The Phaung Daw U Pagoda at Ywama on Inle Lake is the venue of one of Burma’s most important festivals celebrated in October as part of the Festival of Lights (Thadingyut), which marks the beginning of the Buddhist Lent. The festival revolves around the procession of four sacred Buddha images enshrined in the pagoda. It is said tha the images were brought back to Burma by King Alaugsithu upon his return from the Malay Peninsula. During the festival, the golden images are paraded for two weeks, transported to Inle’s 10 largest settlements aboard a recreated royal barge with a huge gilded ‘karaweik’ bird at its prow.