Buddha Pujaniya festival commences at Kyaiktiyo Pagoda

On the full moon day of Thadingyut, the pilgrimage season to Kyaiktiyo Pagoda was launched at Sasana Beikman in Kyaikto yesterday.
During the Buddha Pujaniya festival, restaurants, hotels and shops are open for pilgrims, according to the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda Board of Trustees.
“Pagoda festival kicked off on the Full moon day of Thadingyut. Homegrown pilgrims are coming. Mountain commuters are also full of people,” Ko Arkar who is a pilgrim to Kyaiktiyo Pagoda told GNLM.
There were 6,120 local and foreign tourists coming to Kyaiktiyo Pagoda in September, and 2,879 homegrown pilgrims and 74 foreigners, totalling 2,953 visitors in August. The Buddha Pujaniya festival of Kyaiktiyo Pagoda started from the Full moon day of Thadingyut to the Full moon day of Kason. About three million travellers paid visit to the pagoda every year as usual. —TWA/GNLM