TEMPLE ANANDA

This temple is undoubtedly the most famous and most visited in Bagan. Its restoration, completed in 2014, has been very successful and is restoring the site to its former splendour. The Ananda Temple is the culmination in terms of architecture of the first period of Bagan. Built by Kyanzittha, it is considered to be the finest and most imposing of its kind. It is characterized by its Greek cross plan, which will be repeated in other buildings. You will not be the only one to visit it, far from it: it is an obligatory point of passage for foreign tourists and Burmese pilgrims. On festival days, especially the Full Moon, thousands of Burmese camp around it. Atmosphere guaranteed. Note the many green enamelled ornaments on the bases and terraces of the monument depicting scenes of jataka and figures of the army of Mara, the demon of Buddhism. On the western part of the base, the monsters are depicted, and on the eastern part there are devas rejoicing at Buddha's victory over Mara. The four upper terraces are decorated with 389 scenes depicting the last ten jataka. On the lower terraces, each jataka is represented by a scene accompanied by a Mon inscription. Its corridors are remarkable: decorated with statues embedded in niches.

Ananda Ok-kyaung: A brick monastery located to the right of the main entrance to the Ananda Temple. It dates from 1775, the end of the decline of classical art and the revival of Burmese inspired architecture.