Earlier this month, UNESCO officially designated Myanmar’s ancient city of Bagan as a World Heritage site. More than 3,500 ancient Buddhist pagodas, temples, and other religious structures occupy approximately 16 square miles of Old Bagan within the larger Bagan Archaeological Zone. Most of the structures were built between 800 and 1,000 years ago, when Bagan was a royal capital. In 2016, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the region, damaging 185 of the ancient buildings. Restoration work continues, and new laws have been passed to help preserve the site, as well as manage the impact of increasing visitors to the popular tourist destination.
A Photo Trip to Bagan, Myanmar
- Alan Taylor
- July 29, 2019
- 24 Photos
- In Focus
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Gawdawpalin Temple, right, a structure nearly 800 years old, stands among several other pagodas and temples in Bagan, Myanmar, after sunset. #
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Details of several of Old Bagan's thousands of ancient religious structures #
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The plain of Bagan, photographed during sunrise. Scaffolding has been erected on several structures for repairs following a major earthquake in August 2016. #
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Statues stand in the interior of one of the many pagodas in Old Bagan. #
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An aerial view of temples and historical pagodas of the Archaeological Zone in Bagan in the early-morning sunlight #
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A woman farms in a field in front of the Sulamani Guphaya temple, which was damaged by the 2016 earthquake. #
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A woman walks past a pair of overgrown pagodas in Old Bagan. #
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Pagodas and temples dot the landscape of the Bagan Archaeological Zone. #
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An officer checks the walls inside the damaged Htilominlo Temple on August 25, 2016, after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Bagan. #
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Rays of light shine through trees and pagodas in Bagan. #
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Hot-air balloons float over ancient temples at sunrise, on December 27, 2016. #
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A view of the Dhammayangyi ancient pagoda in Bagan, photographed on July 6, 2019. #
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Details of the exterior of a historical temple in the Archaeological Zone, photographed in the early-morning sunlight #
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Tourists and locals visit the Tha Mu Hti Temple (right) in Bagan on December 9, 2016. At left is another structure, damaged by the 2016 earthquake. #
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A man stands in the shadow of an arch at the ancient Sinphyushin Temple on August 26, 2016. #
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The interior of one of Bagan's smaller pagodas #
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Dhammayangyi Temple, the largest temple in Bagan, stands among other pagodas and temples. #
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A view of one of Bagan's temples from directly overhead. #
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Ancient temples and pagodas in Old Bagan, photographed at sunrise #
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Boys apply gold leaf onto a Buddha statue at a temple in Bagan on November 9, 2010. #
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Tourists visit Bagan's historical site on December 9, 2016. #
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Plants grow on several ancient Bagan pagodas. #
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The 12th-century Thatbyinnyu Temple (left) sits among other temples in Old Bagan, as seen from the air. #
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People are transported in a cattle-drawn cart as they pass in front of the ancient pagodas at Bagan, Myanmar, on February 3, 2014. #
Ye Aung Thu / AFP / Getty
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