To get a sense of Mandalay’s pancake-flat sprawl, climb the 760ft hill that breaks it. The barefooted walk up covered stairways on the hill's southern slope is a major part of the experience, passing through and around a colourful succession of prayer and shopping opportunities. The climb takes a good 30 minutes, but much longer if you allow for stops en route. The summit viewpoint is especially popular at sunset when young monks converge on foreigners for language practice.
South Routes
There are two southern stairways. The most obvious starts between two giant chinthe (half-lion, half-dragon guardian deities) with 1729 steps. More interesting for glimpsed views, albeit harder on the feet, there's also an alternative southeastern stairway. The two routes converge then climb to a shrine building containing a large standing buddha , whose outstretched arm points towards the royal palace. This evokes the legend in which the historical Buddha supposedly visited Burma, accompanied by his disciple Ananda, and on climbing Mandalay Hill prophesied that a great city would be founded below, after 2400 years. Scholars calculated that to mean 1857 AD, the year that King Mindon did indeed decree the capital’s move from Amarapura to Mandalay.
Further up, behind the forgettable Myatsawnyinaung Ordination Hall are the windowless ruins of a three-storey stone fortress retaken from the Japanese in a March 1945 battle by Britain’s Royal Berkshire Regiment.
Near the summit, on the east side facing the penultimate stupa, a contemporary statue depicts ogress San Dha Mukhi offering forth her severed breasts. That’s the sort of display that might have alarmed a more squeamish man, but according to legend, her bizarre feat of self-mutilation impressed the Buddha so much that he ensured her reincarnation 2400 years later as King Mindon.
Other Stairways
Steeper stairways lead up from the north (in 25 minutes) or west (15 minutes) but there's little to see en route apart from canoodling couples (south) or lounging monks (west). Wear shoes for these stairways and, near the top of the south route, be prepared to clamber across/between a trio of pipes.
Vehicles
It's possible to drive most of the way up Mandalay Hill. From the upper car park both a lift and an escalator tower should whisk you up to the hilltop. However, as both are often broken you'll probably need to walk the last five minutes by stairways. From 10th St at 68th St, shared pick-up route 16 (per person K1000) shuttles to the car park. Motorcycle taxis typically charge K3000 up, K2000 down (even though the down route is much further due to a long one-way loop).
