Bird's Eye Views of Pagodas and Temples

The most recognizable site in Cambodia is the ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat, in the Siem Riep province. Built in the early 12th century, the world’s largest religious monument was originally a Hindu temple before becoming tied to to the Buddhist religion 100 years later. Top content creator and pilot Fabio Knoll used a drone to create a visual masterpiece of this ancient temple, once the seat of the Khmer Empire which ruled much of Southeast Asia from the 9th to the 15th centuries AD.

Wat Tham Sua ("Tiger Cave Temple") is one of two  famous Buddhist temples near Kanchanaburi, in the west-central part of Thailand.  While the temple was only built in the 1970's, it quickly became a popular cultural site.  The temple also benefits from being located near the site of the fabled Bridge Over the River Kwai, another major tourist draw in this part of the country.  Flying Horizons used a DJI Mavic Pro drone to treat us to an aerial view of this not-so-ancient temple in the jungle, in the province of Kanchanaburi.      

Contributor Harry713 created this stunning drone video of India's Golden Temple, one of the most sacred places in the Sikh religion.  It's in the city of Amritsar, in the Punjab region of northwestern India.  The temple was built in the 16th century and suffered significant damage over the years from those hostile to the Sikh religion.  Sikhism is a monotheistic creed which originated in the Punjab region in the 15th century and is believed to be the world's fifth largest religion by followers.

AirVuz contributor and pilot Unraveled Studios created this epic drone video from one of the most scenic spots in Thailand and indeed in all of Southeast Asia.  It's shot at Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand at almost 2.6k meters (8.4k ft.) above sea level.  It's in the country's Chiang Mai province, its northernmost, near the border with Myanmar.  The video beautifully captures the mountain peak at sunset as well as the iconic looking Doi Inthanon temple shimmering in the fading sunlight.  

The ancient city of Bagan is located in the Myanmar province of Mandalay, deep in the interior of the country.  Hundreds of years ago, Bagan was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, a regional power which was the precursor to modern-day Myanmar.  In this video, top content creator and pilot contributor NAVA uses a DJI Phantom 1 drone to give a bird's eye view of some of the Bagan region, a plains area which at one point was home to more than 10,000 Buddhist temples and pagodas and which is known as the Sacred Plain.

Contributor Kinjo used a drone to create this marvelous aerial video of a Hindu temple in Bali, Indonesia.  The form of Hinduism practiced in Bali is somewhat distinct from how it is practiced in other parts of the world, and Balinese Hindu temples are called pura's.  The temple is located on the shores of Lake Tambinglan, in the Buleleng district in the northwestern corner of the island.  The lake is surrounded by volcanoes and is an important destination for spiritually oriented travelers.

Contributor Philedrone created this magnificent aerial video of a well known Hindu temple in Indonesia.  The Prambaban Temple is situated in what is now the special region of  Yogyakarta, near the center of the island of Java.  Built in the 9th century, it's the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia and one of the largest in the world.  While Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, it does have a rather substantial Hindu minority which is estimated to number about 4 million, most of whom live on the island of Bali.  

Contributor Leni Sediva created an epic video of her travels in the central part of Myanmar, a large Southeast Asian country which until recently has seen little in the way of tourism.  Using a combination of drone (aerial) and ground footage, she takes us around the Mandalay region.  The highlight of the video is footage of the giant Mingun Temple, which was started in 1790 but never completed.  Had it been finished, it would have been the largest temple in the world.   It lies on the Irrawaddy River, Myanmar's most important waterway.

Check out this fantastic drone video of Vietnam's great Bái Đính Temple complex, compliments of AirVuz contributor Drone Downunder.  Located in the hills of the northern province of Ninh Binh, Bái Đính is considered the largest group of Buddhist temples in this Southeast Asian country.  The complex consists of the old temple and a 2000's era new temple, which is located about 800 meters (around a half-mile) from the former.  The temple hosts a festival during the first lunar months, which draws huge crowds to the region.  

Thailand's Phuket province has nearly 30 Buddhist temples, a testament to the religious sentiment of the island as well as to the country as a whole.  The most famous of these is the Wat Chalong Temple, which sits above the town of Chalong near the southern tip of the island.  Wat Chalong was built in the late 19th century in honor of two monks who led political struggles in the company at that time.  Contributor Raivig used a drone to capture the beauty of this important religious landmark from a drone.  

