what do "Popa" and "Taung Kalat" mean?Popa derives from the Pali/Sanskrit term puppha ("flower"). Taung Kalat means "pedestal hill" and both names describe the sacred nature and shape of the volcanic massif and plug on which the monastery sits.
Mount Popa is a 1,518 m stratovolcano, ~50 km SE of Bagan (Mandalay Region). It features a horseshoe-shaped caldera 1.6 km wide and ~850 m deep, open to the NW. The complex includes the Taung Kalat volcanic plug, SW of the Popa.
