Incomparable Myanmar

Yangon Arrival

• Activities:

  Visit the beautiful sights of Yangon city, the Chaukhtatgyi Temple, Botataung Pagoda, and the giant Shwedagon Pagoda

• Meal:

  N/A

• Included:

  Airport transfer, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, hotel in Yangon

Upon arrival the former capital Myanmar - Yangon, you will be warmly welcomed by our guides and transferred to your hotel for check-in. On the way to your hotel you can easily see that Yangon’s infrastructure is undeveloped compared to those of other major cities in Southeast Asia, but it has the largest number of colonial buildings in the region today. After checking in at your hotel, we will begin our tour of the city. It doesn’t take a long time for tourists to be fascinated by the lush green park, picturesque lakes, and the charming people. After moving around the city, we will stop at the highlights of the city. First destination is Chaukhtatgyi Temple which has one of the biggest and most graceful Reclining Buddha statues in South East Asia. Then we move to the Botataung Pagoda – a famous pagoda located in downtown Yangon, Myanmar, near the Yangon River. The giant Shwedagon Pagoda many draw your concentrating look during the day. At dusk, climb up to the top of pagoda and enjoy the breathtaking view of the pagoda and the plain below being dyed in red of sunset. Stay overnight in Yangon.

Yangon - Bagan

• Activities:

  Take a flight to Bagan, visit Shwezigon pagoda, Ananda, Gubyaukgyi Htilominlo and Sulamani temple

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, Airport transfer, flight ticket Yangon – Nyaung U, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, hotel in Bagan

Located on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River, Bagan is home of the largest and densest concentration of Buddhist temples, pagodas, stupas and ruins in the world. Upon arrival you will quickly realize why Bagan is used to ba called "the city of four million pagodas". You will be led to Shwezigon Pagoda, Ananda, Gubyaukgyi Htilominlo and Sulamani Temple. Tour guides will give you all the different aspects, architectural styles, and history of each temple. Let's take a short time to enjoy the sunset of the Bagan's solemn ancient monument. Stay overnight in Bagan.

Bagan - Kyauk-ku - Bagan

• Activities:

  Visit the Pentagonal Pagoda, Dhammayazika, Nanadamanya Temple and explore the wildlife in Kyauk-ku

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, hotel in Bagan

With a huge number of pagodas and stupas, one day is not enough to explore all beauty of the religious buildings here. We will continue visiting the Pentagonal Pagoda Dhammayazika, then experience the daily life of the locals in the nearby village. The locals will be sure to share many interesting things in their life. In the afternoon, we will sail down to Kyauk-ku to enjoy the wildlife of jungle. Don't miss an opportunity to take photos of beautiful sights, especially the sunset-one of the most wonderful scenes in Bagan. Stay overnight in Bagan.

Bagan - Mt.Popa - Bagan

• Activities:

  Explore Mt. Popa, visit a local palm sugar workshop, Taung-Ka-Latt

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, hotel in Bagan

On the driving way from Bagan to Mt. Popa, we stop at a local palm sugar workshop, where the local people extract the juice from the tall palm trees and transform it into various goods, particularly jiggery. After two hour, we reach the foot of Mt.Popa. However, it is not the most interesting moment when we stand on foot of it. Let's spend 30 minutes climbing up to the top of Taung-Ka-Latt. From here, you can see the whole view of the area, hundreds of macaque monkeys, the poetic Irrawaddy River, the beautiful villages and other wonderful sites. Stay overnight in Bagan.

Bagan - Mandalay - Pyin Oo Lwin

• Activities:

  Fly to Mandalay Tadaoo International Airport, visit Pyin Oo Lwin, see Purcell tower

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, Airport transfer, flight ticket Nyaung U - Mandalay, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, hotel in Pyin Oo Lwin

After breakfast at hotel, we transfer to the airport and take a domestic flight to Mandalay Tadaoo international Airport. Once we land the airport, tour guide and driver will pick you up and help you transfer to Pyin Oo Lwin. On the way, we will pass through Paleik which contains hundreds of temple and pagodas. Continue to Pyin Oo Lwin which becomes a hill station that served as a retreat for European civil servants stationed in Mandalay in 1986. The village is also considered the melting pot of Burma because there is a gather of Anglo- Burmese, Anglo-Indian, native Shan, Myanmar and Chinese living here. Then, we will take a glimpse at the Purcell tower which was gifted from the Queen of England, and other colonial-era buildings, as well as modern Chinese buildings in Pyin Oo Lwin. Stay overnight in Pyin Oo Lwin.

