Bagan – Mysterious ancient capital to visit for Myanmar sites

Bagan City is 42 square kilometers wide, located on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar center. This city used to be the flourishing capital of the Pagan Kingdom during the 9th to 13th centuries. During the 11th to 13th centuries, over 10,000 temples and Buddhist monasteries were built. At present, getting to Myanmar, you can only see about 2,000 temples and pagodas remained. Actually, more than half of them were destroyed. However, Bagan City has still maintained its inherent beauty.

Going to Bagan, you can consider best ways to travel Myanmar, either walk on foot or take a horse-drawn carriage to go sight-seeing. You can also go hiking to see wherever you want to drop in, or ride a bike to explore more distant lands and large temples.

Looking at religious temples and towers of Bagan, you will be surprised with the ancient beauty of this place. The large and small towers connect together by beautiful roads. You will feel like being lost in another peace, calm and quiet world with the Myanmar sites. Bagan ancient city not only has many religious buildings, but also temples with magnificent architectures. Construction techniques of people who built these buildings are extremely accurate so that many of them still stand steadily after the earthquakes.

Pagodas in Bagan have two main types, the solid and the hollow. The solid pagodas are usually cylindrical or conical with the upper edge tapering to the tip. The hollow pagodas have the pyramid shape and have one or four main doors. This type of Myanmar tourist sites is a place of meditation and worship.

Inside the temples are large statues of Buddha lied along the aisles. The red and orange walls bring silence and mystery. Each wall is decorated with exquisite carvings.

The remains of temples as Myanmar sites are the embodiment of Mon architecture which has been faded gradually. There are many mystical places in Bagan that travelers should explore. It is Shwezigon Pagoda, Ananda Temple, Thatbyinyu Temple and Dhamma Yangyi Temple. Shwezigon Pagoda is the oldest pagoda in Myanmar. It is called the “Sun Temple”. You can stand on the pagoda to see the other temples clearly.

Ananda Temple is considered the remaining masterpiece of Mon architecture. It is the finest, most sustainable Myanmar tourist attraction architecture and preserved the most carefully among the temples in Bagan.

Thatbyinnyu Temple is the highest temple built by King Alaungsithu. It is one of the first two-storey temples.

Dhamma Yangyi is the most grandiose temple as described in Myanmar tourist websites. It was built by King Arathu with the architectural features similar to Ananda.

Another interesting thing that smart travellers Myanmar should not miss when traveling to Bagan is watching the sunset. The sunset here brings a rustic and magical beauty. The sun is dark red as the color of honey light up behind the roof of temples. At first, the sky is still scattered with blue clouds, but soon afterwards, all of them completely change. The sky is “dyed” by purple, which look very spectacular. After a while, the sun is completely gone, and the darkness enveloped the sky. At that time, you only see light spots from the ancient temples. It would be great if you could contemplate the beautiful scenery from the balloon.

Bagan is not only beautiful in architecture but also in culture and friendly people. For a perfect trip, you should visit small villages as Burma attractions in the peaceful countryside and enjoy local foods. People here are very friendly and hospitable. You can ask them necessary knowledge about temples, their country and talk with them about everything. These villages have traditional styles. Each house is made of wood. The inhabitants mainly live by handmade weaving. You can buy some handmade items as souvenirs when you return.

Bagan ancient city will be an attractive place that you cannot ignore. Not only being the land of unique pagoda architecture, Bagan is also known as a sacred city with a myriad of surprising Myanmar sites awaiting you to explore.