Bagan

From World travel guide

Bagan, also spelled Pagan, on the banks of the Ayerwaddy River, is home to the largest area of Buddhist temples, pagodas, stupas and ruins in the world – many dating to the 11th and 12th centuries. The shape and construction of each building is highly significant in Buddhism with each component part taking on spiritual meaning.

Abandoned paya at Bagan

1 Understand
2 Get in
3 Get around
4 See
5 Do
6 Buy
7 Eat
8 Drink
9 Sleep
10 Get out

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Understand

Bagan became a central powerbase of the mid 9th century King Anawratha who unified Burma under Theravada Buddhism. At one time, it's estimated that more than 13,000 temples and stupas once stood on this 42 sq km plain in central Myanmar, and Marco Polo once described Bagan as a "gilded city alive with tinkling bells and the swishing sounds of monks' robes". Today, approximately 2,200 remain today.

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Get in

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Get around

For an unparalleled view of the Bagan plain, you can take a hot air balloon ride at sunrise through a company called Balloons Over Bagan.

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See

Ananda. Bagan's holiest temple, built by the third king, Kyan-zit-tha in 1091. Ananda comes from the Pali word ‘anantapannya’, which means ‘boundless wisdom’. The temple houses four Buddhas facing the cardinal directions, which represent the four Buddhas who have attained Nirvana. The fifth, Maitreya, is yet to appear.

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