GTM-(23) YANGON-INEL LAKE-KALAW-MANDALAY-MONYWA
-BAGAN-SALE-YANGON-SITTWAY-MRAUK U-YANOGN

Day (01) Yangon Arrival

Upon arrival at Yangon International Airport welcome by our local tour guide and transfer to your hotel for check-in. In the afternoon, drive through the colonial style buildings downtown, the Chinatown area and the Indian quarter. Visit Sule Pagoda with its golden chedi which makes a useful landmark in downtown Yangon. Continue to Botahtaung Pagoda, located close to Yangon River and said to contain Buddha relics. Stop alongside Kandawgyi (Royal) Lake to take photographs over the lake towards Shwedagon. Enjoy the sunset at Shwedagon Pagoda; famous world wide – its golden stupa is the ‘heart’ of Buddhist Myanmar. The Pagoda is believed to be 2,500 years old and the central stupa in surrounded by dozens of intricately decorated buildings and statues. There are always many Myanmar people praying and making offerings at Shwedagon, and it’s a fascinating place to spend time watching the go by. Overnight at Yangon. 

Day (02) Yangon-Heho-Inle Lake (by flight/boat)

Breakfast. Transfer to Yangon Airport. Air Mandalay or Yangon Airways or Air Bagan flight from Yangon to Heho (approx 1:10hours). From Heho, drive down into the valley to Nyaung Shwe (approx 1:30hours) if time permits you may visit Joss house of ruling Shan Sawbwa who was the first president at Myanmar independent. After Lunch, Nyaung Shwe on the edge of Inle Lake and board your own local boat to take you to your hotel on the Lake. Overnight in Inle Lake.   

^^ 
Top

Day (03) Inle Lake private excursion (by boat)

Breakfast. Full day boat trip on Inle Lake – a photographer’s dream, its calm waters are dotted with floating vegetation and fishing canoes, to which scenic high hills provide the perfect backdrop. See the lake’s unique “leg rowers” – the Intha people row standing up with one leg wrapped around an oar. You will see the floating gardens, growing vegetables and flowers and floating Market, selling the vegetables and flowers product of their gardens.  Continue by boat to visit Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery, famous for its “jumping cats”. Stop to see silk weaving on wooden handlooms. Visit Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the holiest religious site in southern Shan State. Stop at a blacksmith shop and other places as time allows. This afternoon, we enjoy another boat tour to Indaing, at the western end of the Lake. The boat takes you through a long channel where you watch the farmers cultivate their produce. This ride is one of the most scenic boat tours on Lake Inle. Accommodation at Inle Lake.

Day (04) Inle Lake- Pindaya- Kalaw (by boat/coach)

Breakfast. This morning, leave your hotel by boat and drive to Pindaya (approx 2:30 hours) an interesting drive up into the hills and across the Shan Plateau, through fields of mountain rice. Visit magnificent Pindaya Caves, set in a limestone ridge overlooking a picturesque lake, where thousands of different types of Buddha images are on display in the various cave chambers. Visit some local houses where families produce Shan paper and parasols. You may have opportunity for a social interaction with ethnic farmers along the way. The roads leading to Kalaw and Pindaya offer breathtaking sights of the landscape. Continue by road to Kalaw (approx 1:30 hours) a cool and charming hill station, which is a marketing center for hill tribe folks from surrounding regions, which was a favorite hill station during the British colonial era. It is a picturesque village surrounded by pine forests and has some of Myanmar's most beautiful gardens. Fans of natural beauty and peaceful sites will surely get their money's worth. Accommodation at Kalaw. 

Day (05) Kalaw-Heho-Mandalay (by coach/flight)

Breakfast. This morning visit the local market and the tiny train station. Transfer to Heho Airport (approx 5 hours) Air Mandalay, Yangon Airways and Air Bagan Airways flight from Heho to Mandalay (approx 30 minutes). Mandalay is the last kingdom as well as the center of the Myanmar cultural, tradition, arts and crafts. Transfer from Mandalay Airport to Hotel. After Lunch, start your Mandalay sightseeing tour with a visit to Mahamuni Paogoda, home to Mandalay's holiest Buddha statue. Stop to see stone carving and later to see gold leaf being beaten into wafer thin pieces. In the afternoon, visit Shwenandaw Monastery, and ancient wooden building with intricate carvings, which was once King Mindon's home. Visit Kyaukdawgyi Pagoda to see a large Buddha statue carved out of a single block of local marble. Continue to visit a traditional wooden building and Kuthodaw Pagoda (known as the world’s largest book), consisting of 729 marble slabs engraved with Buddhist scriptures. Enjoy spectacular views at sunset from Mandalay Hill, where there are interesting glass-studded temples. Accommodation at Mandalay.

