Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BAGAN
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One of Myanmar's main attractions, this is a temple town. The area known as Bagan 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. See
Click here
for more on the temples.
The area's most active town and main transport hub is Nyaung U, in the northeast
corner. About 2.5 miles west, Old Bagan is the former site of the village that was relo-
cated two miles south to New Bagan in 1990. Between the two is Myinkaba, a village
boasting a long-running lacquerware tradition. One thing to keep in mind, particularly for
travellers exploring the region, is that Bagan is most definitely not Siem Reap or even
Luang Prabang. It's more of an overgrown village and lacks anything resembling a night
scene, although it does have basic traveller amenities. Plan your partying somewhere
else.
Connecting the towns are paved roads making a 12-mile oval. In between and around
these towns 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.
GOVERNMENT FEES
All foreign visitors to the Bagan Archaeological Zone are required to pay a $15 en-
trance fee, which goes to the government. If you arrive by boat or air, the fee will be
collected at the river jetty or airport. Visitors are issued with a credit-card-sized
plastic ticket embossed with a number and it is necessary to show this when
checking into a hotel or guesthouse. The fee covers a one-week visit, but it's un-
likely you'll be asked to pay again if you stay longer. Entrance fees to the Archae-
ological Museum and Palace Site also go into government coffers.
Activities
Boat Trips
Sunset chasing in Bagan isn't restricted to the tops of temples. An interesting alternative
is a dusk
boat trip
(per boat $10-15)
on the Ayeyarwady. The hour-long tours offered by
the boat folk at the Old Bagan jetty tend to cater to package tourists, but drop by to ar-
range your own cruise.
