On a dusty plain beside the Irrawaddy River in central Myanmar, the remains of one of Buddhist Asia’s most extraordinary civilisations rise from the earth in their thousands. Bagan — the ancient capital of the Pagan Empire (849–1297 CE) — once contained over 10,000 religious structures built across a 42-square-kilometre plain. Approximately 3,500 survive today: stupas, temples, monasteries, and shrines in varying states of preservation, ranging from towering gilded monuments still active as places of worship to crumbling brick towers disappearing back into the red earth from which they were made. At sunrise, when mist fills the plain and the spires of a thousand temples emerge from the haze while hot-air balloons drift overhead, Bagan presents one of the world’s most extraordinary visual landscapes — and one that a surprisingly small proportion of world travellers have yet experienced.
The Pagan Empire: Bagan’s Golden Age
The city of Bagan (known historically as Pagan) was the capital of the first unified Myanmar kingdom — the Pagan Empire — which at its height controlled most of what is today Myanmar, parts of northern Thailand, and portions of Yunnan province in China. The empire’s most celebrated ruler, King Anawrahta (reigned 1044–1077 CE), unified Burma under Theravada Buddhism and began the extraordinary temple-building programme that would continue for over 250 years.
The scale of Bagan’s construction programme was extraordinary by any standard. Approximately 10,000 religious structures were built between the 9th and 13th centuries using brick fired from the Irrawaddy plain — a programme that archaeological analysis suggests consumed the timber resources of an enormous surrounding region and required the labour of tens of thousands of workers continuously for generations. The structures range from enormous temple complexes (the Ananda Temple, completed around 1105 CE, is 51 metres high with a base covering 1.5 hectares) to small village stupas barely taller than a person. Every king, every noble, every wealthy merchant built temples as acts of religious merit — the accumulation of which would determine their next rebirth in the Buddhist cosmological understanding.
The Great Temples: Bagan’s Architectural Masterworks
Among Bagan’s 3,500 surviving structures, several are of exceptional importance:
- Ananda Temple (1105 CE): Bagan’s most magnificent temple — a perfectly proportioned structure of Indian architectural influence, containing four enormous gilded standing Buddhas (9.5 metres tall) facing the cardinal directions. Still an active place of worship, Ananda hosts one of Myanmar’s most important festivals in January.
- Dhammayangyi Temple (1165–1170 CE): Bagan’s largest temple by footprint — ordered by King Narathu, who was assassinated by Indian assassins sent by the father of one of his murdered wives. The temple’s inner chambers are mysteriously bricked up — scholars believe Narathu’s assassination interrupted the construction, and the chambers were sealed rather than completed.
- Shwezigon Pagoda (1102 CE): The model for all later Burmese-style pagodas — a solid bell-shaped stupa on terraced square bases, covered in gold. It enshrines replicas of the Buddha’s frontal bone and collar bone, making it one of Myanmar’s most sacred sites.
- Sulamani Temple (1183 CE): The “Crowning Jewel” — a two-storey temple of exceptional refinement containing some of Bagan’s finest surviving mural paintings, which cover the interior walls with scenes from the Jataka tales (stories of the Buddha’s previous lives).
- Htilominlo Temple (1218 CE): The last great temple of Bagan’s classical period — 46 metres high, elaborately decorated with stucco carvings and traces of original paint, still sufficiently intact to give a sense of the original sensory richness of Bagan’s architecture.
The Murals: A Painted Universe
Bagan’s most irreplaceable artistic heritage is its surviving mural paintings — thousands of square metres of 11th–13th century Buddhist painting preserved within temple interiors across the plain. The murals represent one of the finest surviving collections of early Buddhist painting in the world, comparable in significance to the cave paintings of Dunhuang. They depict scenes from the Buddha’s life, the Jataka tales, cosmological diagrams (showing the Buddhist universe’s multiple realms), and devotional imagery of extraordinary detail and colour.
Conservation of the murals is a significant ongoing challenge. The 1975 earthquake (which measured 6.5 on the Richter scale and severely damaged over 1,000 structures), subsequent poorly managed restoration work criticised by UNESCO for introducing inappropriate materials and inaccurate stylistic reconstructions, and the combined effects of tourism, humidity, and bat colonies have all threatened these irreplaceable paintings. The Myanmar government’s somewhat tense relationship with UNESCO over restoration standards has complicated conservation efforts — but the murals that survive are extraordinary.
Bagan Today: Visiting the Ancient Plain
Visiting Bagan today requires navigating both the extraordinary archaeological landscape and the complex political context of Myanmar — a country that has experienced significant political upheaval since the 2021 military coup. Travel advisories for Myanmar should be checked carefully before planning any visit, as the situation remains volatile and certain areas of the country are affected by armed conflict.
Within Bagan itself, the archaeological zone is best explored by electric bicycle or horse cart — which allow movement between temples at a pace that rewards stopping to investigate smaller, less-visited structures as well as the major monuments. The sunrise and sunset experiences from key viewpoints (the terraces of Shwesandaw Pagoda were the traditional choice until tourist numbers exceeded safe limits; alternative viewpoints are regularly updated on travel forums) are among the most memorable visual experiences in Southeast Asia. The archaeological zone’s e-bike rental infrastructure, Nyaung-U village’s guesthouses, and the nearby Irrawaddy river offer a complete cultural travel experience once geopolitical conditions allow safe access.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to visit Bagan and Myanmar?
The political situation in Myanmar following the February 2021 military coup has made travel significantly more complex. Many Western governments advise against non-essential travel to Myanmar. The Bagan archaeological zone itself has not been directly affected by armed conflict, but the broader country situation requires careful assessment. Check your government’s current travel advisory immediately before making any plans.
How does Bagan compare to Angkor Wat?
Both are extraordinary — but the experiences are complementary rather than competitive. Angkor Wat is more architecturally spectacular in individual monuments, better preserved, and more visited. Bagan has a greater number of structures spread across a larger landscape, is significantly less visited, has an arguably more authentic atmosphere of active religious use, and offers a different aesthetic (brick construction versus stone) that some visitors find more moving in its evident antiquity and partial ruination.
Bagan is a reminder that Buddhist civilisation produced architectural achievements that rival any in the world — and that Asia’s cultural heritage is far larger than most Western travellers have yet discovered. Explore more art and architecture on CulturalDiaries.