Kyaiktiyo Pagoda - Golden Rock

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is a well-known Buddhist pilgrimage site in Mon State, Myanmar. It is a small pagoda built on the top of a granite boulder covered with gold leaves pasted on by its male worshippers.

According to legend, the Golden Rock itself is precariously perched on a strand of Lord Buddha's hair. The balancing rock seems to defy gravity, as it perpetually appears to be on the verge of rolling down the hill. The rock and the pagoda are at the top of Mt. Kyaiktiyo. Another legend states that a Buddhist monk impressed the celestial king with his asceticism and the celestial king used his supernatural powers to carry the rock to its current place, specifically choosing the rock for its resemblance to the monk's head. It is the third most important Buddhist pilgrimage site in Burma after the Shwedagon Pagoda and the Mahamuni Pagoda.