The Bagan Archaeological Zone lies across the vast plains along the Ayeyarwady River in central Myanmar. Once the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, it flourished between the 11th and 13th centuries, during which more than 10,000 temples, stupas, and monasteries were built. Today, around 2,000 of these monuments remain, scattered across the landscape.
The Ayeyarwady River nourished the land with fertile soil, sustaining agriculture and the kingdom’s prosperity. Palms and low shrubs line the dry plains, where the monuments seem to merge seamlessly with nature. On dry-season mornings, mist blankets the fields, and the spires of the temples rise faintly above the trees, creating a dreamlike panorama.
Wind, rain, and the slow erosion of the earth have gradually reshaped the ruins, yet nature has continued to embrace them. Even now, farmers cultivate fields and graze cattle among the monuments, forming a landscape where ruins, people, and nature coexist.
Bagan is a place where stone structures born of human devotion intertwine with the rhythms of the earth — an enduring landscape that records the shared memory of people and nature.