In a nutshell
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Getting to the Golden Rock: From Yangon via Bago to Kinpun
The Golden Rock Myanmar is located southeast of Yangon and is best reached by bus. At the foot of the mountain where the rock sits is the small town of Kinpun, which serves as the base camp for pilgrims.
Get your bus ticket from Yangon to Kinpun
The bus ride from Yangon to Kinpun takes about five hours. We really recommend making a stopover in Bago along the way. The town has a seriously impressive number of highlights, and all buses pass through Bago anyway.
On our trip we spent a night in Bago, but it’s also perfectly fine to stop there for half a day and continue on to Kinpun in the evening.
Where to Stay at the Golden Rock?
The Base Camp in Kinpun
The small town at the foot of the mountain doesn’t have much to offer. Lots of hotels and restaurants for tourists and pilgrims — and that’s about it.
Much of it is still geared toward local pilgrims, but little by little more accommodations offering a higher standard are opening up in Kinpun.
We stayed at the Eternity Resort. It’s located on the outskirts of town on the road to the Golden Rock — quietly situated, with clean and spacious rooms and really good value for money.
Check out The Eternity Resort in Kinpun
Staying Right at the Golden Rock
Seeing the Golden Rock at sunrise and sunset must be a truly special experience. Unfortunately, that privilege is reserved only for those who spend the night on the summit.
The Kyaik Hto Hotel is one option right at the top. You’re paying primarily for the location here — in terms of comfort, don’t expect too much.
The Journey to the Golden Rock
From the base camp in Kinpun, you can already see the Golden Rock up at 1,100 meters elevation. Now you have to decide: walk up or ride on the back of one of the legendary trucks?
We took a truck to the summit. Basti had been there a few years earlier and walked up at the time — so between us, we can tell you a thing or two about both options.
By Truck to the Golden Rock
The mode of transport up to the summit takes some getting used to, but it’s absolutely an adventure. Pilgrims are squeezed onto the flatbeds of small trucks and then it’s a high-speed ride up the mountain.
A total of 48 people fit on one flatbed, and the ride doesn’t depart until the last seat is filled. Depending on the time of day and the season, that can sometimes take up to half an hour.
The ride is definitely not comfortable — it takes about an hour in total to reach the summit. The one-way fare is 2,500 kyat per person, or 3,000 kyat if you want to sit toward the front of the flatbed.
You can also ride in the cab for 15,000 kyat, with up to five people up front. It’s probably more comfortable if only two people share the cab, though.
During our visit it was pouring rain. Not just a light drizzle — a proper downpour.
Resourceful vendors at the truck station were selling rain ponchos, so we arrived at the top reasonably dry.
By now the trucks go all the way to the very top — in the past you had to walk nearly an hour at the end.
Large signs at the truck station, by the way, point out that the fare includes life insurance. That was obviously an enormous comfort to us, and we climbed onto the flatbed with a much better feeling.
The Journey Is the Destination: Walking to the Golden Rock
If you want to earn some serious merit for your next life — or simply don’t feel like the high-speed truck ride — you should walk to the Golden Rock Kyaiktiyo. The trail is about ten kilometers long and climbs steadily the whole way.
The hike isn’t particularly difficult, and a reasonably fit person should manage it in five to six hours without any trouble. Along the way you’ll pass plenty of food stalls and vendors, so you won’t go hungry on the trail.
If you want to hike up and back down in a single day, though, you really need to be in good shape and set off right at sunrise. Honestly, we wouldn’t really recommend it — take one of the trucks back down or spend the night at the summit instead.
The Golden Rock (Kyaiktiyo Pagoda)
We had already braced ourselves for the worst. The visibility on the ride up was barely five meters in places, and we were fully prepared to see the Golden Rock Burma only as a vague shape behind a veil of clouds.
But when we arrived at the summit, something magical happened: the cloud cover broke, the rain stopped, and the rock glowed golden against a dramatic sky. We seriously got incredibly lucky.
Unfortunately, women are not allowed to approach the rock directly or touch it. It seems that even in Buddhism, not everything that glitters is gold.
Basti did look for the Buddha’s hairs, but couldn’t spot them. He also gently pushed against the rock — and yes, it really is rock solid.
Since we arrived at the top quite late, we didn’t have much time at the summit. The last truck down leaves promptly at 6:00 PM, and we definitely didn’t want to miss it.
So it was a high-speed ride back down the mountain. Fortunately, we didn’t have to make use of our life insurance this time either, and we made it back down safe and sound. The next day the journey continued straight away — our next destination: Hpa-an.
Video: Our Trip to the Golden Rock
We also have a short video for you. Come along on our wet and wild ride to the Golden Rock:
Watch our Golden Rock video on YouTube
How was your visit to the Golden Rock?
Have you been to the Golden Rock yourself? What did you think? Did you walk up or take the truck? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Note: The first version of this article appeared in November 2014. In November 2016 we updated it completely.
Be sure to also check out our other articles about Myanmar:
All our travel reports from Myanmar
Myanmar Travel Tips: Helpful Tips for Planning Your Trip
Myanmar Money and Travel Costs: How Much a Trip to Myanmar Costs
