Introducing Bagan
One of Myanmar’s top attractions, the area known as Bagan (ပုဂ) or, bureaucratically, as the ‘Bagan Archaeological Zone’, occupies an impressive 26-sq-mile area 118 miles south of Mandalay and 429 miles north of Yangon. The Ayeyarwady River drifts past its northern and western sides.
The area’s most active town and chief transport hub is Nyaung U, in the northeast corner. About 2.5 miles west, Old Bagan is the former site of the village that moved to 2 miles south to New Bagan in 1990. Between the two is Myinkaba, a village boasting a long-running lacquerware tradition.
Connecting the towns are paved roads making a 12-mile oval. In between and around these towns, of course, is the bulk of the Bagan action: the plain, featuring most of the temples, all connected with a vast network of bumpy dirt roads and trails. At times, you’ll be about a mile from the nearest paved road.
Old Bagan
The core of the Bagan Archaeological Zone contains several of the main temple sites, city walls, a museum, a reconstructed palace, restaurants, a few shops and a cluster of midrange to top-end hotels.
Bagan destination guides
New Bagan (Bagan Myothit)
Not as bustling as Nyaung U, even though it’s closer to the juicy temples, New Bagan sprung into existence in 1990 when the government relocated the village from the Old Bagan area.
Nyaung U
A bustling river town with more happening than you’ll find elsewhere in Bagan, Nyaung U is where most independent travellers hang their hat (or backpack).