Myanmar Classic Tour (IPB11)

Mingalabar! Welcome to Yangon, Myanmar.

Upon arrival at Yangon Airport, your private guide and driver are waiting to meet you, holding up a welcome signboard with your names on it and take you directly to your hotel in the downtown. While every effort is made to have your room available upon arrival, check-in time is at 02:00 pm; your room may or may not be ready before this time. Your tour guide will provide additional details regarding your stay, and you will be able to ask any questions you may have. The rest of the day is at leisure.

If we arrive in the morning, we have time to visit the world-famous golden Shwedagon Pagoda in the afternoon, a breath-taking and colorful sight visited by Buddhists from all over Myanmar.

Evening culture show with dinner at Karaweik palace in Kandawgyi Park

Overnight in Yangon.
Meals: (_/_/D)

Early morning transfer to Yangon’s Mingaladon Airport for the flight to Mandalay.

Upon arrival, our tour guide and private car pick up from the airport for a full day sightseeing. The day begins with a visit to the 18th-century capital, Amarapura. Attend the daily meal of over a thousand monks at the country’s largest monastery Mahagandayon. Visit a silk weaving workshop, the craft specialty of Amarapura.

Proceed to Ava, the capital from 14^th to 18^th centuries and visit by horse and carriage the old wooden Bagaya Monastery and the remains of the Royal Palace and fort.

In the afternoon cross the bridge over the Irrawaddy River and continue to Sagaing. Covered with 600 white-painted pagodas and monasteries, Sagaing Hill is widely regarded as the religious center of Myanmar and is home to 3,000 monks and 100 meditation centers.

Finish the day with a walk at sunset over the 200-year-old U Bein Bridge, constructed entirely from teak.

Overnight in Mandalay.
Meals: (B/L/_)

After breakfast, transfer to the jetty and board private chartered boat for a cruise over the Irrawaddy River towards the former capital of Mingun. After a 45-minute cruise, arrive in Mingun famous for its huge unfinished pagoda also home to the Mingun Bell, considered as the world’s largest uncracked ringing bell. Also, visit the beautiful white Hsinbyume Pagoda.

Return Mandalay for lunch.

In the afternoon visit the Kuthodaw Pagoda with its 729 marble stone slabs of Buddhist scriptures (known as the world’s biggest book), Shwenandaw Monastery, noted for its exquisite woodcarving and the impressive Kyauktawgyi Pagoda with it’s huge sitting Buddha.

Enjoy the sunset from Mandalay Hill.

Overnight Mandalay.
Meals: (B/L/_)

Drive-up into the hills from Mandalay (80km, about 2 hours) for a full day visit of Pyin Oo Lwin (Maymyo), a former British hill station. Visit the local market and drive through the charming town in a horse-drawn ‘stagecoach’, giving you the chance to admire the red brick and half-timbered houses, complete with English-style gables, turrets, and chimneys.

In the afternoon, visit the tiny Forestry Museum (if open) and the National Botanical Kandawgyi Gardens, which were laid out by Sir Harcourt Butler, a former Governor of Burma – the flower beds are similar to those you would find in an English country garden! Take a short jungle walk on a wooden walkway in the gardens. Then drive back to Mandalay.

Overnight in Mandalay.
Meals: (B/L/_)

Leave Mandalay for a 3-hour drive to Monywa, a typical Burmese town on the banks of the Chindwin River.

On the way, visit Thanboddhay Pagoda, where more than 500,000 Buddha images cover every wall and archway of this huge Buddhist temple. Also visit Boditahtaung Pagoda and the largest reclining Buddha image in Myanmar, 100m long and 27m high.

Then cross the Chindwin River by ferry, proceed to Po Win Daung by local open jeep. This extraordinary complex consists of 947 sandstone caves dug out of the hills and contains what is considered by archaeologists to be the richest collection of mural paintings and Buddhist statues in South East Asia. Recently opened to foreigners, Po Win Daung with its unique, precious frescoes, some dating from the early 17^th century, is a must to see for anyone with an interest in Buddhist Arts.

