Itinerary

1. Day 1: Mandalay: Arrival & City Tour

   • Your Myanmar tour guide will pick you up from the Airport in Mandalay and transfer you to a hotel.

   • After checking in, visit Mahamuni Pagoda, home to a spectacular Buddha idol covered with thick layers of gold leaves. 

   • Stop at local workshops to see Kalaga tapestries being made, gold leaf being beaten into paper-thin pieces. 

   • From here, go to Kuthodaw Pagoda, where the Theravada Buddhist scriptures are inscribed on 729 marble slabs, giving rise to its nickname ‘the world’s largest book’. 

   • Next, visit the beautiful teak-carved Shwenandaw Monastery, the only Royal Palace building to survive the World War II bombing. 

   • Travel to the top of Mandalay Hill to see glittering glass-studded temple walls, which reflect the evening glow as you watch the sunset. 

   • See the U Bein Bridge, which is believed to be the longest teak bridge in the world at over a kilometre. 

   • Return to your hotel in Mandalay. 

   Accommodation: Hotel in Mandalay 

   Meals included: Breakfast

2. Day 2: Ava & Sagaing

   • In the morning, drive to the former royal capital of Innwa, Ava, located on an island between the Ayeyarwady and the Myitnge Rivers. 

   • Catch a local ferry to the island where your horse cart and driver await you – no cars are allowed here. 

   • Pass through the ancient city walls to visit the brick and stucco monastery of Maha Aungmye Bonzan (also known as Ok Kyaung) before continuing to the impressive wooden monastery of Bagaya Kyaung.

   • In the afternoon, visit picturesque Sagaing, known as the living centre of the Buddhist faith in Myanmar today. The hills here are dotted with numerous pagodas and monasteries.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Mandalay

   Meals included: Breakfast 

3. Day 3: Mandalay to Yandabo

   • Transfer from your hotel to the jetty. While you are cruising along the river, see the local life and the place's natural beauty. 

   • Reach the village to see their everyday life and observe pottery made of riverbank clay. 

   • Roam around the village on a bicycle and come across Independence Monument. 

   Accommodation: Hotel in Yandabo      

   Meals included: Breakfast 

4. Day 4: Bagan Boat Cruise

   • Depart from Yandabo village and board a boat to Bagan. On the way, see local children swimming in the river and fishers looking for their catch. 

   • After watching the sunset on the boat, transfer to your hotel.

   • Enjoy a free evening in Bagan.

   Overnight at the hotel.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Bagan

   Meals included: Breakfast 

5. Day 5: Bagan Tour

   • In the morning, visit a selection of the most important monuments, such as Shwezigon Pagoda, which is the first and most crucial architectural pagoda. 

   • Proceed to the Ananda Temple, which is a masterpiece of 11th-century architecture. Most of the artifacts are still original and preserved in the temple, and Myinkabar Gubyauk Gyi is the best mural painting temple in Bagan.

   • See several other monuments. 

   • Enjoy the sunset at one of the monuments.

   Overnight at the hotel.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Bagan

   Meals included: Breakfast

6. Day 6: Mt Popa

   • Go on the 46km drive to Mount Popa. On the way, take an hour-long break to taste toddy, plum juice & oil.

   • Reach the home to Myanmar’s intriguing ‘Nats’ (spirits), Mount Popa. 

   • Climb the 777 steps to the top of Mount Popa and behold fabulous views from the top. 

   • Observe the local culture and the spirit of the surrounding area. 

   • Head back to Bagan, and en route, make a stop at a small traditional village.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Bagan

   Meals included: Breakfast 

7. Day 7: Kalaw Elephant Camp

   • Take a bus to reach Kalaw. 

   • Follow a local trekking guide from Kalaw to the Elephant Camp. The routes through forests introduce you to the ecology of the land.

   Overnight stay in a hotel. 

   Accommodation: Hotel in Kalaw 

   Meals included: Breakfast 

8. Day 8: Inle Lake Boat Ride

   • The guide will pick you up from the airport. Then, visit Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung (monastery) and Kan Gyi Kyaung Monastery in Myaung Shwe. 

   • Drive through pine-clad hills to Taunggyi (about 1 hour, 31 km), the capital of southern Shan State and a former British hill station.

   • Continue approximately 2 hours on a drive from Taunggyi to the countryside inhabited by the Pa-O people. Here lies the ‘lost’ ruins of Kakku, a pagoda encircled by dozens of small stupas. Little is known about the origins of this unusual place – the Pa-O believe that the original pagoda dates back some 2,000 years. 

   • Wander through the stupas, decorated with fine stucco work and Buddha images – some in good repair, others not. 

   • Visit a Pa-O village and a large monastery on the way back to Taunggyi. 

   • Continue from here to Nyaung Shwe, where you board your boat and transfer to a hotel.

   Overnight at the hotel.

   Accommodation at hotel 

   Meals included: Breakfast

9. Day 9: Yangon

   • Arrive at the Yangon domestic airport in the evening and then transfer to the hotel to relax. The city has several British buildings, more than most South-East Asian cities. 

   • Visit Sule Pagoda and downtown of Yangon which is suitable for a walking tour.

   Overnight at the hotel.

   Accommodation: Hotel in Yangon

   Meals included: Breakfast 

10. Day 10: Yangon

    • Transfer to Yangon International Airport to catch your flight.