Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mrauk U
043 / POPULATION C50,000
'Little Bagan?' Not by a long shot. Myanmar's second-most-famous archaeological site,
Mrauk U (pronounced 'mraw-oo') is different in just about every way. The temples -
previously mistaken for forts due to thick bunker-style walls built against the fierce
Rakhine winds - are smaller and younger, and unlike Bagan's, are predominately made
from stone, not brick. Also unlike Bagan, Mrauk U's temples are dispersed throughout a
still-inhabited and fecund backdrop of busy villages, rice fields and rounded hillocks.
And best of all, you're likely to have them to yourself: in a good year, only about 5000
foreign visitors visit. The site's remote location, a four to seven hour boat ride up a creek
of the Kaladan River, plus the lack of government promotion, means this is unlikely to
change in the short term.