Day (06) Mandalay-Amarapura -Mingun –Mandalay (by coach/boat)

Breakfast. This morning proceed directly to Amarapura. Visit Mahagandayon, a famous Buddhist monastery, where more than a thousand monks live and study. Continue to the 150 years old U Bein teak bridge, built in 1851 at the time when Amarapura was the royal capital. After  proceed to drive Mingun, Boat excursion (one hour each way) up the Ayeyarwaddy River to Mingun, site of the world’s largest intact bronze bell( Mingun Bell), 3.7 meters high and weighing 87 tons, Also visit the huge but unfinished Mingun Paya (built with the intention of being the world’s biggest pagoda) and the beautiful Hsinbyume Paya. After seeing enjoy the sunset along the Ayeyarwaddy River on the boat. Late evening return to Mandalay, accommodation at Hotel, Mandalay.

Day (07) Mandalay-Phoe Win Taung-Sagaing-Mandalay

Breakfast. This morning leave Mandalay and cross Ava Bridge, which was built by British engineers, to process Monywa. And then drive to visit Thanboddhay Pagoda (approx 3:30hours), which is about 20 km from Monywa. The richly decorated central stupa has no less than 845 smaller stupas around it. Inside the pathos, you will see thousands of Buddha images (reportedly over 500,000) decorating every wall, archway and niche. The buildings in the compound have interesting jataka relief and there is a huge Reclining Buddha nearby. Later, take a local ferry across the Chindwin River then continues drive to visit a sandstone cave system in the Phoe Win Taung Hills, named after a famous 'zawgyi'(alchemist) who once lived here. The Caves of Phoe Win Taung, numbering more than one hundred, is full of Buddhist statues and murals. Most exhibit the Innwa style but some may date from the 14^th century. Return to Monywa, after, return take a local ferry across the Chindwin River and return back to Mandalay on the way you can see Kaunghmudaw Pagoda, with its huge egg-shaped dome in Ceylonese style and picturesque Sagaing Hill.  Later, return across Ava Bridge, which was built by British engineers, this is perhaps the living centre of Buddhist faith in Myanmar today and hillsides are dotted with numerous pagodas and monasteries. Accommodation at Mandalay.

^^ 
Top

Day (08) Mandalay-Bagan (by river boat)

Breakfast. You will have a day cruise along the Myanmar life span majestic Ayeyarwady River to Bagan (approx 13hours). Bagan, the 10th century archaeological site is considered one of the richest and most amazing site in Asia, comparable to the sites of worldwide importance such as Jerusalem, and Rome, Bagan remain virtually un-known. Among Bagan’s more than 13,000 temples once stood there are some 2,200 remain today. Some were destroyed by invaders, others by earth quake and decay but internationally funded restoration is under way and major temples are in excellent condition. If time permit you will have an enjoyable sunset in the archaeological ruin, otherwise just transfer to your hotel. Accommodation at Bagan.

Day (09) Bagan archaeological tour (by coach)

Breakfast. Start your full day Bagan Sightseeing tour includes a visit to Nyaung-U Market with a visit to see the golden stupa of Shwezigon Pagoda, which is Bagan’s most important reliquary shrine – look out for images of the 37 ‘nats’ housed in a small hall. See 12th Century frescoes adorning the corridors of Kyansittha ‘Cave’ Temple. Next stop is Htilominlo, the last Bamar style temple built in Bagan, with old murals and friezes. Pass through Tharaba Gateway into Old Bagan. Continue to Ananda Temple, a whitewashed masterpiece of Mon architecture with four standing Buddhas, and the adjacent brick monastery from the Early Bagan era with well-preserved murals. Make photo stop at the tallest temple measuring 61 metres – Thatbyinnyu known as 'temple of omniscience' and dating from 1144. Check into your hotel late morning. In the afternoon, visit the Archaelolgical Museum (if open). Continue to Dhammayangyi, a massive-looking temple dating from 1170 that is famous for its interlocking mortarless brickwork. Next, visit Mingalazedi, the last of the large Pagodas built in the 13^th Century, representing the pinnacle of Bamar pagoda architecture. Late afternoon, stop at Lacquer ware factory to watch craftsmen skillfully making this most famous of Bagan handicrafts. At sunset, climb to the top of one of the monuments to enjoy magnificent views over Bagan's temples and the Ayeyarwady River. Accommodation in Bagan.