Pyin Oo Lwin - Mandalay

• Activities:

  Visit the National Botanical gardens, Kuthodaw Pagoda and enjoy the sunset on the top of Mandalay Hill

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, hotel in Mandalay

The National Botanical Gardens will be our first stop for the sixth day of journey. Located in the Alpine town about 1.5 km south of Pyin Oo Lwin, the garden is considered the heaven on land, which attracts all senses of visitors. Coming to this place, you have a chance to observe many collection of flora, including foreign species, orchids of various species in orchid garden, dahlia gardens, rose gardens, many exotic fruits and shady trees. Besides, there are three museums which house to fossils, the petrified wood and the butterfly. It is said that it would be a shortcoming is you go to Pyin Oo Lwin without visiting this famous Botanical Gardens. In the afternoon, we drive back to Mandalay and continue a journey discovering the beautiful sites in the area. Kuthodaw Pagoda is our next stop which has over 700 marble slabs inscribed with the worlds of Buddha, and each slab is housed in its own white stupa. In order to have a perfect end for this sightseeing day, we climb up to the top of Mandalay Hill for a panoramic view of the city which is dyed in the red of sunset. How wonderful it is!

Mandalay

• Activities:

  Visit the Zegyo market, Mahamuni Temple, the gold leaf making workshop, U Bein Bridge

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, hotel in Mandalay

The day will start at the oldest and most important market in Mandalay - Zegyo Market. The market is full of life, sights, smells and sounds of daily life of the locals. After discovering Zegyo Market, we move to Mahamuni Temple which contains a huge bronze Buddha image covered in thick layers of gold. Coming to Mahamuni Temple, tourists will have chance to witness the lifestyle differences of the people. As you know, Mandalay is the center of handmade arts and crafts, where we will go to today. In Mandalay, we have a chance to observe how the locals use raw material to transform it into marvelous art. Our first stop is the gold leaf workshop which still remains the ancient technique of transforming 24k gold into super thin gold leaves only by using precise hammer blows. It can be said that the technique is a pride of people in Mandalay. In addition, we will enjoy a stroll down the marble carving street to see raw marble transformed into various pieces of arts. The typical products made at the street are puppets and Kalaga tapestries. At the end of the day, we will head to U Bein Bridge on Taungthaman Lake to enjoy the sunset. Stay overnight in Mandalay.

Mandalay - Ava - Sagaing

• Activities:

  Visit Ava, Bagaya Monastery, Menu Okkyaung, Kaungmhudaw Pagoda, and Zayar Theingi Nunnery

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, hotel in Mandalay

To begin the eighth day of discovering soul of Myanmar, we move to Ava – a small island situated at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Dokhtawadi. Here, we will visit Bagaya Monastery at the south-west corner of Ava City. The monastery is a model of superb Myanmar art and architecture of olden days, representing the type of religious buildings, which are rarely seen today. Then we go to Menu Okkyaung – the only brick monastery of Yadanapon period Then, we transfer to Sagaing which is considered the living centre of the Buddhist faith in Myanmar. Over 600 monasteries and nunneries locate in the landscape, we will take you to the unique Kaungmhudaw Pagoda and Zayar Theingi Nunnery with hundreds of women scholars.

Mandalay - Kyaingtong

• Activities:

  Fly to Kyaing Tong, observe many old-style houses, lake of Naung Ton, sunset viewing from Lone Tree Hill

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, airport transfer, flight ticket Mandalay – Kyaing Tong, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, hotel in Kyaing Tong

After breakfast at hotel, we will transfer to the airport for a domestic flight to Kyaing Tong, the capital of Eastern Shan Sate. It is home to ethnic tribes such as Wa, Shan, Akha and Lahu. Besides, Kyaingtong also carries the definition of "Walled City of Tung". Coming here, we have a chance to observe many old-style houses with wooden balconies which is a distinct characteristic of Shan architecture. We also see women of ethnic tribes wearing costumes with cultural patterns, which draw in front of our mind a colorful picture of life and people here. Let's wander around the lake of Naung Ton and enjoy the nice sunset on the top of Lone Tree Hill Stay overnight at the hotel in Kengtung.

