Taungoo

Taungoo (Toungoo) is a town and district in Bago Division, Myanmar.

Get in
Taungoo is about 275 km from Yangon. The old road to Taungoo took about 6-7 hr. The new road makes it only 3-4 hr.


 * By train Taungoo is halfway to Mandalay from southern destinations, including Bago. The track is rough in places, but it is far from the most uncomfortable rail journey in the country. The meals are unexceptional (try the pork noodles), but getting to the meal car can be an interesting experience.

Get around
It is the mid-way to Yangon or Mandalay if you want to go by car. Good for your night stop and rest. Tourists stop overnight at Taungoo when they travel from Golden Rock to Inle or Mandalay by hire car.

See



 * There is a small restaurant with outstanding fishhead soup (muhinga) between Happy Restaurant and the mountain. Look for a small building with two tables and a baby hammock inside. Ask prices first, some restaurants have been rumored to charge more than 2,500 kyat for a basic local meal, which the local people consider to be scandalous.
 * There is a local pick-up that goes up the mountain, but it only runs in the early morning.
 * There is a local pick-up that goes up the mountain, but it only runs in the early morning.
 * Pho Kyar elephant camp is about 2 hr from Taungoo, if you love nature and elephants.

Go next
You might want to think about heading to, which is about 210 km northeast of Taungoo. South of Loikaw and west of the Salween River in the mountains between 1,000 and 1,500 m is where the Kayan people live, including the famous Padaung women with their golden brass neck coils that seem to stretch their neck (but actually cause a lower shoulder).