A few hundred meters from the caves is Shwe Ba Daung, another very interesting site where monasteries and temples are carved out rocky narrow cliffs.

Return to Monywa.

Overnight in Monywa.
Meals: (B/L/_)

After breakfast at the hotel, leave Monywa along the rarely visited east bank of the river passing traditional villages where farmers climb the palm trees to extract the juice from which they produce palm tree sugar.

Stop in Pakkangyi to visit one of the oldest surviving wooden monasteries in Myanmar. Continue 20 km south to Pakokku. A lively, typical Burmese city with a strong craftwork tradition producing colorful woven blankets, paper-mâché toys, and the traditional sandals.

Continue by boat and cross the river to arrive in Bagan at the end of the day.

Overnight in Bagan.
Meals: (B/L/_)

After breakfast at the hotel morning sightseeing of Bagan features the colorful Nyaung Oo Market, the Shwezigon Pagoda, and its magnificent golden stupa, Wetkyi-In Gubyaukgyi, a cave temple with exquisite jatakas murals paintings and the elegant Htilominlo Temple noted for its fine plaster carvings and glazed sandstone decorations.

In the afternoon, visit Ananda, an architectural masterpiece of the early-style temple with two original standing Buddha images whose facial expression change depending on the distance the statue is viewed from. The Ananda Okkyaung is one of the few surviving brick monasteries from the early Bagan period and the next temple to be visited, Thatbyinnyu, is the highest in Bagan, rising to 61 meters.

End the day with a horse and carriage tour among the temples passing by the traditional village of Taungbi, Sulamani Temple, and the massive Dhammayangyi Temple noted for its remarkable brickwork.

Enjoy the sunset on the mighty Irrawaddy river by slow cruise.

Overnight in Bagan.
 Meals: (B/L/_)

Optional: In the early morning, we take a sunrise Balloon flight over the plains of Bagan. From above looking down, Bagan is beautiful as a watercolor picture. Along two banks of the gentle Ayeyarwady River are small villages hiding in the bamboo trees. The top of golden pagodas glistens under the sunlight. The flight surely gives you an interesting and unheard-of experience of the country of Myanmar.

 After breakfast at the hotel, proceed to Myinkaba village and observe the process of traditional lacquerware, one of the best-known Myanmar handicrafts and a specialty of Bagan. Visit the monuments of Myinkaba village, Gubyaukkhi, an early period Pyu-style temple of Hindu influence with some of the oldest mural paintings in Bagan, Manuha, and Nanpaya temples.

In the afternoon, enjoy an excursion to the countryside village Shwe Hlaing and enjoy the local cooking school restaurant before the visit of Minnanthu, and the least visited temple area in Bagan. Observe the local farmers‘way of life together with a visit to some of the most interesting temples such as Payathonzu, with its unusual architecture and Tantric Buddhism influence, Lemyethna, and Nandamannya temples.

Enjoy the sunset from the top watching sunset area.

Overnight in Bagan.
 Meals: (B/L/_)

In the morning transfer to the airport for the flight to Heho.

From Heho, enjoy a scenic drive to Pindaya through the picturesque countryside of Shan State. Visit Pindaya’s limestone cave with its maze of chambers displaying more than 8,000 Buddha statues and local handicraft workshops producing Shan Paper made from mulberry bark and traditional umbrellas made from the same paper that is used by monks all around the country.

Overnight in Pindaya.
Meals: (B/L/_)

After breakfast, take 2 hours drive to Kalaw, the hill station that remains the charm of British Colonial with styled houses and gardens. Reach the junction of the trekking way.

After 30 minutes walk, you will cross the rain forest and reservoir. Near the reservoir, you can see the various kinds of tropical birds. After the forest and a 2 hours walk, you will reach Hin Khar Gone (Palaung) village. On the way, you can see the cheroot leaf, Orange trees, and some tea leaf garden.

