What can you see in Mandalay?
What’s around Mandalay?
Mandalay its traffic and chaos can also test the most patients.
To escape from the noise and the smog, an excellent solution is to visit the beautiful waterfall Dat Twa Gyaint.
It is perfect in every season, even in the dry period.
We visited it in February and it was worth it.
Dat Twa Gyaint waterfall: how to get there
60 km from Mandalay, on the road to Pyin oo Lwin, there’s this beautiful waterfall.
The best way to reach it is to rent a motorbike in Mandalay.
The road to get there is, in some parts, still under construction.
This means passing between trucks and dust (lots of dust!). So it’s definitely better to have a complete helmet, mask for smog / dust and a lot of patience.
Alternatively, to reach the waterfall, you can take a train from Mandalay to Pyin oo Lwin (Duration 3 hours) and from there a 15 minutes taxi.
The path that leads to the waterfall starts from the end of a dirt road that is well indicated by signs.
Dat Twa Gyaint waterfall: the walking path
The path that takes to the waterfall is very steep, in particular on the way back. The journey is about 30 minutes downhill and 1 hour abundant on return.
Before going there, we read a lot of reviews that suggested to avoid this walk for the excessive slope of the path, especially uphill.
It is true, the return is tiring but still feasible. There are various places to sit and catch breath and honestly it’s worth the effort! So we definitely recommend going to the waterfall if you’re in the area.
Dat Twa Gyaint waterfall: what to see
After walking the whole path, you get to the waterfall. The view is really amazing. A huge jet of water falling from above and creating small pools of blue water. The current is pretty strong, so we gave up swimming even though we’d have loved doing it.
At the foot of the waterfall, you will find a small temple and a bar / restaurant where to get some food and prepare for the steep way back.