In a nutshell
Currently, travel to Myanmar is not recommended. The German Foreign Office has issued a travel warning, as the security situation in the country continues to be classified as critical. It is currently unclear when the situation will improve.
The Most Beautiful Temples in Bagan
Picking the most beautiful temples out of 2,000 is no easy task. That said, there are definitely some temples and pagodas in Bagan that stand out as particularly impressive — and we want to introduce you to them.
That doesn’t mean the others are any less beautiful, of course. It’s absolutely worth going on an exploratory adventure and keeping an eye out for smaller temples that most visitors never find.
Getting Your Bearings in Bagan
The archaeological site of Bagan is seriously spread out, with considerable distances between individual sights. Your best bet is to rent an e-bike (more on that below) to explore the area.
Three small towns are arranged in a triangle around the pagoda plain. Nyaung U lies to the northeast, Old Bagan to the northwest, and New Bagan to the southwest. A well-maintained road connects all three around the plain.
To give you a rough sense of the distances:
Nyaung U – Old Bagan: 7 km
Old Bagan – New Bagan: 4.5 km
New Bagan – Nyaung U: 11.5 km
There are hotels in all three towns, but we recommend staying in Nyaung U. You’ll find more on that in the hotel section further down.
So you can actually use our temple list out in the field, we’ve sorted everything by area. You can visit them in the order listed here — though of course you don’t have to.
Temples Along the Road from Nyaung U to Old Bagan
Along the road from Nyaung U to Old Bagan, one highlight follows right after another.
Htilominlo Temple
About halfway between Nyaung U and Old Bagan, you’ll find the Htilominlo Temple.
Our tip: The temple has four entrances. If you walk out through the west exit, past the souvenir stalls, you’ll spot a small, flat pagoda. Climb up there and you’ll get the best view of the Htilominlo Temple.
Dahmmayangyi Temple
The Dahmmayangyi is the largest temple complex in Bagan, though not the tallest. The hulking structure is visible from a long distance away — we wouldn’t give it any beauty awards.
What is really interesting, though, are the twin Buddhas seated inside. It’s highly unusual for two Buddha figures to sit right next to each other, and nobody quite knows why that’s the case here.
Sulamani Temple
The Sulamani Temple was once one of the most impressive structures in Bagan. Unfortunately, it was hit hardest by the earthquake in August 2016.
The entire top of the temple collapsed, so it has sadly lost much of its former splendor.
Ananda Temple
The Ananda Temple is located just outside the gates of Old Bagan and ranks among the largest and most beautiful temples in Bagan — both inside and out.
The facade had just been fully renovated during our visit, and the distinctive golden spire was being restored, hiding behind an impressive bamboo scaffold.
Hsu Taung Pyi Pagoda
Behind the Ananda Temple (to the north) sits the small Hsu Taung Pyi Pagoda. Nobody seems to pay much attention to it, which is a shame — it’s actually quite lovely.
Minochantha Pagoda
The Minochantha Pagoda is one of our favorite spots in Bagan. It’s not on most tourists’ radar. At first glance it’s not particularly spectacular, but it radiated an incredible sense of peace and beauty that really stayed with us.
You’ll find it right behind the Hsu Taung Pyi Pagoda, which in turn sits behind the Ananda Temple.
Temples in Old Bagan
Bupaya Pagoda
The Bupaya Pagoda is located at the northern end of Old Bagan, right on the banks of the Irrawaddy. Bupaya means bottle gourd, and once you see the pagoda, you’ll understand exactly how it got that name.
Gawdawpalin Temple
The Gawdawpalin is a beautiful temple right in the heart of Old Bagan.
Our tip: Next to the Gawdawpalin Temple stands a small, unassuming pagoda. You can climb up through a little staircase inside and enjoy a wonderful view of the Gawdawpalin.
When you leave the Gawdawpalin through the main entrance, turn right and then immediately right again. On the left side of the road you’ll see the small pagoda.
Mahabodhi Temple
The Mahabodhi Temple looks very different from the outside compared to the other temples in Bagan. It’s a replica of the famous Mahabodhi Temple in India — and honestly, it’s not to be missed.
Shwegugyi Temple
The Shwegugyi Temple is particularly interesting because you can climb to the top and enjoy a lovely view of the surrounding temples.
The neighboring Thatbinnyu Temple, in particular, can be seen and photographed beautifully from up there.
