Machu Picchu—the “lost city of the Incas”—sits at 7,970
ft (2,430 m) in the remote Peruvian Andes.
88 CITIES & BEYONDbagan
MYANMAR
The sky lightens pink in the east to reveal
a verdant plain, partly covered in stands of
palm and tamarind. Rising from the green
canopy are hundreds of temples, otherworld-
ly silhouettes stretching into the shimmering
dawn haze. In the distance, the faint outlines
of distant mountains frame the great sweep
of the Ayeyarwady River. Some 2,230 of an
original 4,450 temples survive, built by the
kings of Bagan from 1057 to 1287 when their
kingdom was swept away by earthquakes
and Kublai Khan and his invading Mongols.DON’T MISS
Hot-air balloon rides over Bagan at dawn are an
unforgettable way to see the temples, revealing
countless sun-burnished domes rising from the deep
green of bush and jungle, along with views of the
traditional villages that scatter the plain.Htilominlo Temple and some of Bagan’s hundreds of
other temples, seen from a hot-air balloon at dawn