Kyaingtong

• Activities:

  Visit hill tribe villages and local market if possible

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, hotel in Kyaing Tong

Today, we may visit the local market which is held every five days. Usually, in the early morning, the hill tribe people come down and exchange their handmade products to others. Then, we enjoy a joyful trekking to several hill tribe villages to see the different customs that each tribe practices. Especially, in the Ann village, you can meet the local people dyeing their teeth with the bark from the tree. Be sure to take some photos with the friendly local.

Kyaingtong - Heho - Inle Lake

• Activities:

  Visit Maha Minu Temple, Wat Phrathadjonkham, Wat Inn, and drive to Inle Lake

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, airport transfer, flight ticket Kyaing Tong - Heho, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, boat fee in Inle, hotel in Inle

In the morning, we spend time visiting Maha Muni Temple, Wat Phrathadjonkham, and Wat Inn before our time for a flight to Heho which is the gateway to the Southern Shan State. On the way from Heho to Inle Lake, we pass through the scenic countryside of the Shan Hills. Stay overnight at hotel in Inle.

Inle Lake

• Activities:

  Visit the local market, a local cigar rolling workshop, Phaungdawoo pagoda

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, tour guide, entrance fee, boat fee in Inle, hotel in Inle

Before moving to some highlights of Inle Lake, we will boat around the Lake to get its overall view. Inle Lake has long been considered "Venice of Myanmar". On the surface of the lake, you can see floating villages, floating gardens, floating markets, several traditional villages such as forging, weaving and so on. The most special sight on Inle Lake is floating gardens where the local use the water hyacinth combining with seaweed on the bottom of the lake to keep the soil to grow more vegetables such as tomatoes, mint. Up and down the lake have many temples, monasteries with golden pinnacles brightening on the sunlight. Our first stop is the local market where you can see the local hill tribe people coming down and exchange their handmade products with others. We continue to a local cigar rolling workshop to witness local women rolling the traditional Burmese cigars by hands. They make so fast that they can make over 1500 in one day. To complete the day, we will move to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda where houses the five Buddha images. These images are covered with gold in order to make visitors not be able to see the original form. Stay overnight on Inle Lake.

Inle Lake

• Activities:

  Vsit to floating villages and gardens, experience the very different lifestyle of Intha people, see ocal silk, cotton, and lotus weaving workshop

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, tour guide, entrance fee, boat fee in Inle, hotel in Inle

In the morning, we take the scenic boat ride through the canals to Indein which are a complex of ruined temples from 17th century. Once being in the area, we will be motivated by hundreds of bells ring from stupas that have been arranged here. Then, we take a visit to floating villages and gardens to experience the very different lifestyle of Intha people. For year, Indein has been famous for it local silk, cotton, and lotus weaving workshop. Being there, you can see the local women extracting the fibers from the stem of the lotus flower and turning it into string. Let's take some photos of the workshop in order to make your later talk with friends more evidently.

Inle - Yangon

• Activities:

  Leave for Yangon, visit Bogyoke market, and wander around Chinatown

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, airport transfer, flight ticket Heho - Yangon, tour guide, entrance fee, ground transportation, hotel in Yangon

In the morning, we will take a flight back to Yangon. After checking into hotel, we can spend the rest of the day visiting the famous Bogyoke market where everything from common products like food and clothing to luxury goods like gems are sold. Don't miss an opportunity to buy these beautiful souvenirs for family and friends at home. We also walk around the China town or take a troll to see the busy waterfront if possible. Stay overnight at hotel in Yangon.

Yangon Departure

• Activities:

  Take a departure flight

• Meal:

  Breakfast

• Included:

  Breakfast, airport transfer, tour guide

After breakfast at hotel, we will transfer to International Yangon airport for a departure flight. Goodbye and hope that you had an interesting journey.