After breakfast, we start the sightseeing in Yangon with a visit to the Botahtaung Pagoda, which is believed to have housed Buddha's eight strands of hair before being distributed elsewhere. We then continue our tour of Yangon with a visit to the Chaukhtatgyi reclining Buddha image; a large Buddha image. We visit the Bogyoke market; a place with approximately 2000 shops. It is a place for selling all kinds of products but of special mention is the beautiful exotic "Shan Bag" velvet slippers, lacquerware, gem shops and all sorts of handicraft. In the evening, we visit the 2,500 years old magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda sheathed in 11 tons of pure gold and 4,350 diamonds weighing 1800 carats. Shwedagon offers its visitors a spectacular show of lights and shadows at the time of sunset.
Overnight at the hotel in Yangon.
Note; Boygoke Market is closed every Monday and Gazette Holidays.After breakfast, we drive from Yangon to Bago. We head over for an excursion to Bago. This ancient Mon Capital is situated nearly 80 kilometers northeast of Yangon. On the way to Bago, we witness the countryside views, and after driving for an hour, we arrive at Bago. The sightseeing tour highlights include Maha Kalyani Sima and the Kya Khat Wine monastery, where we see over 1200 Buddhist monks having their merit lunch in total silence by 10:30 a.m. Then, a visit to Shwemawdaw Pagoda, which is almost the same age as Shwedagon but was built in Mon style and then to the Kyaikpun Pagoda. Later we take a short visit to Shwethalyaung, the most beautiful Reclining Buddha; and The Hanthawadi Palace: Kanbawza Thadi, the famous palace of King Bayinnaung (1551–1581 A.D.) is being extensively excavated, and some buildings are being rebuilt. Finally, drive back to Yangon for an overnight stay.
Overnight at a hotel in Yangon.After breakfast, transfer to the airport from Bago for a flight to Bagan. On arrival at the Nyaung Oo airport, welcome and meet with the station guide. Before check-in at the hotel, we directly visit the Nyaung Oo colorful Market and Shwezigon Pagoda, which is believed to enshrine tooth and a bone of Lord Buddha. We continue to travel Wetkyi-in Gubyaukkyi Temple with beautiful mural paintings of the Jataka scenes. We later transfer to the hotel for check-in. On the afternoon, the sightseeing tour continues to a lacquerware industry where we observe the way of making lacquerware. In Myanmar, the origins of the lacquer seem to have come from Bagan in about 12th to the 13th century. We later visit Manuha; a temple with large Buddha images that depict life in prison from a captive king's perspective. We continue our visit to Nanpaya; an ancient sandstone temple with the most beautiful stone carvings, and later witness the architectural masterpiece of the Ananda Temple; resembling a Greek cross. Our last stop for today is the Shwesandaw Pagoda an excellent place to view the magical sunset.
Overnight at the hotel in Bagan.
After breakfast, morning sightseeing of our tour begins with the Shwe Gukyi temple in the scenic old Bagan area. Here we have a chance to study the ruins of the palace site. We visit the highest temple in Bagan " Thatbyinnyu," Dhammayangyi, a massive temple with the most exceptional brickwork, Sulamuni temple where we see beautiful frescos from 18th-century 's Kone Baung era.
Additionally, it also has a fascinating background history. Our visit begins with Queen Phwar Saw village in the afternoon where we see the typical Burmese village life. We later proceed to Lay Myathna and Phaya Thonezu Temple and have a stroll among the ruined temples.
On this day we are free to explore Bagan the whole day is at leisure. Bagan is a fantastic place to indulge in some optional activities. We are ready to serve in case our travelers want to use our services today. These tours are not inclusive in the price, so please inform us in advance if you want to take one of them.
Please refer to a list of suggested activities below;
Optional activity 1: Sunrise Champagne Balloons flights over century-old Pagodas. An option only available for high season (from Oct to March) estimated lowest price starts from USD 290 per pax.
Optional activity 2: Taking E-bike is fun to explore Bagan' hidden sites (USD 6 per pax).
Optional activity 3: Exploring by horse cart, the estimated price is USD 25 per cart (max two pax is allowed in one cart).
Optional activity 4: Sunset Boat in Bagan is USD 15 per boat (max ten pax is allowed in one boat).
After breakfast, morning transfer to Jetty to take Express boat trip for a whole river cruise on the majestic Ayeyarwaddy River from Bagan to Mandalay it is the upstream river. We check-in around 5:30 a.m. and embark on our journey at 6:00 a.m. Enjoying the extraordinary scenic and exciting sights along the picturesque Ayeyarwady river, our lunch is served on the boat. Arrive at Mandalay Jetty in the evening around 17:00 – 17:30 and then transfer to hotel for check-in.
