Mysterious Myanmar

Upon arrival in Yangon, we will be warmly welcomed by the tour guide and driver at the airport and transferred to Yangon to check-in hotel. After refreshment we will start our tour in the city with the National Museum of Yangon, a 5-storey grand building which tells us in detail about the entire culture and history of Myanmar, with great collections of precious stone, gold, silver and ivory, and sufficient of traditional costumes of ethnic groups living in Myanmar. End your day at Karaweik - a grand colourful house built on the bank of Kadawgyi Lake to have dinner with a spectacular show of traditional Myanmar stage art. Overnight in Yangon.

No motorized mean will be used today. 
After breakfast, from the hotel we will bike to the top attraction of the city - Shwedagon pagoda (appx. 2h30’), the pride not just of Myanmar but all Buddhist countries with thousands of stupas surrounding a 99m-high main stupa, all golden plated and survive well after wars and time. Go on to Sule pagoda, said to be more than 2,000 years old, located at the heart of the city, in the middle of a very exciting round-about with all noise and excitement of active Yangon (about 1 to 2 hours), where we can visit, meditate, or just sit outside and enjoy local smoothies or soup. Go on to the Botataung Jetty nearby and bike surrounding and go into small streets and alleys of the graceful colonial quarter adjacent to the river. We can stop for some coffee or for shopping here or go on to Bogoyoke market, so called the Scott market, the most exciting one in Yangon which supplies sufficient kinds of consumer goods and souvenir. Return to our hotel late afternoon. Overnigt in Yangon.

After breakfast, we will be transferred by vehicle to the airport for flight to Mandalay. Welcomed and transferred by Jeep - specialty of Mandalay - to Amarapura for our 1st visit in Mandalay. Different from other tranquil towns of Myanmar, Mandalay is much more hectic, business-minded, yet the city maintains very well great vestiges. We will go to Magahandayon monastery in Amarapura before 10am, where the brunch, the only meal of the day, of thousands of monks is held every day at 10am, a very respectful and traditional ritual yet open to visitors to contemplate and discuss with the Buddhist people and monks to understand more about religious life and traditions of Buddhism in Myanmar. Back to Mandalay with stop to visit the famous Mahamuni temple with great golden-plated Buddha image, where we can see Buddhists from all over Myanmar come to pay tribute and meditate, visit the Teak House with delicate carvings after the visit at Mahamuni. Enjoy the sunset at Mandalay Hill. Overnight in Mandalay.

After breakfast, we will be transferred to the jetty. Take a boat trip on the Ayeyarwaddy River - where we can see the daily life of very poor people in the suburb of Mandalay earning their living by fishing, rowing boats and other jobs along the river - to Mingun, a very remarkable point near Mandalay. The river trip may take us about 1h upstream from Mandalay and as soon as we arrived, Mingun Paya - built with the intention of a King to be the world’s biggest pagoda - will be in front of us. Beside the incomparable view of vestiges, Mingun gives us a chance to get close to the life of countryside people either we can witness their hard-working on the river or at the villages near Mingun. Go on foot to the place of Mingun Bell, weighting 87 tons and being the world’s largest intact bronze bell. Continue to the beautiful Hsinbyume Paya (pagoda). Lunch in the village. Early afternoon we will take the ferry back to Mandalay and will be transferred by our vehicle to Sagaing, the hill with great view of temples dotted on the hillside and a great panorama over Mandalay, and end our trip at the U-Bein Teak Bridge in the sunset. With the greatest length amongst the teakwood bridge in the world and incomparable view combined by the sun, corn fields, rice fields, river and boats in the dusk, U-Bein is one of the most popular symbols of Myanmar beside Bagan towers, the Golden Rock or the leg-rowing boat people. Transfer back to Mandalay by vehicle. Overnight in Mandalay.

After breakfast, we drive to Mountain Popa, a volcano 1520m above sea level. Let’s have our 1st exercise here by climbing up about 45-50 minutes to the top of the mountain, visit Mahagiri Shrine which dedicated to the “Nats” (spirits) at the top where there is a wonderful panoramic view. After our visit, cycle into surrounding villages - with our guide escorted - to explore more on our own, talk to the locals about their life and traditions. Overnight on Mt. Popa.

After breakfast, we will cycle to Bagan, a perfect way to explore the temples, stupas and shrines here. On the way we will visit Toddy Field and see how people make jaggery or liquor. In the afternoon we cycle around Nyang-U, visit Nyang-U market, the town and Shwezigon pagoda before heading to Old Bagan to climb up a tower here to enjoy the fabulous sunset over Bagan. Our guide will recommend a good place to enjoy the sunset as the temples and towers are closed randomly for maintenance. Back to hotel late afternoon. Overnight in Bagan.

Wake up very early in the morning to catch the sunrise over Bagan, a scene not to be missed by any visitors to Myanmar, around 04.30 or 5am (breakfast box prepared by the hotel). Our horsecarts will be ready for us and our tour guide will escort us to visit other temples of Bagan, to name a few, Mingala Zedi, Laokanada Pagoda or Lawkahteikpan Temple, which possess great mural and ink inscriptions, are best to see in a morning trip. Then transfer to the airport (also by horsecart) for afternoon flight to Heho. Welcomed at Heho airport by our guide and transfer to hotel in Inle Lake. Overnight in Inle Lake

After breakfast, we will be free at leisure until time transfer to the airport for onward flight.

After breakfast, free time for relaxing before transferring by boat to Nyaung Shwe to proceed to Heho Airport. Take a domestic flight back to Yangon. Welcomed at Yangon airport by our guide and transfer to hotel. Overnight in Yangon.

After breakfast, we will explore by boat one of the very early morning 5-day markets, enjoying our boat trip on Inle Lake. We will have a rare chance to get insight the lifestyle of the ethnic Pa-O, Danu and Intha inhabitants here, who come to the market for selling and purchasing their goods and also for meeting as a cultural hub. Enjoy our boat trip on Inle Lake, a photographers’ dream, its calm water is dotted with floating vegetation and fishing canoes, to which scenic high hills provide the perfect backdrop. On the way we will see the lake's unique “leg rowers”, when the Intha people row standing up with one leg wrapped around an oar. Lunch at restaurant, located in the middle of lake. Afternoon we will continue our excursion by motorized boat to Indein at the western end of the Lake. The boat takes us thru a long channel where we can watch the farmers cultivate their products. This ride is one of the most scenic boat tours on the Lake, passing multiple bamboo and wooden boats linking stilt houses on the water. Later we will catch the sunset over the lake, whose beauty may enchant any visitor. Overnight in Inle Lake.