and brought them to King Okkalapa, who enshrined them on Singuttara Hill. Archaeologists think the first stupa was actually built by the Mon people sometime between the 6th and 10th centuries. In the 1300s a king raised it to 18 metres, and later Queen Shin Saw Pu made it 40 metres tall and covered it in gold.
Rebuilt after earthquakes
Many earthquakes have shaken the pagoda over the centuries. The worst, in 1768, brought down its top. King Hsinbyushin rebuilt it, and in 1775 he raised it to its present height of 99 metres, not counting the crown. The crown, called a hti, is an umbrella-shaped top piece. The one there today was donated by King Mindon in 1871. Another earthquake in 1970 knocked the hti's shaft out of line, and it had to be carefully repaired.
Visiting today
Visitors climb one of four stairways guarded by chinthe, giant lion-like statues, to reach the hilltop platform. As at all pagodas in Myanmar, everyone takes off their shoes. Around the base are eight small shrines, one for each "planetary post": in Burmese tradition, the day of the week you were born on matters, and Wednesday is split into morning and afternoon. People pour water over the Buddha image at their own birthday post and make a wish.
Fun facts
- The crown is set with 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 rubies, and the very top holds a single diamond of 76 carats.
- People across Myanmar, and many kings and queens before them, have donated gold to keep the pagoda shining.
- In 1608 a Portuguese adventurer tried to steal a giant 300-tonne bell from the pagoda to melt into cannons, but it fell into a river and has never been found.
- Another bell, the 23-tonne Singu Min Bell, also fell into a river when the British tried to ship it away, but local divers floated it back up using hundreds of bamboo poles.
On the globe
The model shows the huge golden stupa, shaped like a giant bell narrowing to a slim spire, rising above Yangon. Zoom in to see how its shining point towers over everything around it.
Quiz time
Which is taller: Shwedagon Pagoda or ICONSIAM?
Show the answer
ICONSIAM. (99 m vs 317.95 m) ICONSIAM →
Nearby on the globe
Sources
- Read more on Wikipedia
- Shwedagon Pagoda — Wikipedia
- 슈웨다곤 파고다 — 위키백과
- Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon — Photo Dharma
Updated: 2026-10-13