Cambodia‘s Angkor Wat, but perhaps even more impressive, the Bagan Historical Park is filled with over two-thousand ancient stone pagodas dating back to the 9th century, and ranging from small shrines to massive temples.
Top 5 Things to do in Bagan
1. Explore the Ancient Pagodas in Old Bagan
When you arrive in Bagan, you’ll need to purchase a ticket to the Bagan Historical Park, which costs 25,000 kyat (about $25). Bagan is divided into two areas: New Bagan, which is home to hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, and bars; and Old Bagan, where all the cool old temples are located. For the best experience, try to book a hotel in Old Bagan so you can wake up and look out your window in the morning at the historical park. Wherever you look, you’ll see dozens of temples spreading out in every direction.
You can bargain with the drivers of the ubiquitous horse carts, but a half-day exploring the temples should cost around $10. Our driver spoke good English, and gave us a short introduction about the history of each temple and pagoda he showed us. That alone was worth hiring the driver for! Instead of wandering aimlessly from temple to temple, Mr. Bobo and his sweet horse Nanda took us to visit some of the lesser-visited pagodas along with the more popular ones.
3. Climb a Pagoda for Amazing Views
Some pagodas are “climbable”. While not all of the temples are possible to climb, quite a few allow visitors to climb up to the roof for some incredible views. When we were in Bagan, our horse cart driver would tell us whether or not we were allowed to climb each temple that he took us to.
Tickets are not cheap, however! A ticket, including hotel pick-up and drop-off, light breakfast, and traditional champagne toast costs $315 per person! It’s a little out of the $50 per day price range we try to stick to, but makes for a beautiful and unforgettable way to see the sights. The price is a lot higher than what you will find in neighboring countries, but all pilots are foreign-trained and the companies guarantee high levels of safety.
5. Watch the Sunset over the Irrawaddy River
The best sunset we saw during our trip to Myanmar was in Bagan from a white sand beach along the banks of the Irrawaddy. Nearby a restaurant called the Green Elephant boasts world-class sunset views (and decently cheap dinner as well).
If you are interested in Myanmar, please check out my second book, Across A Golden Land,
my travelogue of a journey by land across the country from Yangon to Bagan.
Watch
“Golden Land” – our travel vlog about our recent adventure in Myanmar.
LB convert 