View from U Min Thonze Cave Pagoda over Sagaing Hill, located on the opposite side of the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay, Myanmar. Only a handful of monasteries and pagodas existed when this area was the capital of Sagaing Kingdom, from 1315 to 1364. Today Sagaing Hill is part of Mandalay, and the entire area is covered in nunneries, monasteries, and pagodas. As the area developed into an important monastic and religious center, pilgrims who wished to earn merit donated money to have pagodas built on land surrounding the monasteries and nunneries. Gradually, a network of walkways were built up and down the hillside for those who wish to make pilgrimages between the sites.