Check out this amazing drone video of a noted religious landmark in the central part of Thailand, compliments of AirVuz contributor MHz.  The Phra Pathommachedi is what's known as a Stupa, which is a circular structure carrying relics of significance to followers of Buddhism.  It's situated near the medium-sized city of Nakhon Pathom, which is the capital of the province of the same name.  The structure is one of the more popular tourist destinations in the area, which is located a short distance due west from Bangkok.  

While the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China is best known for Shanghai, there are a number of other large cities on the estuary of the country's longest (and most important) river.  One of these cities is Changshu.  It's part of the Jiangshu province, which covers much of the delta outside of Shanghai (which is its own provincial-level administrative unit).  In this drone video by Mattcoq, you'll get a drone's eye view of the city's Fangta Tower Park, which was built around the Songjiang Square Pagoda.

AirVuz contributor and pilot ariotrihantoro brings us this excellent drone video of Indonesia's Borobudur complex, home of the world's largest Buddhist temple.  Built in the 9th century, Borobudur is located in the Magelang Regency, near the middle of the island of Java.  Constructed in the 9th century, the temple was abandoned for centuries beginning in the 1400's while much of modern-day Indonesia shifted to Islam.  Distinguished by its massive dome and the 70 Buddha statues which surround it, the temple is a  UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Contributor jeric saniel created this beautiful drone video of Singapore's Chinese Garden Pagoda, one of the top sights in this Southeast Asian city-state.  It's located in the Jurong East neighborhood of the city's West Region.  Opened in 1975, the centerpiece of the garden is the 7 story Buddhist pagoda.  Buddhism is the most common religion in Singapore; out of a population of about 5.6 million as of 2018, roughly one-third are practicing Buddhists.  

The principal city of northern Thailand, situated on the Ping River near the border with Myanmar, is Chiang Mai.  Founded in the 13th century, this jungle city has immense historical and cultural significance to Thailand.  It was capital of the Lan Na Kingdom, one of the principal tributaries of the Kingdom of Siam.  Contributor Tominspires used a DJI Mavic Pro drone to create a mesmerizing aerial view of this city, home to some of the most well known (and spectacular) Buddhist Temples in the world.   

The island of Bali has a distinctive culture and history compared to the larger Indonesian islands, remaining  outside the control of continental Muslim empires that carved up much of the archipelago and (until the late date of 1906) of the Dutch colonial control that came afterward.  One of the manifestations of this is Bali's predominant religion, a branch of Hinduism called Balinese.  In this drone video by otis72@virgilio.it, you'll get a bird's eye view of the Tanah Lot Temple, one of the most important Balinese religious sites.  

Check out this drone video of one of the most famous Hindu temple complexes in Pakistan, compliments of Backpacker Let's Explore the World.  It's the Katas Raj Temples (Katas Raj Temples), a group of temples connected by a series of walkways.  The complex is situated in the Rawalpindi District, the northernmost district of the Punjab Province.  The pond around which the temples are built is noted extensively in ancient Indian literature and is connected to Shiva, one of the principal Hindu gods. 

Get a rare aerial look at a famous Hindu temple in southern India, compliments of AirVuz contributor and drone pilot Amith.  The Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple is located in the town of Melukote, about 30 mi. (50 km) north of the city of Mysore in the southwestern state of Karnataka.  It's one of the Abhimana Kshethram, a group of 108 sacred temples dedicated to the Hindu deity Vishnu.  Originally contructed during the 11th century, the temple sits atop a granite hill overlooking the Cauvery Valley,

The Shivagange mountain peak is a sacred Hindu pilgramage site in Southern India.  Seen here in this drone video by AirVuz contributor Amith, Shivagange is located near the village of Dobbaspet in the Bangalore Rural District of the southwestern state of Karnataka.  The hill has a number of temples, both at its peak (at an elevation of just under 4.5k ft. above sea level (around 1.4k m) and also built into caves on the side of the hill.  The hill itself is considered a Shivalinga, an abstract representation of th Hindu god Shiva.  

The Temple of Dawn (aka Wat Arun Temple) is one of the most recognized cultural landmarks in Bangkok, Thailand.  Seen in this excellent drone video by AirVuz contributor Sir Maxwell Greene, the temple is located in the Thonburi area of the Yai District on the western side of the Thai capital.  Dating to the 17th century (and possibly earlier), the Buddhist temple took on its current form when its distinctive spire was built in the 19th century.  The temple underwent extensive renovation in the 2010's.   