Overnight at a hotel in Mandalay.
Important Note; Express Boat only operates daily from October to March. For the rest period, it stops operating because of the lower water level in the river. If there is no boat on your traveling period, we will arrange alternative travel option either with flight or car, then there may have a surcharge.
We drive from Mandalay to enjoy the grand serenity of 1.2 km long U Bein wooden Bridge constructed in 1849 is about three-quarter of a mile with 1086 posts and Taung- ta-man lake that will give we an enchanting experience. We visit Mahagandaryone Monastery, the largest teaching monastery in Myanmar. Daily at around 10:30 a.m. about 700 monks queue up for their last meal on this day. We also visit the famous Mahamuni Pagoda, one of the most sacred Buddha Image in Mandalay. We visit a gold foil making cottage industry.
We check-in at the hotel followed by an afternoon sightseeing that begins with visits to Mandalay Palace, Shwenandaw Monastery, noted for its exquisite wood carvings; Kuthodaw Pagoda, known as the World's Biggest Book for its stone slabs of Buddhist scriptures. Our tour continues to Mandalay Hill, optional cycling around the base of the hill, a vantage point for a panoramic view of the city and a spectacular sunset view. We have an option of strolling up the hill enjoying panoramic views from a different location can also go by car. Return can also be made by car as there is also a car track by the base of the elevator just before the platform.
Overnight at a hotel in Mandalay.
Suggested optional activity; A day trip to Mingun by boat is USD 30 per boat (allow max five pax in one boat) guide fees and entrance fees will be a surcharge.After breakfast, we transfer to the airport for our flight to Heho. We drive to Kalaw directly from Heho airport. We continue driving to Kalaw; a hill station located at an elevation of 1320 meters. The location is also famous as the primary setting of the novel "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" by Jan-Philipp Sendker.
Overnight at the hotel in Kalaw.We have an opportunity to see the ethnic groups residing in the area such as the Palaung, Taung Yoe, Danu, and Pa-O people. Most of them are farmers that are involved in growing local vegetables such as cabbage, rice, ginger, and potatoes. We trek through a hill witnessing magnificent landscapes and scenic plantations. Our starting point will 30 minutes taxi drive from Kalaw to Lamine Village (Toung Yoe Tribe).
An hour walk follows it to Pin Nwe and Paw Ke Village (Pa-Oh Ethnic Group) where we will learn about the local trade (weaving). We spend some time with a local family and continue trekking for around an hour and a half to Khone Hla Village (Da Nu Tribe). We stop here for some freshly prepared lunch, which we can enjoy while look across to the mountains at the mesmerizing view. We continue walking across the rice fields. We further keep walking for two hours and a half approximately to Pe Tu Pork (Pa-Oh Tribe), where we stay for the night in a cozy homestay and have a local dinner.
Overnight at a local homestay.After breakfast, we start the day with a 25-minute trek to Hti Thain (Pa-Oh Village), passing by a monastery. We continue trekking for a further 45 minutes to Kyut Su (Pa-Oh Village) where we can see bamboo baskets being made. Another 15-minute walk to Nan Yoke village where we can learn about the local herbs. Following on we walk for two hours down to the Boat Station where we stop for lunch at a small family run restaurant.
We take a relaxing Boat trip to Nyaung Shwe City and can choose to stop at some sites along the way. We later return to our hotel for the night's stay.
Overnight at Inle Lake.We have breakfast at the hotel and head over for a visit to the Indein village; the hidden treasure of Inle Lake. Later we visit the Shwe Indaing pagoda complex that is newly open to International travelers where one will be amazed by ruined stupas from the 13th century. On the way, we will enjoy the natural beauty on the way like vegetable gardens, child and weng monks (novices) enjoying their morning bath in the clear stream, water buffaloes and people among the paddy fields, etc.
After a pleasant stroll among the pagoda complex, walk back along the bamboo forest to the Jetty to take back the boat to Inle Lake. Return to the hotel, stay free at leisure in the evening.
Overnight at the hotel in Inle.After breakfast, we drive from Inle Lake to the next destination Heho. We are free to explore the lake until transference to the Heho airport where we take a flight back to Yangon. Upon arrival, we check-in at the hotel. Later, we go for the sightseeing in Yangon consisting of visits to the Sule Pagoda, City Hall, Ministers's building, High Court and many colonial buildings and the Maha Bandoola Park where the Independence Monument is located at the heart of the city. We are free to explore on our own and go for souvenir shopping. In the evening, we suggest visiting China Town, a night market selling fresh fruits, flowers, and local delicacies. Later, we return to the hotel.
Overnight in Yangon.After breakfast, we transfer to the Yangon International airport for our final departing flight.
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