Day (10) Bagan-Salay-Mt. Popa-Bagan (by coach)

Breakfast. A full day to explore the countryside around Bagan (exact itinerary is subject to road conditions). Drive along the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy River through Chauk, where you will see old Burma Oil installations ('nodding donkey's), and to Kyaukpadaung and then to Salay (approx 2:30hours). Visit Yokesone monastery, which is the oldest surviving wooden monastery hall built on 154 teak posts with beautiful wood carvings decorating the outer walls. And see Nan Paya a larage lacquer Buddha image, said to date from the 13^th century. Continue to drive to Mt. Popa, an extinct volcano with its shrine dedicated to animist spirits, known as “Nats”. For the energetic, time to climb the 777 steps to the shrine at the top of the hill. The steps and path climb steeply up Mt. Popa- an energetic climb rewarded by fabulous views from the top. Return to Bagan, on the way continues to Payathonzu, a complex of three brick shrines with mural paintings from the Bagan period, accommodation at Bagan.

Day (11) Bagan-Yangon (by flight)

Breakfast. Early morning transfer to Nyaung U Airport. Transfer to Nyaung U Airport Air Mandalay, Yangon Airways or Air Bagan flight from Bagan to Yangon (approx 2:10 hours). From the airport, start your sightseeing tour with a visit at Bogyoke (Scott) Market (closed on Mondays and Public Holidays) gives you the opportunity to see Myanmar's wide range of handicrafts.Yangon. Drive through the colonial style buildings downtown, the Chinatown area and the Indian quarter. Later, take a walk along Yangon River to see the busy harbor area, from where ferries leave for Pathein in the Delta and for upcountry towns along the Ayeyarwady River. Accommodation at Yangon. 

Day (12) Yangon-Sittwe (by flight)

Transfer from your hotel to Yangon Airport. With Air Mandalay, Air Bagan flight from Yangon to Sittwe (approx 1hours). Transfer from Sittwe. Transfer from Airport to your hotel or guest house. Sittwe, known to the Bengalis as "Akyab", is in Rakhine State and used to be a busy trading 7 port. Visit the local market where all kinds of fish and seafood are on sale. Stop at a Buddhist Museum in the grounds of a monastery ad see the interesting collection of Rakhine-style Buddha images, silver coins from the Mrauk-U era and engraved astrological charts. Visit a pagoda and make photo stops at one or more of the mosques, evidence of the large Muslim community in Sittwe. At sunset, drive out along Strand Road past fishing boats to The Point, at the mouth of the Kaladan River. There are some interesting shale and sandstone rock formations, as well as fabulous views over a black sand beach stretching for miles towards Bangladesh along the edge of the Bay of Bengal. In the evening go for a walk in downtown Sittwe where local people sit on the pavements outside their homes enjoying the cool evening air. Accommodation at Sittwe.   

^^ 
Top

Day (13) Sittwe-Mrauk U (by boat)

