DISCOVER BAGAN BY BICYCLE

BAGAN Travel Guide

We start from our conveniently located shop and ride through the back lanes to get into the temple plains. We quickly leave the sealed, busy roads behind and venture off onto dirt tracks, only accessible to bikes and horses.

It’s not long before we are pedalling alongside ancient brick structures, pausing to visit some of the most famous monuments like Shwesandaw, Ananda and Shwezigon as well as several hidden gems. When biking we’ll often be greeted by friendly farmers working in the fields next to our bike lanes and we will be sure to seek out an elevated temple to climb up for a different view of the Bagan Plain.

Aside from temples, Bagan is still a buzzing little town and we’ll be sure to explore some of the traditions and lifestyles of its people. The village roads are lined with single-story bamboo houses standing adjacent to unique 1950s, brick warehouses. Kids on a break from school, snack vendors and a menagerie of pigs, cows and the occasional horse greet us
along the way. We’ll stop to see the production of local treats and pay a visit to the friendly neighbours.

Great traveler Marco Polo’s notes from Bagan. “The towers are built of fine stone, and one has been covered with gold a finger thick, so that the tower appears to be of solid gold. Another is covered with silver in a similar manner and appears to be made of solid silver..”