Yangon , Myanmar ( CNN ) -- After decades of a military junta rule , the south-east Asian country of Myanmar is opening up , and the government is working hard to welcome a plane loads of visitors from around the world . Myanmar 's turnaround from pariah state to becoming this year 's must-see destination has been remarkable . Much of the country is untouched and rich in both historic and architectural heritage . There is plenty to discover for the tourist who wants to go off the beaten track . Below CNN takes a look at some of Myanmar 's most magnificent treasures . Shwedagon Pagoda . The golden stupa of Yangon 's 2,500-year-old Shwedagon Pagoda shines over the city . The pagoda is covered in hundreds of golden plates and there are thousands of encrusted diamonds on the stupa , glittering in all different colors , reflecting the rays of the sun . It 's a majestic site and impossible not to notice when visiting the former capital of Myanmar . `` In Myanmar , it is very important for our religion , '' says Kyaw , a guide at Shwedagon . `` Because most people from here , mostly Buddhist people , have to come here at least one time in their life . '' Myanmar is one of the world 's most devout Buddhist nations -- the majority of Burmese are Buddhists and the 100-meter-tall Shwedagon is their most sacred temple . Legend says it enshrines eight of Buddha 's hair , that were given to two merchant brothers by Buddha himself . At times the pagoda has also served as a rallying point and a source of strength against the former military regime , or as in the 1920s and 1930s resistance to British Colonial rule . Read more : 11 things to know before visiting Myanmar . Colonial architecture in Yangon . The architectural heritage of Yangon is rich and evidence of the former British Empire is almost at every corner . Buildings from the colonial era stretch out across the city , telling stories of a time long gone . Yangon has one of the highest number of colonial period buildings in all of south-east Asia , built during the British rule in Burma , which lasted from 1824 to 1948 . Buildings like the City Hall , the former High Court and Strand Hotel attract many visitors . But these iconic buildings are under threat , since renovating and preserving their crumbling facades is costly . The Yangon Heritage Trust is trying to ensure these buildings do n't meet a bulldozer , so the country 's past can be maintained . One building in particular could be seen as the monument to Myanmar 's political rebirth . The Secretariat , the Minister 's building during the British rule , has been standing empty for years , but played an important role in the history of Myanmar . This is where the leaders of the independence movement in the late 1940s were assassinated -- among them General Aung San , the father of Aung San Suu Kyi , Myanmar 's Nobel laureate , and a former political prisoner . That her father lost his life in the assassination room is one of the reasons why the Secretariat could now be preserved . `` I think just a couple of years ago this was not on the agenda at all and I think we were in real danger , '' says chairman of the Yangon Heritage Trust , Thant Myint-U . Read more : Fast facts about Myanmar 's history . Bagan , ancient city in the Mandalay region . A journey through Myanmar inspires silence . And there is one journey in particular that in the 19th century inspired young poet Rudyard Kipling to write his poem `` On the Road to Mandalay '' . Traveling along the lifeblood of the country -- the river Irrawaddy -- feels like being on a trek back in time . Along the river there are fishing villages where life has n't changed for decades . The cruise along the river gets you to places not so easily reached by car or rail . But there is one destination that leaves every visitor breathless -- Bagan . Bagan is an ancient city situated in central Myanmar , in the region of Mandalay . Considered one of the world 's most spectacular and significant archaeological sites , it consists of more than 2000 pagodas and temples built by the kings of Bagan between the 11th and 13th centuries . Marcus Allender , founder of travel site for Myanmar , Go-Myanmar , wants to simplify travel to the country . `` [ This ] is a country that 's had massive shifts over the past 1000 years and there are dozens of ancient capitals , Bagan being the most famous one . There are loads of them and there is just so much to discover , '' Allender says . `` And then when you get the Buddhism going through that , it 's a deeply religious country , [ with ] all the pagoda 's everywhere . It makes it special ''
Bagan is opening up to foreign visitors . There are many ancient treasures and many tourists are now discovering this south-east Buddhist country . Highlights include the Yangon Heritage Trust , the Colonial buildings in the city of Bagan and Myanmar .