Treasures Of Myanmar

Upon arrival, pick up by our tour guide and transfer to the hotel in the city centre. Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon, is a relatively quiet and charming city. Its impressive colonial and spiritual heritage makes it one of the most fascinating cities in Southeast Asia. Standard check in time is 14h00, early check in upon availability. This afternoon, we transfer to visit Sule Pagoda, a 2200-year-old temple surrounded by government buildings and commercial shop. Walk from here to Mahabandoola Park and visit the Independent Monument. Continue our tour by car, passing City Hall, little india and little china, Strand road and Yangon Jetty. End our tour today at Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the wonders of the world. It was built 2500 years ago and enshrined with hair relics of Buddha and a place where to meet devoted Buddhists meditating and praying. Enjoy breathtaking views of the golden stupa from this vantage point. Overnight in Yangon.

After breakfast and check out hotel, this morning your guide and car will pick up from your hotel and we’ll take a journey by road to Kyaikhtiyo, the Golden Rock. On the way, we’ll stop in Htaukkyan township to visit the Allied War Cemetery. This beautifully-landscaped, peaceful area is the final resting place for more than 27,000 Allied Soldiers who perished during the World War II campaign in Myanmar. Arrive at Kyaikhtiyo base camp (approximately 5hrs), travel by open-air truck along a winding road (1 hour). You be dropped off at bus station on the top of the hill. After a few minutes walking, we will reach the Golden Rock. A huge boulder covered by gold leaf and delicately balanced on the edge of a cliff, Golden Rock is one of Myanmar's main pilgrimage sites. The pagoda here is said to hold a hair of the Buddha and Buddhists from across the country come here to pay homage. Check in hotel near the Golden Rock and stay overnight.
 

After breakfast and check out hotel, return to the base camp by open-air truck and begin the return journey to Yangon. En route, stop to visit Bago. Bago, also known as Pegu, was the capital of the Mon Kingdom in the 15th century and is a town steeped in legend. We visit the 55-metre long reclining Shwethalyaung Buddha, the four seated Buddha at Kyaikpun and the old palace of Kambozathadi. The Mon-style Shwemawdaw Pagoda is the most outstanding religious monument in Bago. This golden temple stands at 114 meters tall, higher than Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda, and can be seen from around 10 kilometers outside of the city. While in Bago we also take time to visit the city’s local sites, including the town market and a Mon neighborhood where the locals once produced woven textiles. From Bago, we catch the overnight train to Mandalay (sleeper bed). Overnight on the train.

Arrival in Mandalay, pick up by our local guide from the train station and transfer to have breakfast at a local restaurant. After breakfast, we drive to Amarapura, a former capital whose name means ‘City of Immortality’. First visit Mahagandayon monastery, when over one-thousand monks reside and proceed to visit ne-thousand monks reside and visit a silk weaving workshop which produces exquisite handmade products. Continue to Ava which is one of the ancient cities and a remarkably rural backwater of empty fields sparsely dotted with widely spaced ruins, monastic buildings and stupas. Explore Ava by plodding horse cart to visit BagayaKyaung (a wonderful teak monastery), MahaAungmyeBonzan monastery (built of stucco-covered brick, royal monastery temple) and Nanmyin (a leaning watchtower of Ava). Transfer to Sagaing by crossing a bridge over the Irrawaddy River. Uncountable white-and-gold stupas are highlights of Sagaing. Sagaing Hill is widely regarded as the religious center of Myanmar.  It is home to 3,000 monks and 100 meditation centers and you will visit pagodas such as Swan OoPon Nya Shin and U Min ThoneSae. We’ll also visit Sagaing’s local market, a typical Burmese market that few tourists visit. Here you will find a range of items for sale includinglocally made pottery, silver and other handicrafts. We will also stop at a small pottery village to see the process of making the ubiquitous water pots found throughout Myanmar. After touring this tranquil site, continue to U Bein Bridge, the world’s longest and 200 year-old teak bridge. Enjoy a stroll along the bridge and the fabulous views of the surrounding farms and streams. Transfer to check in hotel and relax. Overnight in Mandalay.