Thatbinnyu Temple
At 61 meters, the Thatbinnyu is the tallest structure in Bagan and visible from far away. Inside, however, it’s not particularly spectacular.
Temples Between Old Bagan and New Bagan
Manuha Temple
The Manuha Temple is definitely the most bizarre place we visited in Bagan. It seems the builders decided to fill every room with as much Buddha as possible — the interior is packed with enormous statues that take up almost the entire space.
While three Buddhas sit in the front rooms, a large reclining Buddha occupies the rear of the temple.
Temples Between New Bagan and Nyaung U
Dhammayazika Temple
We first spotted the Dhammayazika from above — during our balloon ride, we flew directly over it and naturally wanted to check it out from the ground too.
The Dhammayazika is located far to the south, just before the edge of Nyaung U. Its slightly out-of-the-way location means fewer visitors, but it’s definitely worth the detour.
Lemyethna Temple
The Lemyethna is one of the lesser-visited temples along the road from New Bagan to Nyaung U. It’s particularly worth seeing on the inside, with its Buddha figures and well-preserved paintings on the walls.
Payathonzu Temple
The Payathonzu Temple doesn’t look like much from the outside, but what it lacks on the exterior it more than makes up for inside. The interior houses the most beautiful and detailed murals in all of Bagan.
Unfortunately, photography isn’t allowed inside the Payathonzu, so we can’t show you the full splendor here.
Our tip: If you turn left in front of the Payathonzu, after just a few meters you’ll come to a very small pagoda that also has beautiful murals — and photography is allowed there. So we’ll show you a photo from that one instead.
Temples in Nyaung U
Shwezigon Pagoda
Within the town of Nyaung U there’s also a pagoda, and it’s genuinely one of the standouts of Bagan: the Shwezigon Pagoda.
It’s completely covered in gold and richly decorated. When we visited, the spire was surrounded by scaffolding — yet the pagoda was no less impressive.
Our tip: If you suddenly spot a small crowd of people gathered around something on the ground, grab your camera and head over. That’s where you’ll find a small puddle reflecting the tip of the pagoda. A seriously great photo opportunity!
The Best Spots for Sunrise and Sunset in Bagan
Sunrise and Sunset: Shwesandaw Pagoda
No matter who you ask about the best temple for sunrise or sunset in Bagan, the answer is always the same: Shwesandaw!
The Shwesandaw Pagoda can be climbed from the outside via steep staircases, and the three platforms that wrap around it offer a stunning view in every direction.
No wonder it gets extremely crowded for both sunrise and sunset. And when we say extremely crowded, we really mean it.
Tour groups are bused in and crowd onto the temple to grab the best vantage point. Even at sunrise, hundreds of visitors show up.
We arrived a good half hour before sunrise and the top platform was already completely packed. If you want to set up your tripod in the best spot, you need to get there very, very early.
The views from the lower platforms are barely any worse, though. If your goal is to get great photos of the sunrise or sunset, the Shwesandaw Pagoda is still the best spot in Bagan.
But if you just want to soak up the atmosphere in peace and don’t mind skipping the perfect postcard shot, we’d suggest one of the other temples instead.
Sunrise: Law Ka Ou Shaung
While everyone flocks to the Shwesandaw Pagoda for sunrise, on our second day we simply rode a little further and discovered the Law Ka Ou Shaung Pagoda.
It’s located only a few hundred meters from the Shwesandaw and isn’t as overrun yet. While it isn’t as tall, it’s still really worth watching the sunrise from there.
When you turn off the road between Nyaung U and Old Bagan toward the Shwesandaw Pagoda, turn right just past the Shwesandaw and after about 200 meters you’ll arrive directly at the Law Ka Ou Shaung.
Sunset: Pyathadar Temple
The Pyathadar is one of the most popular spots after the Shwesandaw for watching the sunset over Bagan. Unfortunately, it’s similarly overcrowded — and this was actually the only traffic jam we encountered in all of Bagan.
The small dirt tracks simply aren’t built to handle 50 buses and minivans all converging on one point at the same time.
The view is totally worth it, though, and there’s plenty of space on the very large viewing platform.
Sunrise and Sunset: Bulethi Pagoda
The Bulethi Pagoda on the road from Nyaung U to Old Bagan is one of the sunrise and sunset spots that isn’t too overcrowded yet.
Unfortunately, renovation work had just started the week we were in Bagan, so we weren’t able to climb the temple.