Breakfast. Transfer to Sittwe jetty for departure by private boat (depending on availability) or public boat to Mrauk-U. The journey on the Kaladan River takes from 4 to 7 hours (depending on boat and river conditions) through changing scenery, upriver towards the hills surrounding Mrauk-U. Arrive in Mrauk-U in the afternoon and transfer to your hotel or guest house. Mrauk-U (once known as Myo Haung) was Rakhine's capital in the 15th century, whines it enjoyed great wealth and was an important commercial port. A visitor described it as one of the richest cities in Asia. Little remains of this wealth but Mrauk-U have great charm with its many local markets, solid wooden horses, canals, hills and friendly people. Some of the ancient pagodas ad ruins can be visited on foot from the town, whilst others require a bullock cart or vehicle). Depending on exact time of arrival of the boat and to drive to Wetthali (Vesali) a kingdom founded in the 4th century which prospered for some 400 years. The ruined city walls and moat give you and idea of the size of the former city. See the Great Image of Su Taun Prai, a 5 meter sitting Buddha in Rakhine style which is said to have been carved out of one piece of rock. From Wethali, continue towards Kyauktaw and visit Mahamuni Pagoda, according to legend the original site of Mandalay's famous bronze Buddha image. Nowadays, three stone images sit on the pedestal which was once home to the Mahamuni Buddha. Retune to Mrauk-U and Overnight in Mrauk-U.

Day (14) Mrauk U-Chin Tattoo-Mrauk U

After Breakfast, start a scenic journey and very bumpy road by car about 30 minutes to the village. And then continue to go to Tattoo Village by (boat about 2 hours) boat to Tattoo Chin Village of the Lay Too Chin Minority. The chin minority are probably best known for their colorful fabrics and tattoo face, a century old tradition not practiced anymore in our modern times. We will be visit to another tattoo chin area and going back to Mrauk U. In the afternoon, visit the museum which houses ancient stone slabs with inscriptions and an interesting collection of Rakhine-style Buddha images. Then see some of the temples of Mrauk-U which nestle amongst hills, streams and leafy trees. Most famous is Shittaung, perhaps the best preserved pagoda, ad home to some 80000holy Buddha images. The large central stupa is flanked by 33 smaller ones, rising from platform to platform, similar in style to Indonesia's Borobudur. Inside the Pagoda is like a make and it's fascinating to wander though the interior passages, admiring relief's and Buddha images in niches. Visit Andaw Pagoda, and eight seeded monument which is smaller than Shittaung but with a similar linear layout. Opposite Sittaung, visit Dakkanthein "ordination hall",  a construction of literate and sandstone bricks which resembles a he bunker from the outside. See also laungbankpyauk Pagoda, locally known as "plate pagoda" because a wall at the front is embedded wit plate-like tiles in bright colours. Late afternoon, go to Shwetaung from where there is a good view over Mrauk-U. Accommodation at Mrauk-U.

Day (15) Mrauk U- Sittwe

After Breakfast, visit to colourful vegetables Market. Trasfer to jetty for departure by private boat or public ferry back to Sittwe. Arrive in Sittwe in the afternoon and enjoy wandering through the town, or relaxing on the beach. Accommodation at Sittwe.

Day (16) Sittwe-Yangon (by flight)

Early morning having breakfast and then visit to fish Market along the strand road and local hand weaving testily. In the afternoons transfer to Sittwe airport for return to Yangon. Arrive Yangon and transfer to Hotel your leisure time. Overnight in Yangon.

Day (17) Yangon

Breakfast. Start the morning sightseeing tour that includes the old colonial-style city center with the gilded Sule Pagoda, dating back over 2000 years. The tour continues to Botahtaung Pagoda Enjoy the Lunch at local restaurant. After Lunch, to drive the newly renovated National Museum (if open) and see the Lion's Throne. This afternoon, visit Yangon's unique Glass Factory, which has changed very little over the years. See skilled craftsmen hand-blowing glass and creating original glassware which is sold to hotels and restaurants all over Myanmar. Process to visit Lwka Chantha Abhaya Labha Muni Buddha Image (white elephant), Tooth Relic Pagoda (Swedaw), Gems Museum, Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda to see a huge reclining Buddha image. Stop a alongside Kandawgyi (Royal) Lake to take photographs over the lake towards Shwedagon seeing the sunset. Accommodation at Yangon.

Day (18) Yangon Departure

Breakfast. Travelers having arrived mid-day on Day 1 will transfer to Yangon International Airport for departure. For those having arrived in the afternoon, a morning of sightseeing will include city highlight as shown on Day 1 of the itinerary, then transfer to Yangon International Airport for departure.

^^ 
Top

~~~ Sightseeing ~~~
 

Yangon
 

Mandalay
 

Bagan

Inle Lake

Taunggyi
 

Mrauk U

Kyaikhityo