9 things to do when travel to Bagan – shared by our local travel experts’ experiences

Bagan was once the capital of the most flourishing kingdom of Burma during  11-13th century, is the first place the warlords unified, integral Myanmar as today. More than 14,000 terracotta temples have collapsed after the historical events and the earthquake in 1975; nowadays just over 2,000 temples exist under the shadow of immense nim trees and arabica – the tree with large shade and fragrant like magnolia blossom.

Here are 9 things to do when travel to Bagan – shared by our local travel experts’ experiences.

Dawn Photo Hunting from High Angle

Under the dense morning fog, the carriage takes you through small trails and stops in front of the Buledi  temple – the ideal place to enjoy the sunrise while traveling to Bagan. Climb the steep stone stairs and you will reach the ideal location near the temple spire. Around the top of the tower, tourists choose a good position to look towards the sun.

At 6 am, the sun rises from the horizon, illuminating the first light, creating different colors like red, orange and yellow amber; simultaneously dispelling the haze layer. Thousands of small cones, large temple featured in bagan region, flickers out the far side, glowing under the morning sun.

Visit Temples Barefoot

In Myanmar, before entering temples, with devotion, everyone must remove shoes, slippers, socks, and leave them outside. Ancient pagodas in Bagan are made of bricks. The temple courtyard that stretches a few hundred meters heat up at noon, as if burning the bare feet of buddhists as well as the tourists.

But these challenges do not discourage tourists because the temples are magically beautiful over time. The beautiful temple with giant Buddha statues in sitting cross-legged and covered in sparkling gold.

Learn Offering Custom of Burmeses

Coming to Manuha temple, you will see a great gold bell placed on a cement pedestal right between the chambers of the temple. Next to the tower is a ladder from the ground to the bell mouth.

Temples are seen as home of Burmeses, since it gives them a  peace of mind. Although life is difficult, offerings to temples is their happiness. Local people queue in a long line, climbing stairs to drop money into the bell lap. In front of the bell, there is a group of people waiting for less crowds, so then they can also put the money inside.

Admire the Mahabodhi Temple Architecture

Mahabodhi Temple is a prominent landmark, the name and the architecture is very similar to the temple in Bodh Gaya in India. Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India was devastated by the Turkish military, and Bagan Buddhist leader sent a delegation of artists to help rebuild. Then when they returned to Myanmar, the artisans built a temple according to Bodhigaya prototype.

The temple has a single-storey podium and tower. The floor has a wide space to worship Buddha. The differences compared with other temples is that it has a gilded door, locked with a padlock steel fabrication for the Queen of England. The tower includes four sides with hundreds of reliefs depicting the Buddha’s life.

Visit Pyramid-shaped Temple

Stagecoaches tinkling and glide on the road, taking you to the largest temple and most thick brick walls in Bagan named Dhammayangyi. You will be impressed by the pyramid – shaped temple.

Dhammayangyi is also called “the bad luck temple” because this place bears a traumatic past. In the 12th century,  the king ordered the mortar less brickwork to fit together so tightly so that even a pin couldn’t pass between any two bricks. If a pin could penetrate in between the bricks, then the slaves were killed.

After the earthquake of 1975, the wall piece broken off showed that the ancients did not build the tiles evenly that every few rows, then to a straight or tilted bricks to divide the forces of nature. Mortars were made from buffalo bone crushing, mixing with wood flour arabica tree. Therefore, interior of the temple was not destroyed and has preserved the beautiful Buddha statues.

Visiting Ananda  Stone Temple is  a Must

The most famous monuments that any visitor to Bagan must visit is Ananda stone temple, with cross shaped architecture and the giant standing Buddhas.

The main tower is 54 m high, with four side views of four directions, each side is a worship space with nearly 10 m high statue. Bagan people believe that the difference between the Buddha’s face will make people aware of their activities on arrival and walking out to the world.

Stop at Thatbyinnyu – the Highest Temple in Bagan

It would be a miss if visitng Myanmar without going tp Thatbyinyu Phaya to see every spot on this land. The temple was built in the mid 12th century with a height of about 66 m, stained and located inside the old city walls which had collapsed.

Enjoy “Sunset Temple”

Journey to the ancient city of Bagan perfectly ends when watching the sunset in the most beautiful place in Bagan – Shwesandaw temple also known as “sunset temple “. There are 5 floors and a stupa bell-shaped tower on top. According to legend, this temple was built in 1057 to preserve one of eight hairs of the Buddha Sakyamuni brought from India.

In 30 minutes, the scenery in Bagan gradually changes when the red sun slowly goes down from the sky, dyeing thousands of towers in violet and then into darkness.

Enjoy a Typical Local Meal

Before leaving Bagan to come to other places in the country of Myanmar, do not forget to enjoy Myanmar-style dinner with complete salty dishes such as stew pork, chicken curry, fried fish , beans and broccoli, served with  finely chopped mango salad and green vegetables. More strange thing is the dessert combined with three things: tea leaves, mango fiber and beans.

So if you plan a holiday to visit Myanmar, do not forget 9 things to do when travel to Bagan – shared by our local travel experts’ experiences.

If you want us to suggest a perfect holiday for you, let’s check our Bagan Tours or contact us for more details.