Pyin Oo Lwin

A hill station at approximately 1,070 metres above sea level, about 67 kilometres northeast of Mandalay, Pyin Oo Lwin was established by the British as a cool-season administrative retreat and retains Victorian and Edwardian bungalow architecture alongside a botanical garden of colonial origin now managed by the Myanmar military. Horse-drawn carriages — a holdover from the colonial era — are still used as local transport on its wide tree-lined avenues. The town is the starting point for the spectacular train journey across the Gokteik Viaduct through the Shan Hills.