Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BAGAN ENTRY FEES
All foreign visitors are theoretically required to pay a
$15 entry fee
on arrival in Bagan in
exchange foraticket valid foroneweek. Buses will usually stopat agovernment post,and
the fee isalso collected at the airport andthe jetties. The system isn'twaterproof, however,
and a few people manage to slip through the net without paying. Equally, if you stay more
thanaweekyou'reunlikelytoberequiredtopurchaseanewticket,unlessyouleaveBagan
and then come back again. Note that a few attractions, such as the Bagan Archeological
Museum, charge an additional admission fee.
Nyaung U to Old Bagan
Myriad monuments dot the area between Nyaung U and Old Bagan, although relatively few
are of sufficient interest to feature on most tourist itineraries. They do, however, include two
of Bagan's finest temples - the flamboyant
Htilominlo Paya
, midway between Nyaung U
and Old Bagan, and the magnificent
Ananda Paya
, just outside the latter.
Gubyaukgyi Paya (Wet Kyi Inn) and around
Off Anawrahta Rd • Daily 8am-6pm
Not far from Nyaung U is the thirteenth-century
Gubyaukgyi Paya
(“Great Painted Cave
Temple” - not to be confused with the identically named temple in Myinkaba), signed off
Anawrahta Road as “Nge Gu Pyauk Gyi”. Traces of fine plasterwork can still be seen on the
exterior, which has an unusual pyramidal spire above - perhaps inspired by that at the Ma-
habodhi temple in Old Bagan. Inside are many fine murals showing assorted Jataka scenes,
arrangedmosaic-likewithindozensofsmallsquarepanels.Sadly,manyofthepaintingswere
removed byacertain DrThomann fromGermany,whovisited in1899andproceeded toran-
sack the temple - the holes where the naughty German removed large sections of plaster are
still gapingly obvious.
Around250mpasttheGubyakgyi,the
GubyaukngePaya
(signedoffAnawrahtaRdas“Gu
ByaukNge-WetKyiInnn”)isverysimilarbothinstyleandname,withfurtherfineexterior
plasterwork and some well-preserved murals within.
Htilominlo Paya
Main entrance off the Bagan-Nyaung U road • Daily 8am-6pm
Roughly halfway between Nyaung U and Old Bagan, the
Htilominlo Paya
is one of the last
and finest of Bagan's temples, and a perfect example of the city's late-period architecture.
The temple was constructed by King Htilominlo (aka Nantaungmya, ruled 1211-35), the
youngest of the five sons of King Narapatisithu. According to legend, the five princes were
placed around a white umbrella and Htilominlo elected ruler when the umbrella fortuitously
tilted in his direction. The grateful young king subsequently commemorated the event by
building a temple on the site of the decisive ceremony. History suggests that the umbrella's
