Myanmar
Naypyidaw travel guide
Naypyidaw is a city in Myanmar, home to about 1,160,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- NYT17 km · Nay Pyi Taw International Airport
- Currency
- MMKkyat
- Time zone
- Asia/Yangon
- Language
- Burmese
About
About Naypyidaw
Naypyidaw ( NAYP-yid-aw), officially romanised as Nay Pyi Taw (NPT), is the capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory.
Naypyidaw is unique and a little bizarre. It's a large and fully laid out city but with insufficient inhabitants and buildings for its size, so you can experience the unprecedented Asian scenario of never getting stuck in traffic. Whether this weird situation will remain when Myanmar's economy begins to boom is another matter since the lack of gridlock is certainly not down to superb road planning and cutting edge traffic control. What helps are the eight-lane boulevards and Parisian-sized roundabouts.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Naypyidaw
See
- Defence Services Museum
- Gems Museum
- King Statues
- National Herbal Park
- Naypyidaw Safari Park
- National Museum
- Uppatasanti Pagoda
Do
- City Park
- Golf
- Ngalaik Lake Gardens
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Naypyidaw to stay in
The hotel zone has a handful of villa-style hotels that dot the hills on the outskirts of the city. There are 12 hotels in or near Naypyidaw. Eight of these are within the Naypyidaw Hotel Zone. There are also some very large hotels in Naypyidaw. The distances are quite far between anywhere you want to go and the hotels.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Naypyidaw
Naypyidaw has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 37 °C; August is the wettest, with about 293 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Naypyidaw: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Nay Pyi Taw International Airport (NYT), about 17 km from the city centre in a straight line; Loikaw Airport (LIW, 115 km) and Heho Airport (HEH, 132 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
The tolled Yangon–Mandalay Expressway connects Yangon to NPT. It's 320 km long with a service complex containing a fuel station and a large, expensive (by local standards) restaurant just past the halfway point if you're coming from Yangon. There are several trains daily from Yangon and they take around nine hours. The station is considerably further from the city centre and from the hotels than the bus station, and the bus journey from Yangon is considerably faster (5 hr).
Getting around
This is a common form of transport in Naypyidaw, but it can be risky. Similar to those in Bangkok, although called a "thaw lar gyi" in Myanmar. Taxi drivers hang around the shopping centres and bus station and you need to negotiate with them. For foreigners the asking costs can be high at US$5 for even relatively short journeys. Distances between locations are large so finding a taxi needs some effort (best to ask the hotel to help). An example fare from Feb 2017: 7000 kyat for a 20-minute journey from the Golden Lake Hotel to the Myoma Bus Station. Arranged in advance at the hotel.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
NYT · Nay Pyi Taw International Airport
LIW · Loikaw Airport
HEH · Heho Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Naypyidaw
Drink
Myanmar beer is very drinkable and there are several different types. Locally produced whisky is very cheap, 5,000 kyat a litre, even for the best local brands. Wine is also available including local red and white wine. International wines are available, usually around 8,500-15,000 kyat. The Junction and Capital supermarkets have sections selling wine, beer and whisky.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Naypyidaw: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Naypyidaw?
Naypyidaw has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 37 °C; August is the wettest, with about 293 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Naypyidaw?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Nay Pyi Taw International Airport (NYT), about 17 km from the city centre in a straight line; Loikaw Airport (LIW, 115 km) and Heho Airport (HEH, 132 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Naypyidaw?
kyat (MMK).
Nearby
Destinations near Naypyidaw
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.