More than 28,500 local and foreign pilgrims visited Kyaiktiyo Pagoda in December, according to the Treasurer's Board of Trustees.

A member of the Treasurer's Board of Trustees said that 28,226 local pilgrims and 314 pilgrims from foreign countries had visited Kyaiktiyo Pagoda in December.

He continued, "During last December, it can be said that there are more pilgrims than usual because of the Karen New Year, Christmas Day and the school holidays for New Year in that period. But the situation has not yet reached the same as before."

In the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, between December and early January, hundreds of thousands of local and foreign pilgrims used to visit the Kyaiktiyo area, where the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is located, according to the Treasurer's Board of Trustees.

The opening ceremony of the Buddha Puzhaniya Festival of the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda was held on October 9t this year in full moon day of Thadinkyut. However, on October 12 at around 10:00 am, shootings occurred near the vehicle compound of Kyaiktiyo Mountaineering Camp in Kinmonchaung Village (Kinmon Camp) killing three pilgrims and injuring at least 15 people, according to locals.

According to the Treasurer's Board of Trustees, about three million pilgrims visited the Buddha Puzhaniya Festival, which is held every year from the full moon day of Thadinkyut to the full moon day of Kasone.