Discover Naypyidaw 2026

Myanmar's military government surprisingly relocated the capital from Yangon to this previously sparsely populated inland area in 2005, officially for strategic reasons, producing one of the largest and most unusual urban planning projects in 21st-century Asia.

The nearly faithful, slightly smaller replica of the famous Shwedagon Pagoda from Yangon houses a genuine Buddha tooth relic and is considered the religious and architectural centerpiece of the new capital.

The city features a twenty-lane main boulevard as well as huge, often empty traffic arteries designed for many times today's population, giving Naypyidaw a surreal, almost ghost-town-like character.

The expansive National Landmark Garden, with choreographed water fountains and a walkable relief map of Myanmar, ranks among the few lively leisure attractions in this otherwise very quiet government city.

Naypyidaw Airport is served multiple times daily from Yangon and Mandalay; alternatively, comfortable long-distance buses cover the route from Yangon in about four hours.

Myanmar's military government surprisingly relocated the capital from Yangon to this previously sparsely populated inland area in 2005, officially for strategic reasons, producing one of the largest and most unusual urban planning projects in 21st-century Asia.

The nearly faithful, slightly smaller replica of the famous Shwedagon Pagoda from Yangon houses a genuine Buddha tooth relic and is considered the religious and architectural centerpiece of the new capital.

The city features a twenty-lane main boulevard as well as huge, often empty traffic arteries designed for many times today's population, giving Naypyidaw a surreal, almost ghost-town-like character.