Check out this drone videos of one of the great cultural landmarks of Nepal, compliments of contributor c13studio.  It's called the Swayambhunath, and it's located on a hill west of the city of Katmandu.  It's one of oldest religious sites in the country, having been founded in the sixth century AD.  While it is most closely associated with the Buddhist religion, it's also considered to be religiously significant to Hindu's.  Sometimes called the Monkey Temple, its gold dome was re-gilded as part of a 2010 renovation.

Check out this beautiful drone video of one of the world's only stainless steel temples, compliments of contributor and pilot Tom Wetherald.  Known variously as the King Bhumipol Temple and the Phra Maha Chedi Tripob Trimongkol, it's situated in the southern province of Hat Yai.  It's one of just three Buddhist temples in the world that are constructed of stainless steel material.  It was built to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the reign of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2006.

For a first upload to AirVuz, new contributor WanderlustWiseman brings us this excellent drone video of one of the most recognized landmarks of the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar: the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon.  Also known as the Golden Pagoda, its golden dome stands 105 meters tall (344 ft.) and towers over the country's capital city.   Its age is not known with certainty, but it's generally believed to have been constructed over the course of the 6th-10th centuries AD.  It's the largest pagoda in this heavily Buddhist nation.  

Check out these beautiful drone views from South Korea, compliments of AirVuz contributor DannyBhoy.  The video was shot in and around Taeanhaean National Park, which lies on 840 square km (around 325 square mi.) of islands and peninsulas of the Yellow Sea, a bit south of Seoul.  The video includes great footage of the park's landscapes and seascapes, as well as the Anmyeondo Buddhist Temple complex and the Kkotji Beach.  The park is home to almost 1,200 animal species, over 700 plant species, and over 600 species of marine life.  

AirVuz contributor Amith brings us this fascinating drone video of a Hindu festival near the Indian city of Bangalore.  The Grand festival is held every year at the Sri Madduramma Temple in the Huskur area to the southeast of central Bangalore, capital of the southern state of Karnataka.  At the center of the festival are giant chariots constructed by local villagers; the tallest one seen in the video reaches over 150 ft. high (just under 50 m).  The temple was constructed during the Chola dynasty and dates to the 11th century AD.  

Malaysia's Batu Caves is the most important site in the country for the roughly 6% of Malaysians who practice Hinduism.  Located in the western state of Selangor, the site is a complex of temples and statues built in and around a series of caves.  In this drone video by DroneEyePerspective, you'll get an aerial tour of the complex.  The video includes great footage of the site's most recognizable landmark: the giant Lord Murugan Statue, which stands 43 meters tall (143 ft.) and is the world's third-highest Hindu statue.

Kalutara Chaitya is a modern Buddhist Stupa on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka.  Seen here in this drone video by deathstalker, its importance derives from its proximity to the Kalutara Bodhiya, a Bodhi (sacred fig tree), one of the most important sites in Sri Lankan Buddhism.  The tree is believed to be one of 32 saplings from the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi fig tree, which was planted in the third century BC and is believed to be the world's oldest living tree.  The temple was completed in 1974, following a ten year construction period.  

Check out this fantastic drone video of a well-known Taoist temple in northern Taiwan, compliments of new contributor MavicAir2TW.  It's called the Wuji Tianyuan Temple, and it's located in the mountains of New Taipei City, just outside of the national capital.   Taoism, which originated in the Chinese mainland, is often synthesized with Buddhism and Confucianism; the majority of Taiwanese observe the three faiths in combination.  The temple is a major tourist attraction in Greater Taipei, particularly during the cherry blossom season. 

Check out this drone video of a pair of Hindu temples in southern India, compliments of new AirVuz contributor and pilot arispeter.  The Perakkattu Sree Mahadeva Temple and Koottumadom Sree Subramanya swami Temple are two of the most prominent landmarks in the town of Rayamangalam.  The town lies in the state of Kerala, in the region east of the coastal plain on the Arabian Sea and west of the Western Ghats, a mountain chain which forms the "spine" of western India.  It's part of Ernakulam, one of the central districts of Kerala.

Content creator and pilot Aerial_Nomad created this fascinating drone video of as well known Buddhist temple in the East Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.  It's called the Golden Pagoda of Namsai, and it was completed in 2010.  The temple is located in the Nasai District of the state, the northeasternmost of the 29 which make up India.  The Golden Pagoda is the site of the annual Kathina festival, which is celebrated at the end of the rainy season and which originated in what is now Bangladesh.