Our tip: Right next to it, however, is another pagoda you can climb. There’s not a whole lot of space up top, and it can feel a bit nerve-wracking if you’re afraid of heights. For sunset, though, the Bulethi Pagoda itself is in the way.
Sunset: Unnamed Pagodas Along Anwaratha Road
If you’re coming from Nyaung U heading toward Old Bagan and turn left toward the Bulethi or Sulamani Temple, you’ll immediately see a larger cluster of small temples on the left at the start of the road.
Some of these can be climbed and offer a lovely view of the sunset. They aren’t particularly tall, but more than high enough for a beautiful panorama. Here you’ve got a real chance of having a temple entirely to yourself.
The temples are so small they don’t even have names — but you should be able to find them anyway.
More Temples for Sunrise and Sunset
The Bupaya Pagoda in Old Bagan is also great for sunset, since it sits right on the river.
The Mee Nyein Gone Pagoda, also in Old Bagan, is another beautiful option for both sunrise and sunset.
The Oak Kyaung Gyi Temple is also frequently recommended for sunrise. It’s located about 500 meters southwest of the Htilominlo Temple.
Current Situation After the 2016 Earthquake
On August 24, 2016, an earthquake struck the region around Bagan, unfortunately damaging numerous temples and pagodas in the process.
Before our trip, we read in many places that most temples were closed and that climbing them for sunrise and sunset wasn’t possible.
We were ultimately surprised by how little of that we actually noticed. The Sulamani Temple was severely damaged and is no longer accessible. Many other temples also took some hits, so there are a few more scaffoldings around than usual.
Even so, visitors faced almost no restrictions. Nearly all temples were open and could be climbed. So there’s really no reason to postpone your trip to Myanmar because of the earthquake damage.
Hot Air Ballooning in Bagan
Anyone who has looked into visiting Bagan has seen the iconic images of hot air balloons drifting over the pagoda plain at sunrise.
A balloon ride is truly a one-of-a-kind experience that we will never forget.
There are now three operators offering balloon rides. It’s not a cheap thrill, though:
Balloons over Bagan – $330 to $400
Oriental Ballooning – $395
Golden Eagle Ballooning – $320 to $380
Ballooning is possible from October through March, though in October in particular, rides are often canceled due to weather conditions.
Flights are in high demand with all operators, and especially during peak season you should book several weeks in advance.
We’ve written a separate article about our ballooning experience and everything else you need to know.
Read our full article on the Bagan balloon ride.
Sights in the Surrounding Area
If temple fatigue starts to set in, there are a few other options in the area.
Market in Nyaung U
The Mani Sithu Market in Nyaung U is definitely worth a visit and a welcome change of pace from temple hopping. This traditional market has everything the locals buy: vegetables, fish, meat, betel nut, clothing.
The market scene is super interesting — and surprisingly, you’ll barely run into any tourists here either. The market also has a few stalls selling cosmetics where, with a bit of luck, you might find sunscreen. You’ll desperately need it in Bagan, but it’s very hard to find locally.
Mount Popa
Tours to Mount Popa are offered at every travel agency in Bagan. The 737-meter mountain rises sharply from the plain and is topped with a small pagoda — it’s an important shrine in Myanmar.
We didn’t make the trip ourselves, but we talked to several travelers who had. The feedback was rather lukewarm and nobody was genuinely enthusiastic. It’s admittedly hard to compete with all the incredible things to see in Bagan.
A Boat Trip on the Irrawaddy
Another great change of pace is cruising the Irrawaddy on a boat. The best time for this is around sunset.
Boatmen wait for guests all day long at the Bupaya Pagoda. Just walk up, negotiate a price, and off you go.
Practical Tips for Your Travel Planning
How Much Time Do You Need for Bagan?
How much time should you set aside for Bagan? When in doubt, always add an extra day!
We spent three full days (four nights) in Bagan and feel that’s the absolute minimum. We saw all the highlights in that time, but we were also on the go constantly.
If you’d like a more relaxed pace, plan for a bit more time. And if you want to go searching for off-the-beaten-path temples or take a day trip to the surrounding area, you should spend at least one to two additional days.
When planning your Bagan itinerary, keep in mind that you can’t do temple tours all day long from morning to evening. It simply gets far too hot around midday.
Our daily routine shifted quite a bit anyway, since we got up before sunrise three days in a row. After sunrise we’d head back to the hotel for breakfast, then straight back out.
Around 1:00 PM it would get too hot and we’d grab something to eat and return to the hotel. Around 4:00 PM we’d head out again for sunset. After dinner we’d usually fall asleep around 9:00 PM.
