Things to do in Bagan
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Bagan
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best weather, cool dry season, balloons flying and clearest light.
Shoulder, October rains ending and plain green, March dry but heating fast.
Worst for most, hot season peaks at 40C plus and temples become dawn only.
Monsoon in the dry zone, less rain than the coast, green plain, dramatic skies, no balloons.
What's on
- Ananda Temple Festival around the full moon of Pyatho, January
Bagan's biggest temple festival, pilgrims camping in the temple grounds with stalls and theatre.
- Shwezigon Pagoda Festival November/December, around Tazaungmon
End of rains festival with market, plays and pilgrimage crowds at Shwezigon.
- Thadingyut Festival of Lights October full moon
Festival of Lights at the October full moon as the rains end.
- Thingyan 13-16 April
Burmese New Year water festival, joyful but transport and businesses shut for days in peak heat.
- Manuha Pagoda Festival September
Local festival at Manuha in Myinkaba during the monsoon season.
Best things to do in Bagan
Bagan Temples
The whole temple plain at dawn by e-bike, with quiet stupas and balloons overhead, is the core Bagan experience.
Ananda Temple
Bagan's most complete temple, with four tall standing Buddhas and cool corridors best seen before 9am.
Shwezigon Pagoda
Great gilded pilgrimage pagoda and prototype Burmese stupa, ringed by shrines to the 37 nats.
Dhammayangyi Temple
Bagan's largest temple by mass, with tight brickwork, sealed corridors and a dark, unsettling atmosphere.
Sulamani Temple
The connoisseur temple for preserved interior frescoes, fine stucco and sunset light on red brick.
Thatbyinnyu Temple
Bagan's tallest monument, a white multi-storey massif you navigate by from anywhere on the plain.
Htilominlo Temple
Last great temple of the dynasty, with superb surviving stucco and glazed terracotta plaques.
Gawdawpalin Temple
Second tallest Bagan temple, close to the river and museum, completing the tall temple circuit.
Where to stay in Bagan
Nyaung-U
first trip, practical best value base
Living town with the widest beds, Restaurant Row, the market, e-bike shops and real evenings.
Old Bagan
splurge for atmosphere
Inside the archaeological zone on the river, dawn light and silence, with resort evenings only.
New Bagan
families and pool time, middle ground
Quiet leafy planned town with mid range hotels, the best hostel and Myinkaba temples nearby.
Think twice about
- Isolated properties on the airport and highway fringe
Sold as Bagan but with no walkable food, dependent on hotel transport for every meal.
- Main Nyaung-U to airport road
Buses, market trucks and early flights from before dawn make it a poor choice for light sleepers.
- Old Bagan at night if isolation bothers you
Unlit temple roads, sandy tracks and nobody out after about 9pm, not a crime problem but very isolated.
Best restaurants in Bagan
Sanon Training Restaurant
Training restaurant for Myanmar youth, run professionally, with modern Burmese food worth booking for.
Weather Spoon's Bagan Restaurant and Bar
Travellers' canteen on Restaurant Row for Burmese curries, salads and lime ginger juice at very low prices.
Be Kind to Animals The Moon Vegetarian Restaurant
Beloved vegetarian garden restaurant near Ananda for curries, salads, Shan noodles and chapati.
Yar Pyi Vegetarian Restaurant
Pure vegetarian Burmese kitchen famous for tomato salad and generous, cheap curry sets.
Khaing Shwe Wah
Unpretentious local curry house where you choose a main and the constellation of sides arrives.
San Thi Dar Restaurant
Second high rated local Burmese kitchen in the family curry house mould, an ideal second local lunch.
TS Bagan Restaurant
Chinese leaning kitchen for shared wok dishes, rice and beer, the group ordering dinner of the set.
La Terrazza
The Italian night in Nyaung-U, homemade pasta, pizzas and ravioli from an Italian Swiss kitchen.
Outdoor things to do in Bagan
Balloons over Bagan
The original balloon operator since 1999, drifting over thousands of spires at sunrise in season.
Oriental Ballooning Bagan
Smaller basket balloon flights over the plain at dawn, in season from October to mid April.
Golden Eagle Ballooning
Boutique balloon operator for a sunrise flight over the temple plain in balloon season.
Mount Popa
Volcano plug shrine to the 37 nats, reached by 777 barefoot steps with a panorama back to Bagan.
Yoke Sone Kyaung
Magnificent carved teak monastery museum in quiet colonial Salay, among Myanmar's finest woodcarving.
Ayeyarwady River
Sunset boat from the Old Bagan jetty for temple silhouettes, fishing boats and sandbanks on the river.
Cruise De Bagan
Organised sunset cocktail cruise on the Ayeyarwady, two to three hours for the light over the water.
Grasshopper Adventures Bagan
Guided cycle day with fresco interpretation and village routes you would not find alone.
Best hotels in Bagan
Heritage Bagan Hotel
Mid range pick in Nyaung-U with gardens and a pool, without Old Bagan prices.
Shwe Nadi Guest House
Classic family guesthouse with terrace breakfast and e-bikes arranged, bought for welcome and location.
Saw Nyein San Guest House
Popular family guesthouse in Nyaung-U, honest rooms in the classic budget tier.
Lux Pillow Hostel
In town hostel alternative in Nyaung-U for solo travellers who want Restaurant Row nearby.
The Hotel @ Tharabar Gate
Best address luxury by Tharabar Gate, low rise gardens and pool with Ananda minutes away.
Bagan Thiripyitsaya Sanctuary Resort
Original riverside resort with large teak and garden grounds, a big pool and sunset river terrace.
Aureum Palace Hotel & Resort Bagan
Maximalist villa resort on 27 acres, with the Nan Myint viewing tower in its grounds.
Aye Yar River View Resort
River view step below the top resorts, a sensible compromise for the Old Bagan dawn.
Is Bagan expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | MMK 150,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | MMK 315,000 a person |
| Splurge | MMK 850,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Balloons over Bagan: weeks ahead
- Oriental Ballooning Bagan: weeks ahead
- Golden Eagle Ballooning: weeks ahead
- Cruise De Bagan: a few days ahead
- Grasshopper Adventures Bagan: a few days ahead
- Bagan Golf Course: a few days ahead
- Sanon Training Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Balloons book direct weeks ahead for December to February, season is October to mid April only.
- Book Sanon and top hotels ahead in peak weeks, and domestic flights in festival weeks.
- Book nothing non-refundable far ahead for Myanmar, flexible cancellation is worth paying for.
Is Bagan safe?
- Myanmar has been in civil war since the 2021 coup; Bagan is reported calm but not guaranteed.
- Carry passport and visa copies, expect document checkpoints, and do not photograph checkpoints or soldiers.
- Heat is the main local risk, start at dawn, rest midday, and carry insurance that covers Myanmar and evacuation.
- Bring clean uncreased US dollars to exchange, never change money on the street, and do not fly a drone.
Bagan travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Anyone offering a secret climbable temple, temple climbing is banned and illegal.
- Gem and jade offers from new friends, and lacquerware at the first workshop at the first price.
- Bagan in a day from Mandalay, and horse carts sold as full day transport.
Getting around Bagan: public transport and more
- E-bike is king, about 8000 to 10000 MMK per day, agree battery swaps and keep the renter number.
- Use tuk-tuks and taxis for airport runs, Popa days and after dark returns, and agree the fare first.
- Domestic flights to Nyaung-U Airport from Yangon are the sane route, check schedules the same week.
Who Bagan suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Bagan your trip
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