Golden Rock also called the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is an eminent Buddhist pilgrimage spot in the Mon State of Myanmar. This pagoda is about 7.3 meters and erected on the apex of a granite rock. Legend denotes that the Golden Rock is insecurely balanced on a string hair of Lord Buddha. Both the rock as well as the pagoda is constructed at the summit of Mt. Kyaiktiyo. The rock look as if it is defying gravity appears to roll down the hill though it is in such state for more than hundreds of years already. This boulder is sustained by an tremendously miniature area of contact between the rock and its beneath.
Shwedagon Pagoda and Mahamuni Pagoda are eminent Buddhist pilgrimage site of Myanmar, but the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is the third significant Buddhist pilgrimage site of the country after them. The Golden Rock is located at an altitude of 1,100 meters above the sea level which is about 210 kilometers from Yangon, the capital of Burma. You can reach the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda using a road that starts at the foot of the hill to the top. The entrance to Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is guarded by two large stone lions on either ends and this point is called Yatetaung.
The visitors from this point mount the Golden Rock barefoot to a distance of 1.2 km. People take this hiking trek from the foot of the mountain up to the pagoda which is about 11 kilometers as part of their pilgrimage rites.
Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is a very important tourist attraction of the country and during the peak pilgrimage season, the chants of the devotees echo around the holy shrine. In the month of March, on the full moon day of Tabaung, the pagoda is worth visiting as devotees light ninety thousand candles and offer fruits and food to the Lord Buddha.