Ananda Pahto
Shortly before Tharaba Gate, you reach the white-and-gold Ananda Pahto, one of the most popular temples in Bagan (with both tourists and hawkers). Built at the end of the eleventh century in the shape of a cross, with all arms the same length and a square chamber at the centre, it has been described as the crowning achievement of early-period Bagan architecture. A 9.5m teak standing Buddha faces out on each side, representing the four Buddhas who have so far achieved enlightenment in the current era (of which Gautama Buddha was the fourth – the world awaits a fifth, future Buddha). Only the northern and southern statues are original.
New Bagan
At the northern edge of New Bagan sit the thirteenth-century Sein Nyet Ama Pahto and Sein Nyet Nyima Paya. The temple has some fine stucco work, while the stupa has an unusual ribbed finial. West of the town, in a spot which was once an important port, is Lawkananda Paya. Built by Anawrahta in the eleventh century to enshrine a replica of a Buddha tooth relic, its bell-shaped dome is more elongated than on later buildings.
Nyaung U
Nyaung U’s most important stupa is the early twelfth-century Shwezigon Paya, one of the few religious structures in Bagan to be built from stone. Still an active place of worship, it’s said to contain three different relics of the Buddha: a tooth, a collarbone and a frontlet (headband). The design of Shwezigon was a prototype for many later pagodas within Myanmar: the circular stupa sits on three square terraces, each level bearing clay plaques decorated with Jataka scenes, and an octagonal base. On each of the four sides is a shrine containing a four-metre standing Buddha made of pyin-zá-làw-ha (an alloy of gold, silver, lead, tin and bronze).
A building on the southeastern side of the complex, often locked, contains statues of the 37 nats (spirits). The decision to allow nat figures, very popular among ordinary worshippers, into this temple was an important step in hastening the adoption of Theravada Buddhism.
There are also a few “cave” sites around Nyaung U, including Thamiwhet Umin and Hmyatha Umin, which are tunnels designed for meditation and carved into the sandstone hills about 1km southeast of the town. They are interesting for the way in which the builders worked with the landscape. There’s another similar complex, Kyansittha Umin, which is less off the beaten track, and just north of the main road as you head towards Wet Kyi Inn village.
Old Bagan
The Tharaba Gate is the only secular structure surviving from Bagan’s glory days and the only remaining entrance to the grounds of the old palace. Just within the gate and to the north is the modern reconstruction of the Bagan Golden Palace, which isn’t worth the $5 government entry fee. More interesting is Mahabodhi Paya to the west of it, notable for being Indian in style. Bupaya, on the riverside, is a reconstruction but has good views and is popular with local visitors.
The main cluster of buildings is to the south of the main road, including Thatbyinnyu Pahto, the highest temple in Bagan, although you can’t climb up. You can, however, at Mahazedi, a bell-shaped stupa opposite that has good views. Other highlights include single-storey Pahtothamya, dimly lit like other Pyu-style temples (later Bamar buildings are typically lighter, with higher ceilings). This does mean that what natural light enters seems particularly dramatic. Look out also for Pitakat Taik, believed to have been built by Anawrahta to house the Buddhist texts that he brought back after conquering the Mon kingdom, and Nathlaung Kyaung, where he hid away nat animist images as he subsequently imposed Theravada Buddhism.
On the western side of the main road, after it has curved southwards, is imposing two-storey Gawdawpalin Pahto. At 55m it’s one of the tallest in Bagan, but you can’t access the upper storey.