Burma (Myanmar) is a wonderfully diverse country, rich in history and tradition that has been half-hidden from most of the world for decades. Years of self-imposed isolation followed by a tourism boycott that was only lifted in late 2010, meaning that Burma offers visitors a relatively untouched treasure trove of exotic and varied attractions. Deeply rooted in Buddhism, the culture in Burma has been largely influenced by neighbouring India and China creating a unique blend compared with the rest of the region. The Burmese people are friendly, open and welcoming and represent a definite highlight in themselves.
An adventure holiday in Burma starts in Rangoon and one of the great wonders of the Buddhist world – the gold-encrusted Shwedagon Pagoda. The cooler climes and idyllic setting of Inle Lake presents an immediate contrast and fascinating insight to local ways of life especially when we take a train ride with the locals. A walk in the cool pinewood hills around the old British colonial hillstation of Kalaw introduces us to the diversity of Burmese hill tribe cultures. Leaving the beautiful Shan highlands behind, we drive north to reach the fabled golden city of Mandalay where we explore the ancient royal Burmese capitals by boat, foot and horse cart. The Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River has long been a vital form of transport around which much of Burma has grown up. We spend a day cruising downriver observing river life on our way to the legendary temple studded plain of Bagan – a fitting finale. We return by plane to Yangon for our final night.
Itinerary
[+] Detailed Itinerary
Day 1:
Join tour Rangoon (Yangon)
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Day 2:
AM Rangoon sightseeing; PM Fly Heho and transfer to Inle Lake
This morning’s sightseeing takes us by foot and bus to Yangon’s major sights, starting with the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda - the most revered Buddhist temple in Burma. The temple is an interesting place to observe the many locals making offerings and prayer. Its central stupa is covered in gold leaf and stands at 90 metres tall, dominating the city skyline. We continue to the downtown area to take a walk along Pansodan Street where many of the British colonial period buildings can be found alongside sidewalk markets. Next stop is the Chaukhtatgyi Paya, home to a giant 70 metre long reclining Buddha whose serene features are topped by a crown encrusted in diamonds and other precious stones. We take a short flight in the afternoon to Heho from where we drive for about 1hour to the idyllic setting of Inle Lake and continue to our hotel.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 3:
Inle Lake sightseeing by longtail boat
Inle Lake enjoys a picturesque setting on the Shan Plateau at about 900m, surrounded by hills and populated predominately by the Intha people with a mix of other Shan, Taungyo, Pa-o and Danu ethnicities. Local communities are devout Buddhists that live in simple houses of wood and woven bamboo raised above the water on stilts, they are largely fishermen, skilled artisans and self-sufficient farmers whose vegetables are grown on floating gardens made of grass and seaweed. The local fishermen are known for practicing a distinctive rowing style which involves standing at the stern on one leg and wrapping the other leg around the oar. A floating morning market is held once every five days in one of the local villages (except on full moon and new moon days). We plan to visit either the floating morning market or other interesting local markets where possible, local villages, fishermen, floating gardens and meet skilled artisans in cottage industries such as the production of paper, silver, silk and cotton weaving, cheroot making and blacksmiths.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 4:
AM Indein pagoda complex; PM free
Our boat takes us to the western part of the lake up a small creek to Indein village where we disembark and walk up the hill to visit a complex of about 1000 stupas built between the 17th and 18th centuries. There are great views to be enjoyed overlooking the lake and valley beyond. In the afternoon we return to our hotel and the rest of the day is free to relax. Your tour leader may arrange an optional excursion to visit one of Burma's first wineries, or you may choose to sample a traditional massage (optional) in town.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 5:
Train from Shwe Naung to Aung Ban; bus to Kalaw via Myinmathi cave
This morning we travel west by train from the shores of Inle Lake up to the town of Aung Ban. We’ll ride in hard seats (no tourist class here) along with the locals that may be taking their goods to and from market and apart from the views and local scenes the obvious attraction is the chance to people watch and meet the locals. The journey should take about 2 hours but delays are commonplace so sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. We are picked up by our bus upon arrival in Aung Ban from where we drive to Kalaw with a stop at Myinmathi cave to see its many Buddha images and small stupas. Kalaw itself sits high on the western edge of the Shan Plateau and was a popular hill station in British colonial times to escape the summer heat. Increasingly seen in modern times as a base for hilltribe treks it is still a peaceful and quiet place with an atmosphere reminiscent of the colonial era. The rest of the day is free to explore.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 6:
Easy trek to Painebin Palaung hilltribe village
Today we take the opportunity to explore some of the region’s fine scenery and learn something about hilltribes in Burma. The Burmese, particularly in highland areas, are from different ethnic groups with their own traditions, history and language. We drive to the start point of our walk and then commence a 2 hour ascent (300m approx) to Painebin village. We’ll walk at an easy pace with stops to see tea and cheroot cultivation, orange groves and vegetable gardens. The village is situated at 1500metres above sea level, with a noticeably cooler climate, and locals often still wear traditional costume: red longi, colourful jacket and lacquered waistbands. The Palaung have their own distinct ethnic scripture, monastic regulation, traditional culture and local law. After visiting the village we take a simple picnic lunch (included) ina traditional village home and return downhill by foot enjoying wonderful views over the valley. Our bus will return us to Kalaw where time permitting you can visit a local tea house or climb the 283 steps to the Thien Thuang monastery for views over the town.
