What's on in Mawlamyine, Myanmar through the year

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, Mon National Day

• Holiday

  Mon National Day

  15 Jan – 25 Feb · usuallyNational holidayCrowded

  The Mon people mark the founding of their last kingdom the day after the Tabodwe full moon, and Mawlamyine, as the Mon State capital, hosts the central ceremony. Expect dance troupes, traditional dress and literature prizes rather than a street party. Source ↗

Still on: Golden Rock pilgrimage season (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Mon National Day, Golden Rock pilgrimage season

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Mon National Day (15 Jan – 25 Feb (usually)), Golden Rock pilgrimage season (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Golden Rock pilgrimage season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Golden Rock pilgrimage season (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Thingyan water festival, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Thingyan water festival

  13–17 AprWater-festival New YearClosures

  Four days of water thrown from the roadside with the buses, banks and most kitchens shut behind it. The Golden Rock road is the exception, and it is heaving. Source ↗

• Festival

  Kason full moon

  25 Apr – 25 May · usuallyReligious feast

  Buddha's day in the hottest weeks: families carry water up to Kyaikthanlan and the other hilltop pagodas to pour on the bodhi trees, and the monasteries are busy from dawn. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Kason full moon (25 Apr – 25 May (usually))

Busy — Waso full moon and Buddhist Lent, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Waso full moon and Buddhist Lent

  25 Jun – 31 Jul · usuallyReligious feast

  The full moon of Waso opens the three-month Buddhist Lent with robe offerings at every monastery. Weddings and big festivities pause until Thadingyut, and monks stay put. Source ↗

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet, Waso full moon and Buddhist Lent

• Hazard

  Monsoon floods

  1 Jul – 31 Aug · usuallyFlood season

  The peak of the monsoon regularly floods low wards, stretches of National Road 8 toward Mudon and Ye, and the rail line north to Bago, so overland travel can stall for a day or two. Source ↗

Still on: Waso full moon and Buddhist Lent (25 Jun – 31 Jul (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Monsoon floods (1 Jul – 31 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  Thadingyut festival of lights

  1–31 Oct · usuallyLights & fire

  Candles and strings of bulbs on every house and monastery for the full moon that ends the Buddhist Lent, and a river town that is worth walking after dark for a change. Source ↗

Busy — Golden Rock pilgrimage season

• Season

  Golden Rock pilgrimage season

  1 Nov – 31 Mar · usuallyTrail seasonCrowdedBook early

  The months the pilgrims come to the boulder north of here in numbers, sleeping on the platform in the cold. Truck seats up the mountain and beds at Kinpun both go early in this stretch. Source ↗

Busy — Golden Rock pilgrimage season, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Golden Rock pilgrimage season (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))