Bagan and Mount Popa

No doubt the Bagan area is one of the most important and most impressive archaeological sites in south east Asia. The ruins were once the capital of the First Burmese Empire. And Mount Popa is nearby. Both were build in the same time time frame. Mount Popa is like the ruins on the plains a must to visit and its only 50km from the main temples.

The area is 42 square kilometer which is full of stupas, pagodas, shrines, ordination halls and monuments. There are still more then 2000 monuments left of the more then 4500 originally.

 Many of the monuments disappeared in the Irrawaddy during the summer floods. Today, with UNESCO protection there are about 1000 left. Many have been rebuild or renovated and some are still used by the local people.

Most of the damage was caused by earthquakes, according to some sources there's an earthquake every 200 years. This seems not too bad but it has taken its toll.

The most important monuments have been restored in more recent years and there are plans to restore another 287 ruins. Many more are in ruins and deserve more attention.

The magic

The temple ruins are a magic place, full of history and grandeur. I know, there will be always people who think it's just another temple and "seeing one is seeing them all". I met them everywhere, in Angkor, I met them at the Borobudur and Prambanan complex in Indonesia, even in the Taj Mahal in India. All I can say is that Bagan is a place of extreme beauty and like every place, only visible if you want to see the beauty.

Some people say it's mad to around on a bicycle because of the heat on the plains. Bring plenty of water and a bicycle is the best way to go around. You can easily spend a few days cycling around and see the main sites.

As a cyclist and a lover of hot weather I had no problem with cycling in these flat lands along the Irrawaddy river. In fact, I love it. But if you don't like the heat, taxis are available to bring you to the main temples. Prices depend on how long and how many temples you want to visit.

Overview of the Bagan area

A short history of Bagan

Without being another Wikipedia, I still have to tell you some about ancient city.

More then 1000 years ago Bagan was the capital of the First Empire of Burma, 1044-1286 AD). There were people living in the area, confirmed to 107 AD, a group of 19 villages. It took the Burmese people 800 years to before the dynasty of the temple builders stood up which started in 1044 and had 55 kings in total.

The most important period started with the 42nd king of Bagan Anawrahta who started the most flourishing period in Burmese history.

For most people the Ananda temple is the highlight of the Burmese architecture. The local museum is nearby and worth a visit too.

Getting there

Bagan is almost 700 km north from Yangon (Rangoon). You can cycle to the area from Yangon (Rangoon) or you can visit first Mandalay and take a boat to the plains. This is particularly interesting as you see some of the life around the Irrawaddy river. This scenic trip takes a few hours and is worth the effort. Bicycle can be taken on board.

Mount Popa

Mount Popa is not part of the Bagan area but it's not far from either. At the top, 1518 meter there's a monastery. You can see from there the some of the temples on the plains. It is said you can see about 60 km far with good weather.

Nat worshipping in the monastery of Mount Popa

Mount Popa is an important place for the Burmese people for nat worshiping. The nats are spirits worshiped in Myanmar in conjunction with Buddhism. They are divided between the 37 Great Nats and all the rest (i.e., spirits of trees, water, etc).

Many Burmese pilgrims visit Mount. Popa every year, especially at Festival season on the full moon of Nayon (May/June) and the full moon of Nadaw (November/December). This festival is known as Taunghyon

View from the lower temple to Mount Popa

In ancient times it was a place for animal sacrifices though nowadays bringing meat, especially pork is enough. According to the belief one should not wear red or black as it could offend the resident nats.

Mount Popa is about 50km south east of Bagan, worth a visit.

View from the top of Mount Popa to a lower monastery

The area around the hill is very green, there's a lot of water and fruit trees. Not surprisingly this has attracted many monkeys.

More photos of Myanmar (Burma) here

More photos of Bagan here

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