Bagan Temples: A guide to 5 little-known temples and secret passageways to sunrise spots blissfully devoid of tourists.
Marco Polo called the Bagan temples “one of the finest sites in the world,” and this capital city of the ancient Burmese kingdom is surreal. Perhaps the most aggressive construction project the world has ever seen was churning out temples at the rate of almost 2 a month.
The Bagan temples are actually just thin shells that house massive golden Buddha statues in every one like enormous Russian Matryoshka dolls. Each has barely enough air to breathe.
Half the fun of exploring Bagan is searching through some of the over 4000 remaining temples scattered across the sacred plain and finding seemingly undiscovered temples, secret passageways to hidden floors and sunrise spots that only the monkeys know about. Here are a few places to check out that you will likely miss if you get stuck in the tour group circuit.
Bagan Temples: Lawkaoushaung Temple (A on the map)
Best for sunrise. This beautiful temple just West of the towering Shwesandaw Pagoda that is dripping with package tourists at sunrise has second and third floor patios that hover above the tree line for spectacular 360 degree views of the Myinkaba plain shrouded in early morning mist.
Lawkaoushaung Temple in Bagan is one of the best places to watch the sunrise.
If you show up at 5am, you will have to find the little key holder who lives in a hut just behind the temple. He will show you how to get upstairs. Your reward will be to experience the sunrise without a single tourist in sight.
This little boy is the keyholder to the Lawkaoushaung Temple.
Bagan Temples: North Guni Temple (B on the map)
This undervisited temple has some of the best sunset views of the ancient metropolis of Bagan. See if you can find your way through the hidden passages all the way to the 7th floor (I promise it’s there). You will have to exhale to make it through a few tight spots.
North Guni Temple sits in the shadows behind the cursed Dhammayangyi Temple in Bagan
For more pictures taken with my iPhone, click here: Top 10 Ultra High Res iPhone pics
Old Bagan
I know what you’re thinking, avoiding crowds in Old Bagan? Yes! Just after your sunrise pictures, you have a few hours before the tourist hoards transform this peaceful village into a souvenir town. You can catch the morning meditation, the locals preparing their boats, and the cutest little Buddhist monks collecting their daily food donations from the community. Many people forget that Bagan remains a living religious site and one of the most important pilgrimages for Buddhists.
Little Monks in training in Old Bagan. This will be their only meal of the day.
Bagan Temples: Pathada Temple (C on the map)
This temple has an outdoor Buddha that faces the sunset. A rare opportunity to capture Buddha with his surroundings.
Buddha facing the sunset at Pathada Temple Bagan
Bagan Temples: Gawdawpalin Temple
This is an epic temple that would make Camelot jealous, with some of the biggest Buddha statues around. Problem is, the entire ground floor has been turned into a sprawling souvenir market complete with flashing neon lights and you cannot go upstairs.
Head out the gates to the south and you will find a forgotten temple with majestic views of Gawdapalin with trees covering all of the stalls selling trinkets. The keyholder can help you find all 4 levels.
The Temple just South of Gawdawpalin gives majestic views of the towering Temple.
Map of these Temples
You will probably get a map that shows the 15 or so most popular temples, so this can help you find these excellent places hidden just off the paths to the main attractions.
Bagan temple map showing crowd free temples
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About the author: Brad Bernard
Brad Bernard has traveled through 89 countries to find off-the-map experiences and authentic adventure travel. He pushes his own personal boundaries by travelling experimentally. Brad’s personal quest to find the most extreme and unique in travel has bred misadventures and moments of enlightenment alike. You can read his craziest stories on his adventure travel blog
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at 3:31 pm
Brad,
What a wicked post Brad! Really informative, well written, and the pictures are solid. I wish I had seen this post before going to Bagan!
David Ouellette recently posted…Bagan, Myanmar – The Most Beautiful Place In The World?
at 6:19 pm
Thanks, David. Bagan is such a magical place, especially at sunrise with the spires of thousands of temples suddenly illuminated across the plain, the scale is humbling.
…but tripping over tourists to find a place for my tripod at 5am takes a bit of the magic away for me. It’s getting more crowded by the day, so these are some amazing places to experience the sunrise the way I think it was meant to be experienced. Those pics are all on an iPhone, imagine if my good camera didn’t crap out.
at 9:36 pm
I feel you on tripping over tourists, I got to the sunset spot an hour and a half before sunset and dudes were already setup with their tripods and red rings. I didn’t get the best spot, but I was happy with how the pictures turned out.
What happened to your camera? I think I would cry if my camera died before Bagan.
at 11:18 pm
Yeah, you got some ridiculous sunset pics there, wow!
I’m not sure what happened to the camera, probably the condensation. It was completely fogged-over the first day and wouldn’t turn on the second. I guess I’ll have to go back and give it another shot. I heard they have some sort of e-bicycles now! My legs were dying after that trip!
at 11:51 pm
Yup that’s not uncommon, I met a guy in Borneo who’s camera died in the jungle for the same reason. We think they’re so tough, but they need time adjusting to temperature differences right? My intervalometer died a few weeks ago in the Colombian Andes because of the cold. Very disappointing.
Why don’t you try the horse cart instead? The ultimate, of course, would be the hot air balloon option…
at 11:15 am
Thanks for this list! We’re visiting Bagan early next year – this will come in handy :-). (Janice visited Bagan before Burma opened up to tourism. Bagan wasn’t very busy then…)
Sand In My Suitcase recently posted…Easy beach days at Viceroy Zihuatanejo
at 11:18 am
Thanks for reading. Yeah, Bagan is a magical place and with so many temples you can turn off the main paths and you feel like you are discovering things for the first time. The country is feeling the growing pains of tourism and modernization, so go there as soon as you can. Massive crowds, busses and noise at many of the key sunrise/sunset spots prompted me to seek out more spiritual places to take pics and “experience” Bagan awakening for a new day the way it was meant to be.
brad340 recently posted…The Secret Lives of Bajau Sea Gypsies: A True Account
at 8:16 pm
Hi Brad,
Thank you so much for sharing this useful information on Lawkaoushaung Temple.
It is truly a spectacular place to take photo of sunrise as you mentioned.
At 5:30 am. last Sunday 9th March ,I woke up still undecided which of the temple to go for sunrise. We were on Shwesandaw Pagoda for the sunset the day before, and it was packed with people but worth it for the magnificent sunset view.
I knew time was running out ,and the sun would come up very soon. Thanks to technology I was able to find your Blog on Google and the rest was a great memory.
at 9:47 pm
That’s awesome! I’m glad you were able to find it. Many of those maps are less than accurate, ha! The main ones have great sunrises too, but tripping over tourists is not the most relaxing experience.
at 2:27 am
I had no problem to get lost and be alone in Bagan. There are so many temples there. When I rented a bicycle on the second day I didn’t run into anyone for almost 2 hours!
Anyone, who don’t believe, can check it out on my site!
at 11:25 pm
Secret, gut sucking passage ways, keyholders, being found on different levels – ooh, you’ve painted a nice picture. Would love to get to Burma, cheers.
at 8:57 pm
Great information on Bagan. Where did you get that map? That would really help in my planning.
at 8:38 pm
They have maps everywhere there. Thing is most aren’t very accurate. Plan on a fun adventure exploring and asking for directions.
at 12:34 pm
Stunning shots! If you like photography, we’d like to invite you to participate in the next edition of our popular Travel Photography Competition.
Happy travels!
Hitch-Hikers Handbook recently posted…Why visit Bilbao, Spain?
at 10:06 am
Hi Brad, I like the format of site, is it something you put together on your own or was it developed for you?