General Information:
Duration: 13 days/12 nights
Tour Routine: Yangon – Dala – Bagan – Salay – Ayardaw – Tant-chi-Taung – Pakokku – Yandabo – Ava – Sagaing – Amarapura – Mingun – Mandalay – Pindaya – Kalaw – Yangon
Start/End: Yangon/Yangon
Tour Style: Landscape, In-depth Cultural
Guides: Myanmar Local Tour Guide (English Speaking Guide, Other Languages upon Request)
Transportation: Private First-class Air-conditioned Vehicles
Brief Itinerary:
Pre-cruise
Day 1: Yangon Arrival
Day 2: Yangon – Dala Circular Train
7 Night Cruise with Kalay Pandaw
Day 3: Yangon – Bagan
Day 4: Bagan Discovery
Day 5: Salay – Ayardaw – Tant-chi-Taung
Day 6: Pakokku
Day 7: Yandabo
Day 8: Ava – Sagaing – Amarapura
Day 9: Mingun – Mandalay
Post-cruise
Day 10: Mandalay – Pindaya – Kalaw
Day 11: Kalaw – Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp
Day 12: Kalaw – Heho – Yangon
Day 13: Yangon Departure
Full Itinerary:
Day 1: Yangon Arrival
Mingalabar! Welcome to the Golden Land of Myanmar
On arrival at Yangon International Airport, welcome by Go Myanmar’s local guide and then we transfer to the hotel in the city center for check-in. Enjoy your own time at leisure.
Day 2: Yangon – Dala Circular Train
Today, leave the chaotic and fast-pace of the city to experience the true essence of the local life of Burmese people through a breathtaking train ride from Yangon to Dala. After breakfast, follow your guide to the railway station. Here you will have a chance to soak into the authentic local atmosphere, indulge in the cozy smiles and observe the colorful stalls of people selling products near the railway.
In the afternoon, highlight your city tour with a visit to Shwedagon Pagoda – one of the most famous pagodas in the world. According to legend, the pagoda has been 2600-year-old and thus making it one of the oldest pagodas in the world. Visit it at the sunset time to marvel at its magical beauty of the pagoda.
Day 3: Yangon – Bagan
Say goodbye to Yangon this morning to take a domestic flight to Bagan – one of the world’s greatest archaeological sites. On arrival, meet your local guide and transfer to RV Kalay Pandaw cruise ship for check-in. After that, enjoy a cozy lunch on board.
In the afternoon, explore the magnificent temples in Bagan. Make your first visit to Ananda Temple, a great attraction well-known as the finest temple in Bagan in terms of ancient architecture. Listen to your guide to know more about the niches with statues, glazed plaques, the standing Buddha statues, and murals.
The next stop is the Myingabar Gubyaukgyi Temple. Dating back to AD 1113, the temple has been well-preserved murals which also depict typical day-to-day life in Bagan.
Fulfill the day with a walk through Phwar Saw Village, a small charming village which was named after the very famous and influential queen in Bagan’s late 13th century. A short walk through the village gives you a view of the serene rural life of the villagers who rely on bean and pea farming, breeding cattle and producing small lacquerware handicrafts.
Day 4: Bagan Discovery
A full day to explore Bagan’s ancient monuments and lacquerware workshop. Start the day with a visit to Shwesandaw – the highest temple in Bagan. After that transfer to Shwezigon Pagoda, one of the most impressive monuments in Bagan enshrining a sacred hair relic of the Buddha.
Before returning to the ship for lunch, gaze out at the Khay Min Ga pagoda complex – a man-made masterpiece surrounded by nature. Take this chance to learn about the different architectural styles: Indian, Sri Lankan, and Burmese.
Following your afternoon sightseeing with a visit to the Lacquerware workshop to gain more insight into the process of making lacquer handicrafts – the unique item in Bagan.
Next up, visit Payathonezu, noted for three inter-connected temples with a narrow passage built in the late 13th century.
Before sunset, drive to the sunset hill where you will sit back to enjoy the majestic sunset over the sites.
