More than ten years have passed since I first set foot at the majestic Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar. That first visit remains vivid in my memory: an afternoon drenched in sunlight, alive with devotees performing rituals, the fragrance of incense drifting through the air, and rhythmic chants echoing across the terrace. Tourists mingled with worshippers, all drawn upward to the sacred hill crowned by a vision of gold. The pagoda rose like a jewel above the city, its unique architecture radiating devotion and cultural depth. It was an encounter that left a lasting impression on my heart.

This time, I returned in the evening, and the experience felt entirely different, yet equally profound. Most of the tourists had gone, their absence reflecting the long shadow of political unrest and civil conflict that has kept many foreigners away in recent years. The vast grounds were left largely to local worshippers, who moved quietly in prayer and contemplation. As daylight faded, the pagoda began to transform. Candlelight flickered along the walkways, and powerful spotlights bathed the great stupa in a luminous glow. Against the darkening sky, Shwedagon no longer seemed merely monumental but almost otherworldly, a golden mountain suspended between earth and heaven. Standing there in the hushed night, I felt an enveloping sense of calm and spiritual grandeur.

What made this visit especially meaningful was the company I kept. I was accompanied by archaeologists and art historians whose insights revealed layers of meaning I had never noticed before. Through their …

When we were compiling our List of Missing Sites in 2014, two sites from Myanmar made it into the Top 20: Bagan and the Shwedagon Pagoda. The history of Bagan is known and it will be submitted again without a doubt in the coming years, but why wasn’t the Shwedagon Pagoda even on Myanmar’s Tentative List until December 2018? Could it be because it is an active religious site and they want to keep it sacred? Or is it too strongly connected with political activities such as the August 1988 call for democracy by Aung San Suu Kyi addressing 500,000 people there, or the uprise from monks in September 2007?

I scheduled a visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda on my very first afternoon in Myanmar. I had arrived a bit later from Bangkok than anticipated, so I headed out there only at 4.30 p.m.. The site supposedly is on its best at dusk anyway. I entered via the western gate, after paying the 8000 kyat entrance fee for foreigners (about 5,60 EUR). This gate comes with escalator stairs, not a very usual sight in a temple complex but quite handy as the pagoda lies on a hill. You have to leave your shoes behind already downstairs so this became my first barefoot escalator experience.

I had seen Shwedagon’s enormous gilded pagoda already from the air. There aren’t many highrise buildings in Yangon, so this still is the city’s major landmark. Up and close it’s mainly the glittering golden …