Dawn Hot Air Balloon Over Bagan

The balloon lifts off in darkness, an hour before dawn. By the time you reach altitude, the plains of Bagan are beginning to materialise below: a vast archaeological field in which two thousand temples emerge from the mist one by one, catching the first oblique light of the day.

You fly in a private basket (maximum six guests) with a licensed pilot and a guide who can identify every major structure below. The flight lasts approximately 45 minutes, during which the light changes from blue-grey through orange to the clear gold of a Bagan morning. The Irrawaddy River appears to the west; the Popa volcano to the south.

Landing is on the plains among the temples. A champagne breakfast is set up on rugs beside the balloon envelope, and you spend an hour exploring the nearest temples on foot before your vehicle returns you to your hotel.

Before planning, check your government's current travel advice for Myanmar. The political situation has changed significantly since 2021, many governments advise against all or non-essential travel, and some travel insurance policies do not cover trips made against that advice. Balloon operations in Bagan have been interrupted in recent years, so check whether flights are running for your dates.

Bagan's temple plain covers around forty square kilometres on the east bank of the Irrawaddy, and most of its surviving temples were built between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, when Bagan was the capital of the first kingdom to unify the region. Bagan was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019. From the air, the variety of the monuments becomes clear: the great white Ananda temple, the massive Dhammayangyi, the tall spire of Thatbyinnyu and thousands of smaller brick stupas scattered among fields and scrub.

The ballooning season runs from around October to March, when the air is dry, and winds are calm. The pilot decides on the day whether conditions are safe, and flights are cancelled or delayed if the wind is too strong or visibility too poor. Because the pilot cannot steer a balloon, each flight follows a different path across the plain, depending on the wind at different altitudes.

Wear warm layers for the early start, as dry-season mornings can be cool, and comfortable shoes for walking on sandy ground after landing. Children must meet minimum age and height requirements. Passengers should be able to climb into and out of the basket, which has a step, and to stand during the flight.

The champagne breakfast, a tradition of ballooning, is a pleasant end to the flight, and your guide can explain the temples you can see from your landing site. If you are staying in Bagan for several days, it is wise to plan the flight for your first morning, so that a cancellation leaves room to rebook.