One hour walk you can see the railway road and after cross the railway road you reach the Myin Sine Gone (Danu) village.

Lunch at Myin Sine Gone and excursion in the village. If you are lucky, you can see the cherry flowers, between December and February. At that time so many cherry flower are blooming on the trees.

After lunch go back to Kalaw by another way (30min), later you maybe reach to the railway station of Myin Taik and then proceed to the Kalaw

Overnight in Kalaw.
Meals: (B/L/_)

From Kalaw, enjoy a scenic drive to Inle Lake, one of Myanmar’s best-known sights. The Intha people, a tribe of Mon descent, mostly inhabit the lakeshores and floating villages.

On arrival at Nyaung Shwe village, transfer by boat to start a sightseeing tour of Inle Lake including a chance to see the leg-rowing fishermen. Continue to see the floating gardens, built up from strips of water hyacinth and mud and anchored to the bottom with bamboo poles. There are also floating villages like Ywama, the lake’s downtown, where a floating market is held every five days.

In the afternoon continue visit to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the weaving village of Inpawkhon and the Jumping Cat monastery. Check-in at the hotel in the afternoon.

Overnight at Inle Lake/ Nyaung Shwe.
Meals: (B/L/_)

After breakfast, excursion by motorized boat to In Dein, an off-the-beaten-track site in the south of the lake. The boat leaves the lake and enters a narrow canal with a beautiful natural environment to continue to a small Pa O tribe village.

From the market place of the village, follow an old covered path to a 13th-century monastery and the very impressive ruins of hundreds of ancient pagodas, some hidden in the vegetation. The main stupa-area on the top of the hill offers breath-taking views over the surrounding mountains and down to the valley and the lake in the far distance.

Return to the lake and finish the visits to the lake in the afternoon.

Overnight at Inle Lake/ Nyaung Shwe.
Meals: (B/L/_)

After breakfast, transfer from Nyaung Shwe to Heho airport for a morning flight back to Yangon.

Upon arrival Yangon, enjoy a scenic journey by road to Kyaikhtiyo, 190km to the east. One of Myanmar’s great pilgrimage sites is the Golden Rock at Kyaikhtiyo, a huge boulder covered by gold leaf and delicately balanced on the edge of a cliff. The pagoda at the Golden Rock is said to hold a hair of the Buddha.

Late morning, arrive at Kyaikhtiyo base camp and transfer to the transit junction with one of the small open trucks in a 1-hour ride.

After lunch, start an easy one-hour walk up to the Golden Rock and enjoy the sunset from this unforgettable site.

Overnight in Kyaikhtiyo.
Meals: (B/L/_)

After breakfast, return to the base-camp by open truck and head in the direction of Yangon for 110km to Bago, an ancient capital dating back to the 6^th century.

Sightseeing in Bago includes the beautiful 55 meters long reclining Buddha called Shwethalyaung and the Mon style Shwemawdaw Pagoda, one of the most venerated in Myanmar. Its spire stands 114m high and is taller even than the Shwedagon Pagoda. Visit also the old Palace “Kambozathadi” and the huge 4 sitting Buddha’s “Kyaikpun”.

Return by road to Yangon, visiting the Allied War Cemetery near Htaukkyan, the final resting place for over 27,000 allied soldiers, and a local woven bamboo factory.

Transfer back to Yangon at the end of the day.

Overnight in Yangon.
Meals: (B/L/_)

After breakfast finish the tour with a visit to downtown Yangon with its faded colonial atmosphere, Sule Pagoda, Mahabandoola Park, India town and bustling Chinatown.

Visits continue to Myanmar’s holiest monument, the Shwedagon Pagoda with its golden stupa covered with 60 tons of pure gold leaf.

In the afternoon there is free time for shopping at Bogyoke Market, formerly Scott’s Market before transferring to Mingaladon Airport for onward flight.

End of services.

Meals: (B/_/_)