Bagan: Myanmar's Plain of Temples at Sunrise
Bagan contains more than 2,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas, and monasteries spread across a plain of 40 square kilometres — a concentration of religious architecture that is unmatched anywhere in the world.
Bagan was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom from the 9th to 13th centuries, and during that period the kings of Pagan built more than 10,000 religious structures on the plain of the Irrawaddy River. Of these, more than 2,000 survive in various states of preservation — from the great temples of Ananda and Dhammayangyi to the thousands of smaller stupas and monasteries that dot the plain in every direction.
The sunrise over Bagan is one of the finest in Asia — the mist rising from the Irrawaddy, the temples emerging from the haze as the light strengthens, the hot air balloons drifting over the plain in the early morning. The best viewpoints are the Shwesandaw Pagoda (the most popular, and therefore the most crowded) and the Pyathada Paya (less visited, with equally fine views). Climbing the temples for sunrise views is now prohibited, but the ground-level views are equally beautiful.
The Ananda Temple, built in 1105, is the finest temple in Bagan — a perfectly preserved example of Mon architecture, with four standing Buddhas of 9.5 metres facing the cardinal directions and a gilded spire that rises 51 metres above the plain. The interior, lit by the light that filters through the perforated stone windows, is one of the most atmospheric religious spaces in Southeast Asia.
The Dhammayangyi Temple, the largest in Bagan, was built by King Narathu in the 12th century and is famous for the quality of its brickwork — the mortar joints are so tight that a needle cannot be inserted between them. The temple was never completed (Narathu was assassinated before it was finished) and the inner chambers are filled with rubble, but the exterior is the most imposing in Bagan.
The best way to explore Bagan is by e-bike — electric bicycles available for hire throughout the old town that allow you to cover the distances between temples at your own pace, stopping wherever you choose. The roads between the temples are unpaved and dusty, and the combination of the red dust, the golden pagodas, and the occasional ox cart makes for a landscape of extraordinary visual richness.
The hot air balloon flights over Bagan, operated by Balloons over Bagan and Oriental Ballooning, are among the finest in Asia — a 45-minute flight at dawn over the plain of temples, with the Irrawaddy River visible in the distance and the Shan Hills rising to the east. The flights operate from October to March and must be booked in advance.
The best time to visit Bagan is from October to February, during the cool dry season, when the temperatures are comfortable and the skies are clear. The hot season (March to May) can see temperatures exceeding 40°C, and the monsoon (June to September) brings heavy rain that makes the unpaved roads between the temples difficult to navigate. The Thadingyut festival (October) and the Tazaungdaing festival (November) fill the temples with candlelight and are the finest times to experience Bagan's religious culture.
