Thatbyinnyu Temple

Bagan's tallest temple, soaring 61 metres above the plain

The tallest temple in Bagan rises 61 metres above the dusty plain — a two-storey cube stacked on a cube, built by King Alaungsithu in the mid-12th century. The name means "omniscient" or "all-knowing" in Burmese, and from the upper terraces the view lives up to the ambition: hundreds of temples spreading out in every direction toward the Ayeyarwady River.

Unlike the hollow-interior style of earlier Bagan temples, the Thatbyinnyu uses solid lower floors to support the upper shrine chamber. The exterior is plain white stucco, but the proportions are elegant. It sits near Ananda, making the two natural companions on a morning circuit of the central zone.

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A story
The Thatbyinnyu was the first temple in Bagan to adopt a two-storey design, stacking one cube on top of another to gain height. King Alaungsithu built it in the mid-12th century and reportedly watched its construction from a platform built at equal height. At 61 metres it remains the tallest structure on the plain, and it has been that way for nearly 900 years.