Hey everyone, welcome to World Heritage Journey.
For today's video, we're checking out Bagan, in central Myanmar.
The incredible ancient city of Bagan in central Myanmar is one of the newest World Heritage
sites, added to the list in 2019.
Covering a large area on the plains next to the Irrawaddy River, Bagan was the ancient
capital of the Pagan kingdom.
Although founded in the mid-9th century AD, it was between 1044 and 1287 that Bagan flourished
as the cultural, political and economic heart of the kingdom, and a massive building boom
ensued.
The legacy of this building boom is still clearly visible today.
It's estimated that nearly 4,500 Buddhist temples, monasteries, pagodas and shrines
were constructed on the plains, and almost half of those are still there.
Interestingly, unlike other large temple complexes in Asia, Bagan was never abandoned and has
continued to be an active pilgrimage site right through to the present day.
Unfortunately, Bagan is located in a very active earthquake zone: some 400 quakes were
recorded during the 20th century.
A major shock in 1975 caused severe damage to many of the buildings, and it was the poor
restoration work done by the Burmese government that kept Bagan off the World Heritage list
for many years.
At the site itself, there's just a staggering amount to see.
Even with rented electric motorbikes, two or three days isn't enough to see everything.
Some of the highlights include the bright white Ananda Temple.
The beautiful gilded Bupaya Pagoda.
The immense Dhammayangyi Temple, largest temple in Bagan.
The Mahabodhi Temple, an incredible copy of the
famous temple in Bodh Gaya, India.
And towering Thatbyinnyu Temple, at 61 metres the tallest temple in Bagan.
We had such a fantastic few days riding around and exploring, particularly since you can
leave a crowded temple and come back a bit later when that tour bus creating the crowd
has moved on.
But one word of warning: since our visit in 2016, climbing the temples has been banned.
The incredible views across the plains, dotted with slender-spired temples emerging from
the red dust at sunrise and sunset, are now only available from a hot air balloon.
Sorry!