Bagan has always been a popular location in Myanmar due to its 2500 ancient pagoda ruins.
Since recently opening its borders to tourists it seems everyone (including me!) wants that picturesque photo sitting on top of a pagoda watching the sun rise. Oh and don’t forget those hot air balloons (they really make that Insta shot!).
In 2016, an earthquake struck Myanmar and destroyed 1500 of the original 4000 pagodas. UNESCO have provided funding for refurbishment of the traditional buildings and when refurbishment is completed, the area will be listed as a world heritage site.
Due to this, tourists are no longer able to climb up the pagodas to watch the sunrise of sunset and I believe the last popular pagoda was closed at the end of March 2018.
BUT!
There are still so many pagodas that not all of them have been shut down! It is probably just a matter of time so this information may be out of date very quickly-just keep this in mind.
When you are climbing the temples also, you must make sure that you are not wearing shoes, generally the archeological society will be there to monitor tourists climbing and only interact with you if you have shoes on.
1. Temple 843
This temple can be found on Maps.me as an ‘attraction’ and we went here for a sunset and a sunrise- it was gorgeous!
This also seems to be the most legitimate as members of the archeological society come and check your passes for the Bagan area at sunset and sunrise.
To get to the top, you walk through a little hole in the wall up some stairs and you’re on the top platform! This is one of the safest ones to go to!
2. New temple (no name)
This pagoda is relatively new and only just off the road. Plus you can see the Utrecht clump of temples nearby which makes for a great sunrise/ sunset shot.
This one as well has stairs on the inside, but they are not as wide as the others so make sure your sunnies are off and get ready to crawl through the space!
3. Utrecht Temple Group
Probably the most spectacular to look at, these pagodas are known as stupa pagodas, which means that they are solid on the inside. So to climb, you have to climb on the outside.
BE SUPER CAREFUL HERE AND PICK YOUR TEMPLE WISELY!
Some of the temples in this cluster are very unstable and some are very strong, so if you’re not a confident climber I would stick to one of the smaller ones.
You also cannot climb these for sunset- only for sunrise due to the unstable nature of the pagodas and some tourists dying when climbing pagodas in Bagan. 
So if you’re headed off to Bagan soon, check out these temples and please let me know if they have been closed!
Happy Travels!
I’ve always wanted to visit Myanmar! Thanks for the info!
Thanks for reading!
I’m actually planning a vacation to Myanmar and Bagan is definitely high up on my bucket list as a must-visit destination in the area. Although temple climbing is being prohibited due to conservation reasons, it’s definitely sad not to be able to catch that perfect sunset. Great to hear that there are still a couple that are open!
I totally agree! Definitely one of the key things that drew me to Myanmar! Although I understand the conservation aspect, you can still walk on and in the temples which have been closed, is just can’t get to the viewing platform on the roof via the internal stairs. Best of luck when you’re there and definitely chat to the locals! They know the best spots!
Gret post – it’s too bad that the temples are being closed off, but I guess there’s a good side – they won’t be destroyed!
I agree! And I hope they build more of the new styled temples for tourists to watch from that blend into the overall scenery!