Popa Mountain contains five separate forest ecosystems, including dry forest, Than-

Dahat forest and Thorn forest.[6] The sandalwood forest in Burma is not native. It
is located approximately two miles away from the resort there is a regrowth of a
planted forest that was cut down in the 1970s by poachers.[7] Flora on the mountain
includes the yellow, white, and green blooms of the Sagawa tree, as well as shrubs,
and bamboo forests.[6] Popa Mountain has known medicinal plants such as
Plumbaginaceae, Tinospora cordifolia, and Withania somnifera bark.[6]

The soil around the mountain is rich due to the past volcanic activity. Crops grown
include cauliflower, capsicum, celery leaf, chili, coriander, citron, eggplant,
kalian, lemongrass, lime, lemon, mint, green mustard, pennywort, radish, roselle,
tomato, jackfruit, papaya, strawberry, banana, lettuce, broccoli and Thai ginger.
The dry season is used for vegetable growing, while the rainy season is used for
fruits.[7]

Wildlife
Mount Popa has an assortment of butterflies and birds. A species of lizard,
Lygosoma popae, is endemic to and named after Mount Popa.[8][9] Bird watchers that
visit can observe birds such as the red-billed blue magpie, the chestnut-flanked
white-eye, and the blue-throated barbet.[10] Butterflies include the leopard
lacewing and the magpie crow.[11] The monkeys may be the most well known species on
Popa Mountain, and the mountain is home to the largest population of the newly
described and critically endangered Popa Langur monkey.[12] Macaque monkeys also
roam wild creating all sorts of havoc on the mountain.[13]

Features

Taung Kalat
Southwest of Mount Popa is Taung Kalat (pedestal hill), a sheer-sided volcanic
plug, which rises 657 metres (2,156 ft) above the sea level. A Buddhist monastery
is located at the summit of Taung Kalat. At one time, the Buddhist hermit U Khandi
maintained the stairway of 777 steps to the summit of Taung Kalat.[4] The Taung
Kalat pedestal hill is sometimes itself called Mount Popa and given that Mount Popa
is the name of the actual volcano that caused the creation of the volcanic plug, to
avoid confusion, the volcano (with its crater blown open on one side) is generally
called Taung Ma-gyi (mother hill). The volcanic crater itself is a mile in
diameter.[14]

From the top of Taung Kalat one can enjoy a panoramic view. One can see the ancient
city of Bagan; behind it to the north, the massive solitary conical peak of Taung
Ma-gyi rises like Mount Fuji in Japan. There is a big caldera, 610 metres (2,000
ft) wide and 914 metres (3,000 ft) in depth so that from different directions the
mountain takes different forms with more than one peak. The surrounding areas are
arid, but the Mt Popa area has over 200 springs and streams. It is therefore
likened to an oasis in the desert-like dry central zone of Burma. This means the
surrounding landscape is characterized by prickly bushes and stunted trees as
opposed to the lush forests and rivers Burma is famous for.[14] Plenty of trees,
flowering plants and herbs grow due to the fertile soil from the volcanic ash.
Prominent among the fauna are macaque monkeys that have become a tourist attraction
on Taung Kalat.[4]

Mount Popa from Kyaukpadaung road, Taung Kalat to left of picture

History and legend
Main article: Nat (spirit)
Many legends are associated with this mountain including its dubious creation from
a great earthquake and the mountain erupted out of the ground in 442 BC.[5] It is
possible that the legends about Nats represent a heritage of earlier animist
religions in Burmese countryside, which were syncreticised with Buddhist religion
in the 11th century. Mount Popa is considered the abode of Burma's most powerful
Nats and as such is the most important nat worship center. It has therefore been
called Burma's Mount Olympus.

One legend tells about brother and sister MinMahagiri (Great Mountain) nats, from
the kingdom of Tagaung at the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy, who sought refuge
from King Thaylekyaung of Bagan (344-387). Their wish was granted and they were
enshrined on Mt Popa.

Another legend tells about Popa Medaw (Royal Mother of Popa), who according to
legend was a flower-eating ogress called Me Wunna; she lived at Popa. She fell in
love with Byatta, whose royal duty was to gather flowers from Popa for King
Anawrahta of Bagan (1044–1077). Byatta was executed for disobeying the king who
disapproved of the liaison, and their sons were later taken away to the palace. Me
Wunna died of a broken heart and, like Byatta, became a nat. Their sons also became
heroes in the king's service but were later executed for neglecting their duty
during the construction of a pagoda at Taungbyone near Mandalay. They too became
powerful nats but they remained in Taungbyone where a major festival is held
annually in the month of Wagaung (August).

Although all 37 Nats of the official pantheon are represented at the shrine on Mt
Popa, in fact only four of them - the Mahagiri nats, Byatta and Me Wunna - have
their abode here.[4][15]

Tourism

Me Wunna with her sons Min Gyi and Min Lay at Mt Popa
Many Burmese pilgrims visit Mount Popa every year, especially at festival season on
the full moon of Nayon (May/June) and the full moon of Nadaw (November/December).
Local people from the foot of Mount Popa, at Kyaukpadaung (10-miles), go mass-
hiking to the peak during December and also in April when the Myanmar new year
called Thingyan festival is celebrated. Before King Anawrahta's time[when?],
hundreds of animals were sacrificed to the nats during festivals.

Burmese superstition says that on Mount Popa, one should not wear red or black or
green or bring meat, especially pork, as it could offend the resident nats.[15][16]

A monkey that is new to science has recently been discovered in the forests of
Mount Popa. The Popa langur, named after its home on Mount Popa, is critically
endangered with numbers down to about 200 individuals. Langurs are a group of leaf-
eating monkeys that are found across Southeast Asia. The newly described animal is
known for its distinctive spectacle-like eye patches and greyish fur.[17]

Development
Mount Popa is now a designated nature reserve and national park. The nearby
Kyetmauk Taung Reservoir provides sufficient water for gardens and orchards
producing jackfruit, banana, mango and papaya as well as flowering trees such as
saga (Champac) and gant gaw (Mesua ferrea Linn).[4] A pozzolan mill to supply
material for the construction of Yeywa Dam on Myitnge River near Mandalay is in
operation.[18]

There are many Burmese myths about the mountain, including one which says that any
man who collected their army on the slopes of the mountain was guaranteed victory.
[5] People travel great distances to Mount Popa in the hope of securing good luck,
and the mountain hosts an annual festival which takes place in the temple on its
summit.[5] The festival involves a transgender medium being possessed by a nat
spirit which give him the ability to communicate between the nats and the people.
[19]
Mosaic tile pillars with bells at the top of Mount Popa
See also
List of mountains in Burma
References
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"Popa". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
Notes
"World Ribus – Southeast Asia". World Ribus. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
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2008-09-14.
Htin Aung, Maung "Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism", Oxford University Press:
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