Getting Around
As already mentioned, Bagan is very spread out. Walking is unfortunately not an option. Fortunately, there are plenty of other ways to explore.
Renting an E-Bike or Bicycle
Riding yourself is definitely our preferred way to get from A to B. Almost every hotel rents out bicycles and e-scooters, and if yours doesn’t, there’s guaranteed to be a rental shop nearby.
The e-scooters are quite interesting little vehicles. At first glance they look like regular motor scooters, just with smaller wheels — but they run entirely on electricity and are completely silent.
The scooters cost between 5,000 and 10,000 Kyat per day. It’s worth testing a few different ones first, because they really do all handle differently. The two of us shared one e-scooter and zipped around Bagan on it.
If you want to get a little workout in during your temple hopping, you can also rent a regular bicycle for 2,000 to 3,000 Kyat per day. Keep in mind, though, that the distances are really quite long and it can get very hot. You’ll also have to navigate dirt tracks off the main road to reach most of the temples.
Regular mopeds, by the way, are strictly forbidden for tourists. You won’t find anyone willing to rent you one.
Horse-Drawn Carriage
Horse-drawn carriages are still quite common in Bagan. It’s definitely the most romantic and old-fashioned way to explore the temples, though certainly not the most comfortable.
A horse-drawn carriage costs about 20,000 Kyat for a full day, but you can also hire one for shorter distances.
Guided Tours by Car or Bicycle
Of course, guided tours are also available in Bagan. A tour is especially worthwhile if you don’t have much time to explore on your own, or if you simply enjoy having someone along who can tell you about the temples.
Here’s a small selection of tours you can book online:
Private Temple Tour with Lunch and Sunset
Private Tour of the Highlights of Bagan
Our Hotel Recommendations for Bagan
The hotel scene in Bagan is booming. New hotels open every year, and that’s sorely needed. Especially during peak season, it’s not advisable to show up without a reservation unless you want to spend hours hunting for a free room.
By now, many hotels also have a pool where you can cool off in the scorching midday heat before heading back out for another round of exploring at sunset.
Where to Stay in Bagan? Nyaung U? New Bagan? Old Bagan?
When booking, you first have to decide which part of Bagan you’d like to stay in. We stayed in Nyaung U and recommend you do the same.
Nyaung U is conveniently located for most of the temples, and the bus station is also nearby. You’ll find the most restaurants in Nyaung U as well, and on top of that, accommodation prices there are still relatively reasonable.
View all hotels in Nyaung U
Old Bagan is a bit more upscale. You can even walk to some pagodas from there, and there are some truly wonderful hotels. But you’ll have to dig a little deeper into your wallet for them.
View all hotels in Old Bagan
New Bagan is significantly cheaper, like Nyaung U, but the town has little charm and is quite far from most of the temples. Many tour groups stay there, and besides the lower prices, we see no reason to look for a place to stay there.
Our Hotel Pick for Bagan: Motel Zein
We stayed at Motel Zein and can recommend it wholeheartedly. It was honestly one of our best hotels during our entire Myanmar trip!
The location in Nyaung U is excellent. It sits right on the road toward Old Bagan but is set back slightly, making it very quiet.
The restaurant strip is ten minutes on foot or three minutes by e-bike. The rooms are new and clean, and the breakfast is actually not bad either — which in Myanmar isn’t always a given.
The hotel is a family operation run by two sisters. They studied in London for a while, speak excellent English, and are incredibly welcoming. When we return to Bagan, we’ll definitely stay there again.
Getting to and from Bagan
Flying to Bagan
There is a small airport in Nyaung U. Daily direct flights operate to and from Yangon, Mandalay, and Heho (Inle Lake).
Flights are best booked directly on the ground, which generally works on fairly short notice. Most hotels can book flights for you or point you to a travel agency.
Domestic flights typically cost around $100, sometimes a little more or a little less. The taxi from the airport to Nyaung U costs about 5,000 Kyat, and a bit more to New Bagan and Old Bagan.
Taking the Bus to Bagan
Bagan is connected by bus to all major destinations in Myanmar. There are multiple daily direct buses to and from Yangon (ten hours), Nyaung Shwe on Inle Lake (eight hours), and Mandalay (five hours).
You can choose between day and night buses. We recommend booking one of the comfortable VIP buses that are now available on the main routes.
These buses have two seats on one side and only one on the other, and they’re very comfortable. Pricewise they’re usually only a few dollars more than the standard buses.