After breakfast and check out  hotel, we visit to Mahamuni Pogada, 13ft-high sated Buddha image which is one of Myanmar's most famous. Continue your tour of Mandalay with a visit to Kuthodaw Pagoda, whose 729 marble stone slabs of Buddhist scriptures have earned it the title ‘World’s Biggest Book’. Continue to Shwenandaw Monastery, the only remaining building from the 19th century Royal Palace. This grand teak building is known for its exquisite woodcarving. Head to the top of Mandalay Hill to enjoy magnificent views of the city and Irrawaddy River. This afternoon, transfer to Bagan (3 hours). Bagan, located on the banks of the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River, is home to the largest and densest concentration of Buddhist temples, pagodas, stupas and ruins in the world with many dating from the 11th and 12th centuries. On arrival, check in hotel and relax. Overnight in Bagan.

After breakfast, our journey begins with a visit an elevated temple from where you will have a panoramic view of the magnificent plains of Bagan. Continue with a visit to the golden Shwezigon Pagoda, first and prototype monument, which was built in Myanmar style in 1087. Then, visit to Gubyaukgyi, a cave temple @ Wetkyi-Inn Village which is well-known for its exquisite jataka mural paintings and the elegant Htilominlo Temple noted for its fine plaster carvings and glazed sandstone decorations. We then visit to a traditional lacquer ware workshop where you can observe the production of one of Myanmar’s best-known handicrafts. Continue to Ananda Temple, an architectural masterpiece and one of Bagan’s most beautiful temples. Built in the early Mon-style, Ananda contains two unique Buddha images whose expressions seem to change depending on the distance from which the statue is viewed. From here, you will visit to Thatbyinnyu, the highest temple in Bagan, massive Dhammayangyi Temple, noted for its remarkable brickwork, and Sulamani Temple. After the visits, transfer to the bus station for overnight bus to Nyangshwe – the gateway village to Inle Lake. Overnight on the bus. 

On arrival Nyangshwe, pick up by our guide at the bus station and transfer to have breakfast at a local restaurant. After breakfast, we visit the lake’s morning market. The market rotates its location around the lake’s villages in a 5-day rhythm and is visited by lake inhabitants and surrounding hill tribes who come to sell and trade their wares. (Market is daily except on dark moon day and full moon day). We continue to Indein – a small village located on the western bank of Inle Lake. When we reach to Indein village, we will trek for half an hour and will visit to Na Daung Kya village, as we can observe how local people are living and their life styles. There are Taung Yoe and Inthar Tribes living and we also can see how they do Rice Crackers over there. It is populated by ethnic Padaung (“long neck women”). Upon reaching, we walk on a covered alley lined on both sides with a thousand pagodas. There have hundreds of ancient stupas and most are ruins overgrown with bushes. The pagoda hill is quiet and calm. One could feel the pleasant cool breeze with the sweet rings of the bells hanging at the umbrella of the stupa. Continue on foot by a long-covered staircase to discover the magnificent complex of Alaung Sithu in beautiful scenery of ancient stupas buried in vegetation with a panoramic view of the lake. Continue by boat to visit Phaung Daw Oo pagoda. Visit to Inpawkhon village to visit a manufacture of silk made from lotus plant and a manufacture of typical myanmar cigars “Cheeroots”. Visit to Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery before transferring to the hotel to check in. Overnight at hotel on Inle Lake.

After breakfast and check out hotel, we visit the wooden Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery which is an elegant ancient monastery with its oval-shaped windows. Continue visit Kakku temples. The drive is spectacular, crossing over the railway line and through small villages inhabited to the Pa-Oh people. On arrival, the first view of Kakku is breathtaking: there are more than 5200 individual stupas, some of which are 20 meters high, and several Buddha images scattered throughout. There are no clear facts about the history of the stupas but most date back to the 11th-13th century, the same period when Bagan was thriving. Wander throughout the temples, taking your time to enjoy the wonder and awe of this site and discover the intricate carvings and details on the structures. From here, transfer to the bus station for overnight bus back to Yangon. Overnight on the bus.

On arrival Yangon, pick up by our guide at the bus station and transfer to have breakfast at a local restaurant. After breakfast, we visit Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda, one of Myanmar's more beautiful reclining buddhas which is topped by a crown encrusted with diamonds and other precious stones. The feet of the statue carved with traditional symbols and often many locals gathering to pay homage and pray. We then transfer to the hotel to check in and relax. This afternoon, we visit to Bogyoke Market, formerly known as Scott’s Market, where you can browse through the wide selection of Myanmar handicrafts and other goods (Note: closed on Mondays and public holidays). In the evening, visit “Garden City of East” is to take your pictures at tranquil Kandawgyi Lake and the Karaweik Hall – a royal floating barge. Overnight in Yangon.

After breakfast, at leisure until transfer on time to the airport for our departure flight. Standard hotel check-out time is 12h00 (late check out upon availability).