Mount Popa (, ) is a dormant volcano 1518 metres (4981 feet) above sea level, and located in central Myanmar in the region of Mandalay about southeast of Bagan (Pagan) in the Pegu Range. It can be seen from the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River as far away as in clear weather. Mount Popa is a pilgrimage site, with numerous Nat temples and relic sites atop the mountain.
Name
The name Popa is believed to come from the Pali/Sanskrit word puppha meaning flower.
Geology
The main edifice of the volcano is composed of basalt and basaltic andesite lava flows, along with pyroclastic deposits and scoriaceous material, originating from strombolian eruptions which are thought to have made up the later stages of the volcano's growth. The volcano also contains a wide and deep caldera that is breached to the northwest and is thought to have formed due to failure of the volcano's slopes. A debris avalanche can be found to the north of the caldera's breach. It covers an area of .
Ecology
Flora and fauna
Popa Mountain contains five separate forest ecosystems, including dry forest, Than-Dahat forest and Thorn forest. 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. Flora on the mountain includes the yellow, white, and green blooms of the Sagawa tree, as well as shrubs, and bamboo forests. Popa Mountain has known medicinal plants such as Plumbaginaceae, Tinospora cordifolia, and Withania somnifera bark.
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.
Wildlife
Mount Popa has an assortment of butterflies and birds. A species of lizard, Lygosoma popae, is endemic to and named after Mount Popa. Bird watchers that visit can observe birds such as the red-billed blue magpie, the chestnut-flanked white-eye, and the blue-throated barbet. Butterflies include the leopard lacewing and the magpie crow. 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. Macaque monkeys also roam wild creating all sorts of havoc on the mountain.
Features
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. 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.
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. 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.
History and legend
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. 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.