Bus tickets can be purchased at most hotels or online. The VIP buses are often referred to as “2+1 buses” because of the seating arrangement. Tickets cost between 8,000 Kyat (Mandalay) and 20,000 Kyat (Yangon) depending on the distance and comfort level.
The ride from the bus station to Nyaung U costs about 3,000 Kyat per person. It’s more expensive to New Bagan and Old Bagan.
Buy a bus ticket from Bagan to Yangon
Buy a bus ticket from Bagan to Nyaung Shwe
Buy a bus ticket from Bagan to Mandalay
Taking the Train to Bagan
The truly adventurous can also travel to Bagan by train. There are daily connections to and from Mandalay (eight hours) and Yangon (17 hours). Delays of several hours are not uncommon, though — those 17 hours can quickly turn into 22.
A train journey in Myanmar is definitely an experience. That said, we’d recommend it more for a shorter route, since even upper class is extremely, extremely uncomfortable.
Train ticket from Bagan to Mandalay
Taking the Boat to Mandalay
From Bagan, you have the option of traveling upstream along the Irrawaddy to Mandalay. The journey takes up to 13 hours, and in the opposite direction up to nine hours.
Several boats make this trip daily. To be honest, though, the scenery isn’t particularly stunning.
A real highlight, however, is a river cruise aboard a replica of colonial-era boats.
We took a two-day tour with Pandaw Cruises, making several stops along the way. The experience has a price tag to match, but it’s absolutely worth it. We wrote about the boat journey here: With Pandaw Cruises from Bagan to Mandalay.
Practical Tips and Info for Your Stay in Bagan
Admission
A 25,000 Kyat (approx. $20) entrance fee is required to visit Bagan. If you arrive by bus or plane, you’ll most likely have to buy the ticket right upon arrival.
Otherwise, tickets are checked at some of the larger temples. We were checked, for example, at the Shwesandaw Pagoda at sunrise and at the Htilominlo Temple.
The ticket is valid for a total of five days and you should always carry it with you in case of spot checks.
Dress Code and Respect
As with all temples in Myanmar, appropriate dress is expected in Bagan. That means: T-shirts should cover the shoulders, and pants should reach past the knees.
Shoes and socks must be removed at all temples. We’d strongly recommend wearing flip-flops or sandals, otherwise you’ll be constantly going through the hassle of taking your shoes on and off everywhere.
There are many locals in Bagan for whom all temples and pagodas are sacred. When people kneel before the Buddha statues, stay behind them and don’t step between them and the statue.
Similarly, always think twice before climbing somewhere just to get a special photo.
The temples are up to 1,000 years old and were not designed to have photographers scrambling all over them.
There are plenty of temples where you’re perfectly welcome to climb up in the usual way — stick to those.
These rules of conduct should really go without saying, but unfortunately we saw quite a few tourists who didn’t follow them.
Our Restaurant Recommendations for Bagan
There’s definitely no shortage of restaurants in Bagan. In Nyaung U, a small restaurant strip has developed along Thiripyitsaya(4) Road.
The huge signs already hint that you’ll find pretty much the same thing everywhere: Myanmar food, Thai food, Indian food, Italian food, Western food, Chinese food. Everything, and all of it at every restaurant!
The quality is generally okay, but don’t expect any flavor explosions. Very popular with backpackers is Weather Spoon’s Restaurant — we enjoyed it there too.
After three weeks of local food, when the multitude of restaurant signs finally convinced us to order a pizza again, we did so at La Pizza. It’s not comparable to an authentic Italian one, but it’s decent enough.
Behind the Ananda Temple there are two highly recommended vegetarian restaurants that offer more or less the same menu: The Moon – Be kind to animals and Yarpyi Restaurant. We’re not sure who copied whom, but both are worth recommending.
There’s also a wonderful project in Old Bagan we’d like to highlight: Sanon Restaurant is a training restaurant for young people from the region who would otherwise have very few prospects for a good job. The food and service are outstanding, and at the same time you’re supporting a truly wonderful initiative.
Our Videos from Bagan
In Bagan we didn’t just take photos — we also did plenty of filming. In total we shot three videos in Bagan. Take a look:
In our first video we take you along on our exploratory tour through the temples:
We also shot some drone footage in Bagan. It looks just as stunning from the air.
But we didn’t just fly over Bagan with a drone — we also did it in a balloon. We’ll show you what that was like in our third video.