Total walking time is about 4 to 5 hours.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 7:
The Road to Mandalay
This morning we embark on an interesting land journey leaving the Shan mountain scenery behind as we travel north to Mandalay, making our own version of Kipling's famous journey to the gateway to the north, a distance of about 160 miles. The condition of the road can be poor in places so we expect the bumpy journey to take about 9 hours including breaks and interesting stops along the way in local villages and for a simple lunch (not included) en route.Mandalay was the last royal capital of the Burmese kingdom and is considered to be Burma’s most historical and culturally rich region thanks to the surrounding ancient royal capitals of Ava, Mingun, Amarapura and Sagaing. We spend time discovering this rich and beautiful heritage, including intricate and skilled local arts and crafts.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 8:
AM Mandalay sightseeing; PM Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) river cruise to Mingun
This morning we begin our sightseeing with a tour of Mandalay. We visit the world’s largest book at Kuthodaw Pagoda – the entire Buddhist scriptures on 729 marble slabs; the magnificent wooden Shwenandaw or Golden Palace Monastery, dating back to 1879 and built with teak from the former royal palace and Mahamuni Paya, the cities holiest temple. Here we can watch local people paying their respects by applying gold leaf to an ancient Buddha image. We also plan to make stops at craft shops to see the skilled workers making gold leaf, ornate tapestries and excellent wood carvings. Time permitting and also depending on the opening hours we can visit Jade market.
After lunch we take a boat from Mandalay jetty for a short and pleasant ride upriver to Mingun, the site of what would have been the world’s largest pagoda had King Bodawpaya not died in 1819 thus halting all further work. What remains is the giant core of a brick pagoda, dramatically split by an earthquake in 1838 and towering 50 metres above the Ayeyarwady. The original plans would have created a pagoda three times this height! A nearby shrine houses the 90-tonne bell that was cast to be hung in the finished pagoda, considered to be the world’s largest uncracked bell at 13 feet high by 16 feet across. We return the 7 miles downriver again by boat as the sun sets over the surrounding hills.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 9:
Amarapura and Inwa
Amarapura lies 7 miles south of Mandalay and was Burma’s penultimate royal capital, from 1783 to 1863, perhaps best known for its footbridge that spans 1.2km across Taungthaman Lake, built in 1849 with over 1000 teak wood posts. We can take a stroll along the bridge visiting a local cotton and silk weaving cottage industries where the local style differs from that of Inle Lake. Time permitting we’ll also visit a bronze craftshop. After lunch in a local restaurant (not included) we continue about 4 miles southwest to our last ancient capital. Inwa (Ava) served as royal capital for some 400 years between the 15th and 19th centuries, longer than any other. Our visit is conducted by horse-drawn cart (which can be a little bumpy) and includes Manu Ok Kaung yellow stucco monastery, Bagaya Kyaung Monastery, famous for its enormous teakwood foundation pillars, and finally the ‘Leaning Tower of Inwa’.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 10:
Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) River cruise to Bagan
We depart early morning from Mandalay port on board the local Mandalay-Bagan express boat service with other passengers. A simple boxed lunch is provided on board. Spending the whole day cruising down the fabled and mighty Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River can be a relaxing experience observing the sights and sounds of river life. In the early evening we will arrive into Bagan and drive to our hotel. Without doubt one of the world’s premier archaeological wonders, the vast plain of Bagan is studded with literally thousands of 1000 year old temples and stupas that rival those in Angkor for their splendour.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 11:
Bagan sightseeing
In the morning we visit Phya Saw village where we walk about to see the traditional ways of life that have changed little over the centuries, such as cotton weaving by hand, grinding peanut oil with oxen and caring for various village animals. We may also have the chance to learn about local life by visiting some houses and chatting with locals. Moving on to the famous temples of Bagan we visit some of the most distinctive temples such as Shwezigon, a prototype of later Burmese stupas; Wetkyi-in-Gubyaukgyi, a 13th century cave temple with some interesting frescoes; and Ananda Pagoda, one of the finest, largest and best preserved in Old Bagan. We visit Ananda ok Kyaung – a former monastery with 18th century wall paintings. In the late afternoon a horse drawn carriage will take us through the temple complex and for a memorable sunset view we will head to the upper terraces of one of the temples.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 12:
AM Bagan sightseeing; PM free
Bagan has as many red-brick Buddhist temples on a plain the size of Manhattan island as there are medieval cathedrals in Europe! This morning we will take in a panoramic view of the temple studded plain before continuing with our visit to the principal and most interesting sites. Including Manuha Temple built by King Manuha to represent his displeasure of captivity, Nanpaya which is Bagan’s first gu or cave style shrine and Gubaukgyi Temple, in the old Bagan village of Myinkaba, an early period temple with well preserved paintings inside. The afternoon is left free for you to relax or take an optional bike ride around the ruins, a sunset cruise or further sightseeing.
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 13:
Fly to Rangoon (Yangon)
We leave the temples and pagodas of Bagan behind today and make our way back to Rangoon by plane. The rest of the day is left free for further sightseeing in the sprawling city. You may like to visit the immense Bogyoke Market, formerly known as Scott’s Market, for souvenir or gift hunting (closed on Mondays, full moons and public holidays).
Overnight Standard Hotel (H+)
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 14:
Tour ends Rangoon
Included meals: Breakfast
