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Golden Rock The Kyaikhtiyo Cedi or the Golden Rock as it is popularly
known, is situated in Kyaikhto Township of the Mon State, on a line of hills that
run parallel to the Sittaung Moketama rail and motor road. The peak on which the
Cedi is located is over 3600 feet in height and the original trek route from the
base camp (Kinmun Sakan) is a little over seven miles. According to legend,
Buddha's sacred relic is enshrined within the pagoda and the boulder on which
the Cedi is constructed was selected because it resembled the shape of a hermit's
head. Although the upper boulder appears to be attached to a ledge of the base
rock, the two are actually not joined together at all. Legend states that there
was a time when the top boulder was levitating absolutely free from the base rock,
to the extent that a hen could sit between them.  Even
now, a single person can make the top boulder rock by heaving it with one's shoulder,
and a thread can be passed between the two boulders. Also, when water is poured
from the higher part of the bottom rock, it comes down as a complete sheet, refuting
the theory that there could be a vertical cone on the bottom rock and a concave
at the base of the top boulder. It is an inexplicable phenomena; but the
faithful are firm in their belief that it is indeed a miracle. A motor road had
been constructed recently making the Cedi more accessible to those who have neither
the energy nor time to make it on their own steam. Devout believers though prefer
to trek all the way, in order to gain more merit. It is strongly believed that
if one is able to make three pilgrimages, one will be granted good fortune.
The scene of the surrounding forests and the plains below is breath-taking. The
air is pure and the temperature comfortable. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims
and tourists flock to this sacred place of worship each year in the dry season,
from October to April.
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