Climbing a small, scrubby hill behind the little riverside town of Mrauk U, a dreamy landscape reveals itself, of centuries-old stupas wreathed in mist, dotted with farming communities.
Anywhere else this spectacular monument would surely be overrun by tourists. But in Mrauk U just a handful of foreigners have dozens of Buddhist temples to themselves.
The site lies in Rakhine state, an isolated region at the western corner of Myanmar, with poor infrastructure and, in recent years, terrible headlines.
Mrauk U's history helps explain why Rakhine state has experienced such serious sectarian violence, culminating in the expulsion of much of the Rohingya population, and the destruction of hundreds of their villages.
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