UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Myanmar
Myanmar has 2 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List (2 cultural), the first inscribed in 2014 (Pyu Ancient Cities). The map below plots every one of them alongside the rest of the List, and each site is written up in full further down the page.
- World Heritage Sites
- 2
- Cultural
- 2
- Natural and Mixed
- 0
- First Inscribed
- 2014
Map of World Heritage Sites in Myanmar
CulturalNaturalMixedIn DangerLarge dots are in Myanmar. Click a dot to read about the site.
Pyu Ancient Cities
Myanmar · 22.4700° N, 95.8186° E · 58 km² · 18 km from Shwebo
Pyu Ancient Cities includes the remains of three brick, walled and moated cities of Halin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra located in vast irrigated landscapes in the dry zone of the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River basin. They reflect the Pyu Kingdoms that flourished for over 1,000 years between 200 BC and AD 900. The three cities are partly excavated archaeological sites. Remains include excavated palace citadels, burial grounds and manufacture sites, as well as monumental brick Buddhist stupas, partly standing walls and water management features – some still in use – that underpinned the organized intensive agriculture.
Description from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Why Pyu Ancient Cities Is Listed
- (ii)
- An important interchange of human values.
- (iii)
- A unique testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
Bagan
Myanmar · 21.1725° N, 94.8600° E · 50 km² · 29 km from Pakokku
Bagan ( bə-GAN; Burmese: ပုဂံ Băgam [bəɡàɰ̃]; formerly Pagan) is a medieval city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that would later constitute Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, more than 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2,300 temples and pagodas survive.
The Bagan Archaeological Zone is a main attraction for the country's nascent tourism industry.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Bagan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Bagan Is Listed
- (iii)
- A unique testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
- (vi)
- A direct association with events, ideas or beliefs of universal significance.
More about Bagan
UNESCO's Description
Lying on a bend of the Ayeyarwady River in the central plain of Myanmar, Bagan is a sacred landscape, featuring an exceptional range of Buddhist art and architecture. The seven components of the serial property include numerous temples, stupas, monasteries and places of pilgrimage, as well as archaeological remains, frescoes and sculptures. The property bears spectacular testimony to the peak of Bagan civilization (11th -13th centuries CE), when the site was the capital of a regional empire. This ensemble of monumental architecture reflects the strength of religious devotion of an early Buddhist empire.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Geography
The Bagan Archaeological Zone, defined as the 13 km × 8 km (8.1 mi × 5.0 mi) area centred around Old Bagan, consisting of Nyaung U in the north and New Bagan in the south, lies in the vast expanse of plains in Upper Burma on the bend of the Irrawaddy river. It is located 290 km (180 mi) south-west of Mandalay and 700 km (430 mi) north of Yangon.
Bagan lies in the middle of the Dry Zone, the region roughly between Shwebo in the north and Pyay in the south. Unlike the coastal regions of the country, which receive annual monsoon rainfalls exceeding 2,500 mm (98 in), the dry zone gets little precipitation as it is sheltered from the rain by the Rakhine Yoma mountain range in the west.
Available online climate sources report Bagan climate quite differently.
History
According to the Burmese chronicles, Bagan was founded in the second century CE, and fortified in 849 by King Pyinbya, 34th successor of the founder of early Bagan. Western scholarship however holds that Bagan was founded in the mid-to-late 9th century by the Mranma (Burmans), who had recently entered the Irrawaddy valley from the Nanzhao Kingdom. It was among several competing Pyu city-states until the late 10th century when the Burman settlement grew in authority and grandeur.
From 1044 to 1287, Bagan was the capital as well as the political, economic and cultural nerve center of the Bagan Empire.
Economy
Bagan's economy is based mainly on tourism. Because of boycotts against the previous military government, the Bagan region's tourism infrastructure is still quite modest by international standards. The city has a few international standard hotels and many family-run guesthouses. Bagan is also the center of Burmese lacquerware industry, which to a large degree depends on tourist demand. Much of the lacquerware is destined for souvenir shops in Yangon, and to the world markets. Moreover, the lacquerware-making process itself has become a tourist draw.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Bagan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
World Heritage in Myanmar: Quick Answers
- How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in Myanmar?
- Myanmar has 2 World Heritage Sites: 2 cultural.
- What was the first World Heritage Site in Myanmar?
- Pyu Ancient Cities, inscribed in 2014. The most recent is Bagan, inscribed in 2019.
- Are any World Heritage Sites in Myanmar in danger?
- None of the World Heritage Sites in Myanmar is on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger.