DHAMMAYANGYI

Just south-east of Old Bagan, set back from the road, this temple, which is still not much visited, is probably our favourite. Never restored, its monumental mass makes it one of the largest and, if fully restored, probably the highest of all the temples in Bagan. But these places are cursed. Legend has it that King Narathu ordered its construction in the 12th century as a penance for the assassination of his father and brother. During the construction, he was particularly sensitive to the fact that the joints between the bricks were extremely fine. Go ahead, check it out, it's amazing! And the workers who did not do a sufficiently satisfactory job had their hands cut off as they left the temple. You can see at the entrance of the temple the holes in which they had to place their arm and wait for their sentence ... Narathu was murdered, and the center of the temple compiled of stones and bricks and closed forever.

Today, as you walk down the alleys of the huge galleries, you will hear the sound of bats, the only inhabitants of the place, and a strange atmosphere takes over this temple at dusk. A word of advice, go at sunset. There is absolutely no one around, and the last rays of sunlight enter the west gate, revealing beautiful rural paintings. A magical place, full of emotions without any doubt, which we hope will remain as it is. And fortunately, now that Bagan is officially listed as a World Heritage Site, people believe in it.