Day 5: Salay – Ayardaw – Tant-chi-Taung
This early morning, set sail to Salay, a small sleeping village filled with the antique colonial architectural treasures and timeless teak monasteries.
Get off the ship to take a short excursion to the village. Visit Yoke-Sone Kyaung, an impressive teakwood monastery.
On the way back, visit the British colonial Salay House. After that, continue to sail upriver to the Ayardaw charity clinic before reaching the winding road of the Tant-Chi-Taung Mountain to visit the hill-top stupa. Late this afternoon, watch the traditional elephant dance performed by the villagers in Tant-Chi.
Day 6: Pakokku
Today, explore Pakokku – a quiet and traditional town of Burma. Experience the local market to get a glimpse at the trading and sightseeing around the town center by Tuk-Tuk. Then you will also stop at a cheroot workshop to discover how traditional cheroot cigars are made.
Day 7: Yandabo
As the ship sails to Yandabo, a charming riverside village where is far-famed with the terracotta pottery production from the riverbank clay. Take a stroll through the village to observe the daily life of the villagers. Your guide will lead you to visit a family where you can learn more about the pottery making process.
After that, visit Yandabo School (if no school holidays)
Day 8: Ava – Sagaing – Amarapura
This morning, explore the ancient city of Ava, which used to serve as the capital of the Burmese kingdom for nearly 400 years. Start the day with a drive to Ava jetty and take a small ferry boat to sail across the Myit Nge (Dokehtawady) river. After that, embark on a horse cart to explore the sites. Visit Menu Oak Kyaung monastery and Bagaya Kyaung Monastery which date back to the early 19th century.
In the afternoon, take an excursion to Sagaing where 1000 hermitages and sanctuaries rich in woodcarving and religious art. Drive up to the top of Sagaing Hill to admire the bird’s eye view over the Irrawaddy River. A visit to Sagaing also gives you a chance to learn more about the Buddhist nuns’ way of life at a nunnery.
Fulfill today’s sightseeing tour at Amarapura the former capital of Burma from the 18th to 19th centuries. Visit a silk and cotton weaving workshop then end the day at U Bein Bridge, the world’s largest and oldest teak bridge.
Day 9: Mingun – Mandalay
Wake up in the sound of bird-singing this morning and then set sail to Mingun for a morning walking tour around the idyllic village. Admire the largest unfinished temple in the world: Mingun Pahtodawgyi and the world’s second-largest ringing bell: Mingun Bell.
In the afternoon, drive to Mandalay, the royal capital of Burma and also the religious center of Burmese culture. Take an afternoon sightseeing tour with the first visit to Mahamuni Pagoda, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Myanmar which enshrining a sacred Buddha image which has been covering with gold leaf by pilgrimages every day.
Continue to Shwenandaw Monastery, an impressive wooden monastery which originally was a part of the royal palace in the 19th.
Next up, explore the UNESCO listed Kuthodaw Pagoda, well-known to the world as the biggest Buddha book with 729 marble slabs engraved with the Buddha’s Parli Scriptures. Later on, top by the moat surrounding the Royal Palace to take some nice photos with a backdrop of Mandalay Hill.
Day 10: Mandalay – Pindaya – Kalaw
Leave Mandalay this morning to take a flight to Heho airport. Meet your guide and drive through rolling farmlands among the Shan Hills to Pindaya. Enjoy a cozy lunch in a traditional village house.
After that, explore the village life and visit the Pindaya Caves famous for its thousands of magnificent Buddha statues.
Then transfer to the breathtaking hill town of Kalaw. Gaze out at the local market and stroll around the street to see the charming colonial architecture.
Day 11: Kalaw – Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp
After breakfast at the hotel, drive to Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp. Here you will learn how one family created a natural retirement place for the elephants. After lunch, drive back to Kalaw and spend the rest of the day at leisure.
Day 12: Kalaw – Heho – Yangon
After breakfast, transfer back to Heho airport to take a domestic flight to Yangon.
Day 13: Yangon Departure
Today enjoy the rest of the day at leisure until the drive comes to transfer you to the airport for your departure flight.
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