The most beautiful natural sites to discover Bagan

In Pwasaw, built by Narapatitsithu in 1196. The Dhammayansika temple is erected not far from New Bagan. Looking a little like the Shwezigon, its stūpa is surmounted by a golden bell, and its terraces are decorated with five small temples. The view was magnificent there, at the time when people were still climbing on the temples. Today, it can be admired from below in the morning light, revealing all its splendour! Its magnificent architecture, between brick and gilding, in different sizes and on different floors, makes it the best temple in the New Bagan area.

The Shwesandaw Pagoda was built in 1057 by King Anawrahta. Slightly damaged by the earthquake, its cylindrical bell topped by rings has undergone some repairs. Below the height of the five terraces, two additional octagonal bases serve as a reliquary for Buddha's hair, obtained from Bago. However, due to Baganese wealth, some constructions are an exception to the models of classical Baganese architecture. Once the ideal place to watch the sunset, it is now forbidden to climb the temples!

Built a few years before the fall of the kingdom of Bagan. At the end of the 13th century, in 1284. Among the later monuments built in the kingdom of Pagan, the Mingalazedi pagoda marks the culmination of Burmese architecture. Note the varnished jataka on its terraces, the small pagodas at the four corners and the shape of the kalasa pot. At the top of the third terrace, four large conical stupas can be seen, giving a slender shape to the whole, which is completed by a pinnacle above the zedi. Of great beauty.

Better known as the Temple of Htilominlo, this majestic architectural work was built by Nadaungnya in the early 13th century, making it one of the last major works in Bagan. A large bell rests on four square terraces at each corner of which hollow temples are erected, each housing a brick and stucco Buddha. Its ochre colour then comes to find all its beauty in the soft lights of dawn or the glowing red lights of the falling evening and the sun setting over the ruins.

Built in 1059, once again during the reign of King Anawrahta, the Lawkananda Pagoda consists of a tall cylindrical bell similar in shape to the stūpas pyu. Lawkananda literally means "joy of the world": what a positive message to visit this beautiful temple. A real and beautiful drop of gold is deposited there. The golden dome then rests on three octagonal terraces, the two lowest of which are accessible by four wide staircases. In May 2003, a new crown adorned with jewels was hoisted to its summit.

It is said that King Anawratha, again, erected it with the intention of redeeming himself from the assassination, in battle, of his predecessor and half-brother Sokkade. Characteristic for its low terraces and its almost cylindrical bell-shaped dome, the Myin Ka Ba pagoda has this particular interest. Its village of the same name is above all the stronghold of the region's craftsmen: from sand paintings to lacquerware. Crockery and other bamboo boxes are then meticulously covered with 14 layers of lacquer.