Three days of heavy rain fall elicited a smaller gathering of visitors to the annual festival at the well-known golden rock Kyaikhtiyo pagoda in Mon State, which is celebrated from March 17th to 19th.

“The rain poured all day and night for three days. Many people remained at restaurants and rest houses to avoid the rain at the base of mountain. The people turned back after they could not climb to go to the pagoda,” said a female restaurant owner at the mountain’s base of the pagoda in Kin Pun Camp.

“It was a very cold temperature on the mountain. There was not only heavy rain, but also a lot of wind. Trees fell down and there were landslides along the road,” she explained.

“Our group turned back after they [Burmese authorities] told us that they need to clean from the landslides and fallen trees,” explained a female visitor from Mudon Township.

She said that her group went to pray at the Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda instead because they could not pray at Kyaikhtiyo, which is also in Thaton Township.

Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda obtains its fame through its structure and position as a large golden rock which is tipped at a diagonal angle precariously upon a cliff. The cliff is 1,100 meters above sea level and the pagoda, which is placed on top of the rock, is believed to have been built in 574 BC, during the Buddha’s lifetime.

Many people are superstitious about this rock and believe that if they pray at the rock their wishes will become true. Due to this belief, the festival is normally crowded and thousands of people go there to pray.

From Kin Pun Camp, where the cars park at the base of the mountain, it is a 14.5 km trek to Kyaikhtiyo. Kyaikhtiyo is located around 160 km from Rangoon, the former capital of Burma.