The hook
A dusty plain beside the Irrawaddy studded with thousands of brick temples and pagodas built by the kings of a medieval empire, an ancient skyline best seen from a temple terrace at dawn as mist and balloons drift over the spires.
01Why it's worth it
Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the kings of the Bagan empire raised thousands of Buddhist temples, stupas, and monasteries on this plain, and over two thousand still stand, from small brick shrines to great gilded pagodas, scattered across the landscape in a density found almost nowhere else. Cycling or riding a horse cart among them, climbing to a viewpoint for the sunrise as hot-air balloons rise over the temple-dotted haze, is one of Asia's iconic experiences. It sits on the mighty Irrawaddy river, and the surrounding villages give a sense of rural Myanmar. All of this now comes with a heavy caveat: since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, the country has been in conflict, and travel is both unsafe in places and ethically complicated, since tourism money can reach the junta. This entry records the place; whether and how to visit is a serious question.
02How to experience it
First weigh whether to go at all: check the current security situation and the ethics of travel under the military regime, and favour ways of spending that support local people over the state. If you do visit, explore the temple plain by e-bike at dawn and dusk, climb the permitted viewpoints, and treat active shrines respectfully.