BAGAN IN MYANMAR

HOW LONG SHOULD I VISIT BAGAN?

Most people visit Bagan for 2-3 days during their Myanmar trip. However we are more the kind of travelers that try to stay longer at the same destination, so we get a more intense feeling about the place, the culture and the people. So in the end we stayed in Bagan for 5 nights. If you want to fully explore this beautiful place we think 4-5 nights is a perfect period of time for your visit. 

WHERE TO STAY IN BAGAN?

If you want to visit and explore the historical area of Bagan with more than 2000 Pagodas and Temples you can either book a room in New Bagan or Old Bagan. From both villages you will need around 10-15 minutes by E-Scooter. We stayed at Bagan View Hotel which is located in New Bagan. It´s famous for the nice roof terrace from where you can also see Bagan´s beautiful sunrise and sunset. So if on one day you don´t want to drive to the Pagodas at 6AM for watching sunrise, you can easily watch it from the terrace and enjoy a delicious breakfast afterwards. If you want to rent an E-Scooter (we highly recommend!) you can also rent one in the hotel. 

THINGS TO DO IN BAGAN

Of course the main attraction in Bagan are the historical buildings. You have more than 2000 beautiful pagodas and temples to visit. From our experience we can say that these pagodas fascinated us so much that during our 6 days visit we didn´t really have the feeling to explore other things in our outside of Bagan. One afternoon we went to the Bagan Archeological Museum but to be honest it wasn´t as interesting as we expected. On another day we booked a minivan to Mount Popa (1,5h drive). The Sunset view of course is quite nice, but for us there were definitely too many monkeys. So we wouldn´t go there again :) The rest of our stay we stayed in Bagan exploring new places with our E-Scooter. 

BEST WAYS TO GET AROUND IN BAGAN

If you plan to visit Bagan and want to explore as much as possible we recommend doing it by:

• E-SCOOTER

This was our absolute favorite way of transportation in Bagan. Most hotels in New Bagan and Old Bagan rent E-Scooters and you pay between 5000 - 9000 Kyat (3€ - 6€) per day, depending on the size. You can drive 40 - 45 km/h and the best part, it´s absolutely silent! One full battery lasts around 60 km, so it´s more than enough for one day. 

• BICYCLE

Another common way of transportation is by bike. As for the E-Scooter you can rent a bike in most hotels. We preferred using the E-Scooter all the time, but it can be a nice way of exploring Bagan a bit more slowly. For us the sun was just too hot during our stay, otherwise we would have rented a bike sometimes. 

WHERE TO EAT IN BAGAN?

• WEATHER SPOON IN OLD BAGAN (21°11'37.61"N 94°53'57.08"E on maps.me)

This was our overall favorite, we went there for lunch and dinner several times during our stay. It´s a budget friendly local restaurant wich offers delicious food and probably has the most friendliest staff we´ve ever met in a restaurant :)

• THE BASKET IN NEW BAGAN  

The Basket is an insider tip we got from an American Girl we met in Bagan. This fantastic restaurant located in New Bagan just opened two weeks before our stay in February 2020 and we went there two times for dinner. We loved their food variations, if you get the chance you should definitely go and check it out!

• THE MOON IN NEW BAGAN (21°07'45.3"N 94°51'43.45"E on maps.me)

If you are looking for plant based food this is another restaurant in Bagan you shouldn´t miss. It´s located at the South of New Bagan and they have a huge garden with lots of tables. 

WHERE TO WATCH THE SUNRISE IN BAGAN?

Important note first: nowadays nearly all pagodas are closed and it´s forbidden to climb up ANY of them! On the one hand it´s to protect the historical buildings and on the other hand it´s also to protect tourists. There have been several accidents over the last couple of years when people tried to climb up the pagodas. 

Nevertheless there are still temples with stairs where you are allowed to walk up to watch sunrise. A beautiful place to watch sunrise in Bagan and where you can also see the hot air ballons is Temple No. 1611 on maps.me (21°10'06.53"N 94°51'30.03"E). Another nice sunrise spot in Bagan is "Soo-Lay-Gon", a small group of pagodas where you are able to take a nice picture of pagodas and hot air balloons flying over you. We recommend being at the sunrise spot at 5.45AM. 

WHERE TO WATCH THE SUNSET IN BAGAN?

Of course the same rules and regluations as for sunrise apply for sunset. If you are looking for a nice spot to watch the sun go down in Bagan you should drive more to the east of Bagan. A famous spot nowadays when all temples are closed is "Sulamani Sunset Hill" (21°09'46.44"N 94°52'48.66"E on maps.me). It´s nice but when we were there it was VERY crowded! Instead we preferred another spot which is called "O Bo Gon - Sunset Hill" (21°09'44.54"N 94°53'18.87"E on maps.me). You won´t be alone neither, but we felt that the atmosphere there is not as touristy as on the other Sunset Hill. 

Tip: 95% of the people are leaving one minute after the sun is fully down. Be sure to remain there for at least 20 minutes and enjoy the silence. The orange lights will even get more beautiful than during sunset!

BAGAN BALLOON RIDE

One of our most fascinating experiences since we travel together and our highlight in Bagan has been the hot air balloon ride with Balloons Over Bagan. It costs around 350$ per person but we would say it´s a once in a lifetime experience. For both uf us it was the first hot air balloon ride ever. Being up in the air for the first time and having this wonderful sunrise view over more than 2000 pagodas made this day unforgettable. Ballooning season in Bagan is from October till April and most of the time balloons will start in the morning, because of the winds.