မုံတဝဂူ

Moun Ta Wa Cave - Montawa Cave - Natural Cave Mahar Parthana Montawa

Useful Information

Location:	3.2 km southwest of Taunggyi
Open:	no restrictions. [2020]
Fee:	free. [2020]
Classification:	Karst Cave Cave Church
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Moun Ta Wa Cave.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

Moun Ta Wa Cave is located at the escarpment between Ayetharyar and Taunggyi. While it contains 1,000 buddha statues it is still not as massively filled with stupas and statues as other caves. It is one of the few which are not located on the ground of a monastery. The cave entrance is high and rather narrow, and the cave is said to be long.

There are several stories and legends connected with this cave but we were not able to understand them. Either there is a basic cultural difference or the translation was just bogus. However, the legends seem to be of the known types: a mystical King created the cave while canoeing through the country with his bamboo raft which was faster than an airplane. The cave was explored by a team of five men and it took them five days, three days in and two days out. They were not able to find the end. It is suggested that this cave is connected with the Pindaya Cave 40 km to the north. The cave was developed with a staircase to the netrance by a rich man who also paid the 1,000 buddhas.