Bagan
Be awe by one of the most remarkable archaeological sights in the world, Bagan is the capital city of the first Myanma Kingdom, the Bagan Archaeological Area currently contains 2230 Buddhist monuments (temples, stupas, monasteries, etc) built from the 10th to the 14th centuries AD (used to be 4446!). Several of these monuments are still highly venerated by the population, and attract numerous pilgrims and devotees from all over the country, particularly at festival times.
The large corpus of contemporary stone inscriptions have been the most reliable source for the history of the Kingdom. The mural paintings inside more than 300 temples constitutes a unique corpus of paintings of that time in southeast Asia.
The best way to see this magnificent archaeological site is to get to a high point from one of the temple and from there enjoy a panoramic 360 degrees view of the plains – hundreds of temples spread out before you! (That’s where you get the best photo shot too!) Many of the taller temples used to have staircases leading all the way to the top, however they are all closed down in recent years by the government – instead they build watchtowers despite opposition from United Nations, and charge tourists for the view! However you can still find some temples that present a good view, so i will advise you not to pay for the watchtower!
Photo by Zerega
PkTan is fascinated with this beautiful, complicated country. He love advising travellers to Myanmar and have developed this site to share all his knowledge of Myanmar with everyone.
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